Gryphon Weekend Wrap (Oct. 13-15, 2023)

GUELPH, Ont. – A total of 17 Gryphon varsity teams are featured in the latest edition of the ‘Gryphon Weekend Wrap’ for the period covering October 13 to 15, 2023. 
 

This past weekend’s slate of Gryphon varsity team action got underway Friday afternoon (Oct. 13) with the U of G cross country teams in Hamilton for the Marauder Bay Front Open. The Gryphons had a strong outing in the final meet before the OUA Cross Country Championships in two week’s time. The women’s team finished second in the 8km race with Alex McDougall (3rd), Nina Whitford (5th), Laura Yantha (6th), and Julia Agostinelli (7th) capturing Top 10 finishes to lead the way. On the men’s side, the Gryphons took 3rd in the men’s 8km team standings, led by Jack Lehto (8th), Adam Schmidt (9th), and Gaetano Pocchi (11th). 

The Gryphon swimming team was at home on Saturday (Oct. 14), hosting the OUA Sprint Invitational, which was followed by a trip to St. Catharines on Sunday (Oct. 15) for the Brock Invitational. At the OUA Sprint Invitational in their home pool, the Gryphons captured 1st-place in the women’s standings and 3rd in the men’s, competing against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, Brock Badgers, and Queen’s Gaels. Alexandra Bertrim and Andrei Ciorogariu were voted ‘Swimmers of the Meet’ by the team after Bertrim captured 1st-place finishes in the prelims, semifinals, and finals of the women’s 50m butterfly, while Ciorogariu earned the honour after anchoring the men’s 400m freestyle relay team which captured 2nd after he out-touched the Golden Hawks in the final meters of the race. At Brock on Sunday, it was Matt Lawford and Leah Polito who earned honours for the day. Lawford earned best times in the 100m freestyle and 50m breaststroke, breaking :32 seconds in the latter event for the first time. On the women’s side, Polito earned best times in 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly. The bright spot for the weekend was the women’s relay teams, which went undefeated over the course of both invitationals. 

At the Brock Invitational rowing regatta in St. Catharines, which seeds the OUA Championships coming up in two week’s time, the U of G rowing teams had a strong day, with nine varsity crews qualifying for A finals and three achieving podium finishes. For the Gryphons women’s rowing team, Sarah Ribey followed up a 2nd-place finish in the heats with 3rd-place in the women’s lightweight singles. The third-year student athlete was also one of five student athletes who claimed another 3d-place finish in the lightweight women’s coxed four, with Natalie Miners, Kaitlyn O’Donnell, Lia Snucins, and Kiera Hickie-Bentzen making up the rest of the crew that finished just two seconds off of the 1st-place team. On the men’s side, the lightweight men’s coxed four crew made up of Connor Wideman, James Rourke, Noah Shew, Kato Camp, and Hallee Woodard captured 3rd in what was the first lightweight men’s four Gryphon Rowing has raced since 2015. 

In playoff action, the Gryphon golf team captured a pair of 4th-place finishes at the OUA Golf Championships in Waterloo, led by performances from Ela Jones (4th), Kobe Smith (T-9), and Willaim Dodd (T-9). 

The Gryphon field hockey team wrapped up their 2023 regular season schedule and will now take on the Western Mustangs in the OUA quarterfinal round on Wednesday night (Oct. 18) in Guelph. The Gryphon women’s rugby team also begins their postseason campaign this week, hosting the Brock Badgers in the conference semifinals on Saturday (Oct. 21). 

Several Gryphon teams continued exhibition play this past weekend, including the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams. The U of G women’s basketball team was in Calgary for the Calgary Cup Preseason Tournament while the men’s team made the trip to Ottawa for the Carleton House Laughton Preseason Tournament. With the Gryphon volleyball teams each hosting a pair of exhibition matches against the Mustangs and Badgers, the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre will only see one more preseason game before the start of the OUA volleyball season on November 3, 2023.
 

Gryphon Weekend Scoreboard

Saturday, October 14, 2023
 

Sunday, October 15, 2023