Ryleigh Elliott (Trent) - Gold medallist with OUA championship trophy. (submitted photo)
Owen Sound North Stars graduates Ryleigh Elliott, Amberly Flood, and their Trent Excalibur teammates, captured the gold medal at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women’s Field Lacrosse Championships over the weekend at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo.
The Excalibur defeated the Queen’s Golden Gaels by a score of 8-4 in the gold medal game. Trent entered the championships as the top ranked team after a dominant regular season which saw them lose only once in the eight-game regular season.
Former North Stars Kennedy Coughlin, Tara Meikle and Kenna McKee earned silver medals with the Golden Gaels. Meikle had an outstanding championship game, scoring three of the Gaels four goals. Queen’s was looking to defend their 2024 title but ultimately, they were unable to upset the regular season champion Excalibur.
The bronze medal game saw three North Stars alumni facing off against each other, as Kirsten Sutter, Claire Vokes and the Guelph Gryphons defeated Madeline Linklater and the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks 10-8 to finish on the podium. Along with her bronze medal, Sutter earned individual honours as the OUA Most Valuable Defender and was named an OUA All-Star.
In the final placing game on Sunday, the Western Mustangs defeated the Brock Badgers 12-5 claiming 5th place. Former North Star Reese Wilkins led the Mustangs offence with four goals. Wilkins, along with her Western teammates, and Owen Sound grads, Courtney Scott, Leisl Stata and Emma Bryan, saw their chance at a higher finish dashed when they suffered a narrow 13-12 loss to Laurier in their quarter-final match. North Stars alum Ariawna Mcneil is a member of the Badgers.
Michelle Kocher and the McMaster Marauders opened the tournament with an upset win over the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks but a second-round loss to Trent eliminated them from contention.
*Editor’s note: This article was submitted to Bayshore Sports.