Stephenson finishes behind volleyball star
By Jim Parker,
Windsor Star
Daryl Stephenson may have been a victim of age.
The 21-year-old star running back for the University of Windsor Lancers football did not win the 15th BLG Award as Canada’s top university male athlete.
In a four-man field where the other three nominees were each in their fifth season of eligibility, the third-year student watched the award go to Trinity Western University volleyball player Josh Howatson Monday in Calgary.
“The fact he’s only in his third year may have been a factor,” Lancers head coach Mike Morencie said.
“We thought about that when we nominated him.”
The law firm Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) established the award in 1993. The winner is selected by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, which is a not-for-profit board established to protect the integrity of the selection process.
“The shame of it is that he can’t be nominated again,” Lancers athletic director Gord Grace said.
But it was a hard year to pass up the six-foot-two, 232-pound record breaking running back.
The London native became the first CIS player to record 1,000 yards rushing in each of his first three seasons.
On top of that, he won his second straight CIS rushing title with 1,140 yards en route to winning the Hec Crighton Award as Canadian university football’s most valuable player.
“It’s been a pretty significant year for him,” Morencie said of Stephenson, who won the Olympic Shield as the University of Windsor’s top male athlete.
“As disappointing as it is, it’s still been a great year.”
In three short seasons, Stephenson has moved into 10th on the all-time CIS rushing list with 3,638 yards and is on track to shatter the mark of 4,695 held by Manitoba’s Dominic Zagari.
