Wallaceburg Sports Hall of Fame event coming up

hall of fame

The Wallaceburg Sports Hall of Fame is set to hold their annual dinner and induction ceremony on Saturday, January 30.

Anyone interested in purchasing tickets to the event can do so from any Sports Hall of Fame member or at Kim Murray Insurance, located at 30 McNaughton Ave. Tickets cost $65.

Doors open at 5 p.m. and the dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. and is being held at the UAW Hall in Wallaceburg.

Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jesse Barfield is set to be the guest speaker at the event.

Here is a list of all the Hall of Fame inductees this here: Wallaceburg Sports Hall of Fame 2016 inductees

Here are the biographies for the annual award winners:

2015 Athlete of the year: Jordan Durston

In 2015 Jordan played Jr “A” Lacrosse for Six Nations and helped them win in the Canadian Championship and the Minto Cup for the second consecutive year.

Jordan played 19 games during league play scoring 24 goals and 40 assists for 64 points, second on the team. In the playoffs he played 13 games, scoring 19 goals with 28 assists for 47 points.

After the season ended, Jordan was drafted in the 2nd round of the National Lacrosse League by the Vancouver Stealth. In October, Jordan signed a contract with Vancouver.

Jordan played seven years of junior lacrosse for the Red Devils and Six Nations, playing 204 games, scoring 329 goals and 433 assists for a total of 762 points.

Jordan won a silver medal with the 2009 Team Ontario midgets. He was named MVP for the Red Devils in 2001 and Chatham-Kent Athlete of the week in 2012.

Jordan also played five years of Junior ‘C’ Hockey, mainly on defence for the Lakers, Blenheim Blades and the Dresden Kings. His hockey totals were 136 games played scoring 37 goals and 74 assists for 113 points.

Jordan also played football for the Wallaceburg Tartans and was named a Kent All-Star helping the Tartans win back-to-back SWOSSAA-AA Championships, WOSSA & Western Bowl Champions.

Outstanding Achievement Award: Brandon Donkers

In 2014, playing offence and 2015 playing on defence, Brandon helped the Windsor AKO Fratman Jr. Football Team win the Ontario Junior Football Conference Championship in consecutive years.

In 2015 playing defence, Brandon helped the AKO Team go undefeated while playing linebacker and the defence allowed the lowest number of points in the league.

In 2014, Brandon playing offence led the OFC in rushing with 999 yards and was named to the Ontario Conference 1st All-Star Team.

In September, Brandon was named player of the week when he carried the ball 24 times for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns. As a result of his performance Brandon was invited to the CFL Combine held in April 2015 in Toronto. Players were tested on the bench press, 40 yard dash, jump and three cone drills. Brandon tied for the fastest 40 yard dash with a time of 4.69.

Previously Brandon played for the Okanagan Sun in the Western Junior Football League. In 2012 and 2013 he was named Top Linebacker with the Okanagan Sun with 58 tackles, 22 assisted tackles, and 4 interceptions. His performance earned him an invitation to B.C Lions Training Camp.

While at WDSS, Brandon was a Kent All-Star and named Kent Senior Football Offensive MVP in 2009. In 2009, Brandon played for the Sarnia Lions and was named Offensive MVP.

Coach of the Year Award: Rory Smith, Chris Baertsoen and Mike Lane are co-winners

Rory Smith – In 2015, Rory coached the Wallaceburg Griffins to the Ontario Lacrosse Association Novice “D” Championship. Wallaceburg defeated London 11-1, Nepean 8-3, losing to the Toronto Stars 7-5, then rebounded with a 13-3 win oer Oshawa. The Griffins beat Barrie in the semi-finals 8-5, setting up the championship game with Kitchener-Waterloo. Wallaceburg defeated Kitchener-Waterloo in the championship game with a goal in the third OT sudden death period 6-5.

Chris Baertsoen – In 2015 Chris coached the Wallaceburg Sting to the Western Ontario Soccer League first Division Cup. The Sting finished third in league play with a record of 9 wins, 7 losses and 2 ties. In the playoffs the Sting defeated the London White Eagles “A” by a score of 3-1. Next, they defeated the 2nd place Croatia “B” team by a score of 3-1. This set up the chance to win the cup with a victory over the Simcoe Thunder who had just eliminated the 1st place London Portuguese squad. Wallaceburg defeated Simcoe 5 -2 winning the First Division Cup for the first time since 1999.

Mike Lane – In 2015, Mike coached the Port Lambton Rookie Baseball Team to the Ontario Baseball Association “D” Championship. The Pirates won the final do-or-die game 8-0 against Woodslee. Heading into the finals Woodslee had to defeat Port Lambton twice. In the first game Woodslee defeated Port Lambton 7-4 setting up the dramatic final game. The Pirates had wins over Woodslee, Delhi and St. Mary’s during the tournament.

Builder of the Year: Yvette Bowsher

In 2015 the Ontario Federation Secondary Athletic Association award was presented to Yvette for Leadership in school sports for the second time. The award was given to a teacher-coach for showing leadership, dedication, good values and contributing to athletes.

In 2015 Yvette was an organiser of the 2015 OFSAA Girls Soccer Championship Tournament held in Wallaceburg and at the time she coached the W.D.S.S Girls teams to a record of two wins, two lossed and a tie.

Yvette started coaching in 1989 and has been coaching for 27 years. Mainly at WDSS, Yvette plays an important role at WDSS as a teacher-coach while mentoring students in her position as head of student services.

Some of her highlights include winning Kent Championships and qualifying for OFSSA in girls soccer, reaching the quarter finals.

Yvette considers WDSS her home and Wallaceburg her community.

Yvette was a standout athlete at WDSS in a number of sports. Yvette was also a key member of the Wallaceburg Hummers Ladies Slow Pitch Team winning provincial championships in 1989 and 1990 and the Canadian Championship in 1990. Yvette is also involved in the Wallaceburg community working with a number of groups.

Ray Aarssen Sports Hall of Fame Scholarship for 2015: Alyssa Lucier

Alyssa has just completed an outstanding athletic career at WDSS and is now playing for the University of Manitoba women’s basketball team. Alyssa made the team in her first year and to date she is averaging 5.3 points per game and playing an average of over 20 minutes per game.

At WDSS, Alyssa played multi-sports and excelled in basketball, volleyball, soccer, track and field and curling. Alyssa earned eight MVP awards in these sports and received seven All-Star awards combined in basketball and volleyball. Alyssa was also recognized as WDSS outstanding female of the year.

Alyssa won the Brad Lightfoot Award which goes to the WDSS graduating student who has had success academically and athletically as well as made significant contributions to the school. She reached high academic levels earning 91% average for all high school credits.

Alyssa was also a WDSS nominee for the Dr. Jack Parry Award.

Alyssa was SAA co-president, served on the student council, officiated countless athletic events, and volunteered for numerous fundraising events: car washes, BBQ’s, yard sales and the Big Bike for the Heart and Stroke.

Alyssa is now studying criminology at the University of Manitoba.

The Ray Aarssen Family and the Sports Hall of Fame have joined together to create this scholarship. The individual must be a recent graduate of WDSS who is attending a university or college. During their time at WDSS they must have been involved in school activities and athletics while maintaining high marks.


– Photo: From left, Jordan Durston (Ward Laforme Jr. Photo), Brandon Donkers (Photo from Facebook), Yvette Bowser (Photo from Facebook) and Alyssa Lucier (Sydenham Current Photo.)

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