BURLINGTON, Ont. – On Monday, March 2, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the major award winners for the 2025-26 track and field season, with four student-athletes from the Gryphons track and field program earning conference-wide honours.
Max Davies (OUA Men's Track Athlete of the Year),
Nicole McKenzie (OUA Women's Track Athlete of the Year),
Rebecca Parker (OUA Women's Field Athlete of the Year) and
Paige Zinger (OUA Women's Rookie of the Year) have been recognized for their outstanding performance throughout the course of the 2025-26 track and field season. The Gryphons track and field teams are set to compete at the 2026 U SPORTS Track & Field Championships this week, with the three-day national championship meet set to begin on Thursday, March 5 in Winnipeg.
Max Davies – OUA Men's Track Athlete of the Year
Max Davies for a third consecutive season has been named OUA Men's Track Athlete of the Year. The 22-year-old from Toronto contributed to another conference banner for Guelph at the 2026 OUA Track and Field Championships, where Davies took home an individual OUA gold medal in the men's 1500m while setting a new meet record in what was his lone competition at the conference championship meet. The University of Guelph management major also turned heads earlier in February south of the border during his performance at Boston University at the 2026 David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 13, where he set a new school and U SPORTS record in the 1500m. Davies set the new national record during the Mile race in Boston, where En Route cameras clocked his 1500m time at 3:37.27. Davies is currently the top-ranked U SPORTS runner in the men's 1500m, and the second-ranked U SPORTS runner in the men's 3000m.
Nicole McKenzie – OUA Women's Track Athlete of the Year
Nicole McKenzie takes home the OUA Women's Track Athlete of the Year award following a marvelous season which saw her etch her name into the Canadian record books. McKenzie, a fifth-year history major at the University of Guelph, set a new all-time Canadian record in the women's 600m while competing at the Penn State National Open on January 30, 2026, clocking in with a time of 1:26.95. McKenzie broke a record previously held by Aurora Rynda (All-American runner for the Michigan Wolverines) set in 2022. The time was also the fastest U SPORTS time recorded in the women's 600m. In the process, the 22-year-old from Mississauga broke her own school record in the women's 600m which she set at the Wolverine Invitational, while also setting a meet record and Michigan facility record in the process with a time of a 1:28.11. At the 2026 OUA Track and Field Championships in Toronto, Nicole took home a pair of gold medals, winning the women's 600m while also contributing to a win in the women's 4x200m relay. She also reached the auto standard mark in the women's 300m with a time of 37.85. McKenzie becomes the second Gryphon to be named OUA Women's Track Athlete of the Year with Cameron Ormond being the first to take home the award in 2023-24.
Rebecca Parker – OUA Women's Field Athlete of the Year
Rebecca Parker, for a second consecutive season, has been named the OUA Women's Field Athlete of the Year. The Windsor native continues to reach new heights during the indoor track and field season. Parker had an all-world performance in the women's pentathlon at the 2026 OUA Track and Field Championships, winning gold in the discipline and setting a new OUA women's pentathlon record with a score of 4234 points. Parker also broke the women's pentathlon record in the 60m hurdles (8.39s) and long jump (6.03m) in her gold medal winning performance. The criminal justice and public policy major at the University of Guelph also took home a gold medal in the women's long jump and took home the Dr. Wendy Jerome Trophy as the most valuable performer of the meet. Parker's incredible season sees her in four events at nationals after reaching the U SPORTS auto standard mark in the women's pentathlon, long jump, 60m hurdles and high jump. For Parker, a fifth-year track athlete, she becomes the first Gryphon to win back-to-back OUA Women's Field Athlete of the Year awards.
Paige Zinger – OUA Women's Rookie of the Year
Paige Zinger has impressed in her first season with the Gryphons track and field program and has been recognized as the 2025-26 OUA Rookie of the Year. Zinger had an outstanding showing in her first OUA Track and Field Championships in Toronto. The Red Deer, Alberta native took home the silver medal in the women's pentathlon as she scored 3,867 points in the five-event competition. The point total for Zinger would place her into the Canadian record books with the 7th-best U20 points total in Canadian history in the women's pentathlon. The human kinetics major has also reached the auto standard mark at nationals in the women's high jump with a height of 1.71m. This marks the third consecutive year that a Gryphon has been named OUA Women's Rookie of the Year.
