Wilfrid Laurier athletics inducts 2 football players & 1961 team into Hall of Fame

WATERLOO, Ont. (June 8, 2011) This fall, the Wilfrid Laurier University Department of Athletics and Recreation Hall of Fame will see six new members inducted into the hall as the 2011 induction class.

The induction ceremony is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 30 in the Senate and Board Chamber.

During Homecoming weekend, four athletes, one builder and one team will have their names etched into Golden Hawk’s history. This years athlete inductees are Meaghan McGrath from women’s basketball, Yannick Carter and Jesse Alexander from football and Ashley Stephenson from women’s hockey. Inducted into the builders category will be alumnus Arthur Stephen, former Vice-President: University Advancement, and into the teams category, the 1961 football team.

Carter, one of two football players in this year’s class, was an integral member of the Golden Hawks championship teams in 2004 and 2005. In his second season with the team, Carter recorded 24.5 total tackles, three forced fumbles, one sack and one interception as Laurier posted their first 8-0 season in team history and captured their first Yates Cup in 13 years. In 2005, the linebacker was named an OUA Second Team All-Star as the Golden Hawks captured both the Yates Cup and the Vanier Cup, only the second the school history. Carter would finish his career by posting career-highs in total tackles, solo tackles and assisted tackles while leading the nation in sacks, earning OUA First Team All-Star and CIS First Team All-Canadian honours in 2006.

Alexander joins Carter, his former teammate, as the third member of the 2011 class. An excellent linebacker during his five year career (2002 to 2006) wit h the Golden Hawks, Alexander made a name for himself in 2004 when he set then-career highs in total tackles, solo tackles, assisted tackled, sacks and interceptions en route to helping Laurier win the Yates Cup. Following the season, he was named an OUA First Team All-Star and CIS Second Team All-Canadian. In 2005, Alexander was once again a key member of the Golden Hawks defence that shutdown opponents week in and week out as Laurier won their first Vanier Cup since 1991. Returning for his fifth and final season, Alexander finished fourth in the nation in tackles, earning OUA First Team All-Star and CIS First Team All-Canadian honours. As an added bonus, Alexander was named the recipient of the President’s Trophy as the top male athlete at Laurier following the season.

The 1961 football t eam enters the hall of fame with the distinction of producing the first provincial championship in school history. Coached by Bob Celeri, the team competed in the Ontario Intercollegiate Athletic Association against Ryerson Institute of Technology (RIT), Royal Military College (RMC) and Hamilton Institute of Technology (HIT). From their opening contest, the team showed themselves to be the class of the conference, winning their first five contests by a combined score of 199-25. In their final game of the season, the team tied RIT 14-14 but their previous success was more than enough to help them earn the title of champions.