It was at long last that our club was able to hold its annual Year End Celebration and Awards Banquet on December 7, 2021. With a diminished competitive season and Covid restrictions in 2020, this year inched a little closer to normal, so the marking of the many achievements of our members was in order. The evening took place at the Royal Canadian Legion on Oakland Avenue in London, with a meal catered by Marshall’s Pasta followed by the presentation of awards for club record breakers, highlights of the year, and age group athlete of the year winners.
Also on the agenda for the event was the recognition of throws coach John Allan, for his 30 years of contributions to our club. John retired from coaching at the end of 2019 but due to the pandemic, we were unable to mark this occasion with the attention it deserved until now. Sylvia Kontra presented him with a commemorative plaque, in gratitude for all that he has done for the sport of track & field and the London Western TFC.
Below is a list of the many achievements of the year, along with the winners of athlete of the year for each age division. Thank you to all who made the event possible and to those who attended. Additional photos from the evening can be found in the Gallery on the club website.
Athlete-of-the-Year Winners
U14 Male—Sam McClelland
U14 Female—Jenna Tunks
U16 Male Track—Francis Hinnah
U16 Female Track—Kaitlyn Koyanagi
U16 Male Field—Dylan Johnson
U16 Female Field—Julia Tunks
U18 Male Track—Aiden Coles
U18 Female Track—Jadyn Luna
U18 Male Field—Stephen Davis
U18 Female Field—Daniella Beckett
U20 Male Track—Zach McPhee
U20 Female Track—Jalen Marcil
U20 Male Field—Owen McDonald
U20 Female Field—Liv Sands
Open Male Track—Mike Tate
Open Female Track—Joy SpearChief-Morris
Open Male Field—Mark Bujnowski
Open Female Field—Caroline Ehrhardt
XC Male—Aiden Coles
XC Female—Jalen Marcil
Most Improved Male—Ian McAllister
Most Improved Female—Ella Caponcini
Overall Male—Damian Warner
Overall Female—Julia Tunks
AO Outdoors
U18 Team Champions—5 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze
U20, 3rd place team—4 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Open/Para & U18/Open Combined Events, 3rd place team—4 Gold, 5 Silver, 1 Bronze
U18 Provincial Record, Decathlon—Stephen Davis, 6520 points
U16—2 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze
NXT—7 Gold, 7 Silver, 6 Bronze
Masters—1 Silver
Canadian Record, M45 Discus—Jason Tunks, 49.19m
AC Outdoors
Olympic/Paralympic Trials—5 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
#1 club in Canada!!
International
Hypo-Meeting, Gotzis Austria
Damian Warner—6 time champion
8995 points—Canadian Record
8.28m—Canadian Record
Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020
Damian Warner—Gold Medal
9018 points—Olympic and Canadian Record
4th person to break the 9000 point barrier
AO Cross Country
U18 Boys Team Champions
Open Men Team Champions
Jeremy Coughler, Open Men—Gold Medal
Heath McAllister, U18 Boys—Silver Medal
AC Cross Country
U18 Boys Team Champions
Open Men Team, Bronze Medal
Aiden Coles, U18 Boys—Gold Medal
Heath McAllister, U18 Boys—Silver Medal
Club Records
Phil Parrot-Migas, Open Men, Half-Marathon, 1:03:53, 01/19/2020
Liv Sands, U18 Girls, Hammer, 45.94m, 09/28/2020
Chris Balestrini, Open Men, Marathon, 2:17:05, 10/04/2020
Jack Sheffar, Open Men, 1500m, 3:43.49, 02/26/2021
Mike Tate, Open Men, 1500m, 3:41.22, 05/29/2021
Open Men, 5000m, 13:35.96, 06/09/2021
Julia Tunks, U18 Girls, Shot Put, 14.88m, 08/08/2021
U18 Girls, Discus, 52.80m*, 04/16/2021
*pending Canadian Record
Aiden Coles, U18 Boys, 1500m, 3:52.77, 07/30/2021
Stephen Davis, U18 Boys, High Jump, 1.96m, 07/18/2021
U18 Boys, Decathlon, 6579 points**, 09/19/2021
**Canadian Record
Connor Black, Open Men, 3000m, 8:06.88, 06/29/2021
Josh Mather, Open Men, Javelin, 72.36m, 05/14/2021
Damian Warner, Open Men, Long Jump, 8.28m**, 05/29/2021
Open Men, 100m, 10.12, 08/04/2021
Open Men, Decathlon, 9018 points**+, 08/05/2021
+Olympic Record
Outstanding Achievements
Caroline Ehrhardt, Open Women, Triple Jump, 9th National Title and Gold Medal
Mike Tate, Open Men, 5000m, Gold Medal
Mark Bujnowski, Open Men, Shot Put, Gold Medal
Damian Warner, Open Men, Long Jump and 110m Hurdles, Gold Medal
Jenna Tunks, U14 Girls, Shot Put, 12.22m, Ontario Record
U14 Girls, Discus, 40.42m, Ontario Record (World Best for 11-year-old)
Chris Balestrini, Open Men, 50km Road, 2:48:32, Canadian Record
11 AO All-Ontarians—Aiden Coles, Daniella Beckett, Marcel Scheele, Mark Bujnowski,
Owen McDonald, Stephen Davis, Zach McPhee, Jason Tunks, Jenna Tunks,
Julia Tunks, Damian Warner