Honourable Mentions
Steven Bielby’s last lap:
McGill graduates one of their most storied athletes in recent memory, as swimmer Steven Bielby’s career comes to a close. Over his five-year career, Bielby amassed 13 CIS medals—eight golds, one silver and four bronzes.
McCuaig the Rhodes Scholar:
Cross country star and science senior Sarah McCuaig embodied the true spirit of a student athlete when she became the 13th McGill athlete to be anointed the illustrious Rhodes Scholar.
McGill football winless no more:
The streak is over. Redmen football finally snapped their winless streak against both CIS and RSEQ competition. To go along with this, rookie Shaquille Johnson claimed CIS Rookie of the Year honours, and the team advanced to the playoffs, before bowing out after a hard-fought loss to eventual national championship winners Laval Rouge-et-Or.
McGill skiers shred the slopes:
David Apap won McGill’s first individual RSEQ men’s title since 2005, while Allene Kennedy came third in the RSEQ scoring race.
5 – Grand’Maison claims three medals in London
McGill swimmer Valérie Grand’Maison participated at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. She won gold in the 200IM visually impaired class in world record time. She also claimed silvers in the 50m and 100m freestyle. Grand’Maison won six medals at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, including three golds.
4 – Baseball national championship run
Baseball shook off a slow start to the season to advance to a semifinal national championship appearance. Struggling at the beginning, and losing their first four of five, McGill peaked at the right time. The team swept their divisional semifinal against Ottawa, and repeated the performance in the finals versus Carleton. Their Cinderella comeback story was finally stalled in the national semifinal, when they met St. Clair College, dropping the game 4-2.
3 – Rugby redemption
Scandal marred the first half of the Redmen’s rugby season. Forced to forfeit their first four matches of the year—all victories—due to an ineligible player, the team needed to piece together wins in all of their remaining matches to qualify for the playoffs. In typical Redmen rugby fashion, they did, sweeping through all of their remaining competition to capture their seventh consecutive RSEQ championship.
2 – Basketball heads of the RSEQ
What a year for the hoopsters. McGill basketball dominated all year in a tough RSEQ division to claim the men’s and women’s RSEQ banners and a pair of national championship berths. Martlet Miriam Sylla was particularly strong throughout and her performance earned her a CIS Rookie of the Year award.
At nationals, both teams fought for the respect they deserved around the country. Both dropped exciting first-round matchups to gain the opportunity to fight for a consolation fifth-placed finish and a chance to play on Sunday. Both teams succeeded in this quest, snagging for themselves, and all of McGill, a pair of consolation finals wins.
1 – Lacrosse breaks through
In unbelievable fashion, the Redmen finally vanquished their national championship disappointments and claimed the very first lacrosse national banner for McGill. The Redmen swept all competition in the tournament, and captain Jishan Sharples scored the game-winning overtime goal in the national championship game. This was a long time coming for McGill, who had made it to the finals before, but had never won. They will now look to avoid complacency and to establish a dynasty.
