Sayal named Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit recipient in OUA Awards

London, ON – For the second day in a row, the Western Mustangs are well represented as the OUA announced their year end awards. This time it’s the Men’s Volleyball class which includes 4 Mustangs student athletes.

Graduating senior Amit Sayal was recognized as the Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit winner for the West Conference. The Mustangs team captain was a focal point of the Mustangs attack, finishing 11th in the conference with his 230, but epitimizes what Western wants their student athletes to be as a leader in the classroom and community. The perennial academic all-Canadian has been a mainstay on the dean’s honour roll, is the recipient of the Western Scholarship of Excellence, and is the only Kinesiology student of the 2022 graduating class that was accepted into the Scholars Electives Program.

“One of, if not the best, student- athlete to ever represent Western Men’s Volleyball. He encompasses all the qualities and integrity of this prestigious award and sets an incredible example to his team members and coaches.” said Jim Sage, Mustangs Men’s Volleyball Head Coach.

The health science major from Richmond Hill has been involved with a number of initiatives on campus and within the community. Sayal started his team’s annual blood drive and organized two years of the Bell Let’s Talk campaign for the Western volleyball contingent. He also started Mustangs in the House, a program for high school and rep athletes in the area to teach them about the benefits of becoming a varsity athlete. Sayal is also part of the Student Athletic Mentorship Program (SAMP) at Western, and he is volunteering with STEM2STERN, a charitable organization that teaches underprivileged youth life skills through woodworking and construction.

Three Mustangs were recognized among the All-Star and All-Rookie list. Jackson Bere was named a 1st team All-Star for his 3rd time, Josiah Esau was named a 2nd Team All-Star & Jonah Millard was named to the All-Rookie Team.

“Jackson and Josiah had great years through all the adversity and represent the talent and hard work they put in all the time.  They also recognize they accomplish nothing without their teammates.” said Sage.

The complete list of 2021-22 OUA men’s volleyball award winners and all-stars is as follows:

East Division Most Valuable Player – Erik Siksna, Queen’s
Rookie of the Year – Jacob Walker, Rams
Coach of the Year – Steve Leknois, RMC
Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit – Dan Everton, York

West Division Most Valuable Player – Logan House, Brock
Rookie of the Year – Maxime Gratton, McMaster
Coach of the Year – Dave Preston, McMaster
Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit – Amit Sayal, Western

All-Stars

East Division

First Team
Erik Siksna, Queen’s
Jackson Young, Nipissing
Zane Grossinger, Toronto
Evan Falardeau, Toronto
Andrew Tauhid, York
Lachlan McBride, Queen’s
Lhexen Rabit, Rams

Second Team
Mitchell Neuert, Toronto
Lukas Kaufman, Queen’s
Michael Rowsell, RMC
Tyrus Cuculick, Nipissing, 
Saad Shaikh, Rams
Cole Duncanson, Queen’s
Daniel Tudor, Toronto

All-Rookies
Jacob Walker, Rams
Cole Duncanson, Queen’s
Jasraj Nijjar, York
Hunter Arulpragasam, Toronto
Thomas Wrigley, Nipissing
Lucas Yang, Rams
Adam Reid, RMC

West Division

First Team
Logan House, Brock
Sam Cooper, McMaster
Jonathan Pickett, Guelph
Jackson Bere, Western
Jordan Pereira, McMaster
Liam MacArthur, Waterloo
Steven Abrams, Windsor

Second Team
Mateusz Wlodarski, McMaster
Grant Reddon, Brock
Colm Guyn, Waterloo
Dami Alalade, Windsor
Wojtek Kraj, McMaster
Josiah Esau, Western
Ben Kissack, Guelph

All-Rookies
Maxime Gratton, McMaster
Liam MacArthur, Waterloo
Robbie Fujisawa, McMaster
Jonah Millard, Western
Gustavo Siqueira, Windsor
Jacob Ferland, Brock
Joshua Glasbergen, Guelph