Records and awards mark successful season for SFU Athletics and Recreation

The fall semester 2024 saw significant successes and milestone achievements both on and off the field for SFU Athletics and Recreation. Many current and former SFU athletes achieved remarkable success and received recognition and acclaim in the form of awards and representation at the highest levels of competition.

Track and Field
Marie-Éloïse Leclair represented SFU and Canada at the Olympics in the women’s 4x100-metre relay, where she helped the Canadian team set a national record in the preliminaries, and then finished sixth in the final. Marie-Éloïse was also named Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) female athlete of the year following another stellar season representing SFU.

Volleyball
The volleyball team enjoyed an outstanding season in 2024, reaching the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history, and securing their best regular season finish in the league standings since joining the NCAA in 2010. Individually, Brooke Dexter was named GNAC Player of the Year, the first player in school history to earn this honour, was named All-Region, and received an Honourable Mention All-America. She also became the school’s NCAA-era kills leader, finishing her career with 1,304.

Soccer
The women’s soccer team delivered their best season ever, recording 14 wins overall during the season and winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament championship for the second consecutive year. The team also reached the NCAA Div. II Women’s Soccer Championship tournament for the second consecutive year.

Individually, Isabella Muzzolini was named GNAC co-Player of the Year, All-Region, and All-American, while Emily Smith was named GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-Region, and Dariella Lopez was named GNAC Freshman of the Year. It was also a memorable season for men’s soccer head coach Clint Schneider, who in November earned his 100th career win, all with SFU.

Cross Country
In the women’s cross country, Rachael Watkins finished 35 at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, earning NCAA All-America recognition.

Golf
The golf teams welcomed a new interim head coach in September, with Krysta Schaus taking on the role. Both the men’s and women’s teams secured wins in their first tournaments under the new coach - the Grisham Memorial Shootout at Saint Martin’s for the women and the SFU-hosted True North Classic for the men. That event saw SFU successfully host 13 women’s teams and eight men’s teams at Riverway in Burnaby. The SFU women’s team ended the fall portion of the 2024-25 schedule ranked 22 out of 184 NCAA Div. II women’s golf teams, while the men ranked 36 out of 200 NCAA Div. II men’s golf teams.

Basketball
In basketball, SFU successfully hosted the CCA Division II Canadian Tip-Off Classic (Nov. 1-3) in Langley, B.C. The tournament consisted of 12 teams from across North America, including SFU’s women’s and men’s teams. In the first part of the season, Sophia Wisotzki surpassed the 1,000-career points milestone and is currently ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in points per game.

This followed news earlier in the year that former SFU star basketball player Jessica Kaczowka was named to the Canada West Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023-24 . Canada West is the student athletics conference that SFU competed in during the peak of Kaczowka’s success for the team.

Swimming

The swimming program has seen a raft of new school records set among strong team performances. For the women’s team, Tori Meklensek has set three individual school records so far and is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in two events. The team has set five school records this year and is currently ranked No. 10 in NCAA Div. II. For the men’s team, Hayden Visscher has set three school records this season. The team has set five school records this year and is currently ranked No. 15 in NCAA Div. II.

Wrestling
In wrestling, the women’s team has performed well and goes into the break tied for ninth in the national team rankings. Four former SFU women’s wrestlers competed at the 2024 Olympics two representing Canada and two representing the USA, with Helen Maroulis winning bronze for the USA. On the men’s side, Patrik Leder finished 12 at the U23 World Championships in Albania in October.