The York University Lions track & field team earned 18 top three finishes at its annual Xmas Open meet at the Toronto Track & Field Centre on Saturday.
The women’s team put up six finishes in the top three, while the men recorded 12.
The most impressive performances of the day came from thrower Cynthia Appiah, who won a pair of gold medals in the weight throw and the shot put. She won the weight throw with a personal-best distance of 18.43 metres, breaking the 18-metre mark for the first time and finishing nearly four metres further than the second-place athlete and 36 
centimetres better than the previous best mark at York. She was also impressive in the shot put, winning with a throw of 13.95 metres, more than two metres better than the rest of the field.
Appiah wasn’t the only York athlete to set a new school record as fellow thrower Umar Khan accomplished the feat in the men’s shot put event with a toss of 17.67 metres. His winning throw was more than two metres further than the rest of the competition. More details on the York Lions website.
Men’s hockey Lions stun Hawks with third-period comeback
Second-year forward Jordan Forfar netted the game winner with less than three minutes left to lead the York University Lions men’s hockey team to a 4-3 comeback victory over the host Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks at Sun Life Arena on Saturday night.
After dropping two early goals to the Hawks in the first period and another in the second, the Lions’ uphill battle saw them head into the third trailing 3-2. But clutch goals by defenceman John de Gray and Forfar completed the come-from-behind win and gave the Lions an important two points in the standings.
Forfar finished the night with three points to lead all players on the ice. For the Lions, it was their ninth win of the season and they head into the December break with a 9-7-0 record for sixth place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West. More details.
Two nights earlier, the Lions lost a high-scoring contest to the No. 6 nationally ranked Western Mustangs, falling 10-5 at Canlan Ice Sports.
The Mustangs led from start to finish, as centres Matt Clarke and Julian Cimadamore contributed hat-tricks to lead their team to the lopsided victory.
Lions freshman forward Michael Santini continued his solid play of late, adding another two goals to his total. Evan Gravenor and Mackenzie Micks also had two points each with a pair of assists. More details.
Men’s basketball Lions rally from 17 points down to top Gryphons
Rookie forward Daniel Tulloch drained the winning basket with 0.9 seconds remaining to lead the York University Lions men’s basketball team to a 95-94 comeback victory over the University of Guelph Gryphons Friday night at W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre.
Tulloch’s basket capped a furious fourth-quarter comeback that saw the Lions erase a 17-point deficit after getting outscored in each of the first three quarters. Trailing 83-70 after three, the Lions put together an explosive fourth frame, outscoring the Gryphons 25-11 for the exciting victory.
Tulloch finished with 15 points in the game, going 5-of-7 from the floor, and added four rebounds and three steals. More details.
The Lions could not carry that momentum into their game the following night, falling by a score of 93-58 to the Lakehead University Thunderwolves.
The two squads were tied at 22-22 after the first quarter of play, but the Thunderwolves pulled ahead after that and didn’t look back handing the Lions their most lopsided defeat of the season.
The result drops the Lions to 4-4 on the year, and they are currently in sixth place in the very-competitive Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East Division standings. More details.
Three wrestling Lions win medals at Queen’s Open
Three members of the York University Lions wrestling team won medals at the Queen’s Open on Sunday in Kingston.
The best finishes on the men’s side came from Greg Pierzchala and Vanja Vojvodic, who each won silver medals in their respective weight divisions. Pierzchala finished in second place in the 72-kg division, falling to Zane Vondervan of the University of Guelph Gryphons in the final, while Vojvodic posted the same result in the 82-kg division after being defeated by Guelph’s DJ Webb in the final.
Teammate Alex Ashbourne earned a fourth-place finish in the 76-kg division.
Team Assistant Coach Miyuu Yamamoto continued her stellar season on the mat with another gold-medal performance, winning the 51-kg division. More details.
Warriors top women’s hockey Lions in shootout
The York University Lions women’s hockey team dropped a 2-1 shootout decision to the University of Waterloo Warriors on Sunday afternoon at the Columbia Icefield arena.
The first period saw the Lions jump all over the Warriors, as they created many scoring opportunities and outshot Waterloo 8-2. However, they were unable to solve Warriors netminder Rebecca Bouwhuis and the game remained scoreless heading into the second frame.
The second period was quiet in many categories, including penalty minutes and shots on net. However, it was the Warriors managed to break through and tally the game’s first goal, as freshman forward Rebecca Rutherford fired a shot past Lions goalie Megan Lee to make it 1-0 midway through the frame. More details.
One day earlier, the Lions were defeated by a score of 3-1 by the No. 6 nationally ranked Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks in their 2012 home finale.
The first period saw mostly physical hockey from each team, as both the Lions and the Hawks traded penalties. The Hawks picked up the period’s only goal on 4-on-4 play at 10:24 of the frame when Devon Skeats beat Lee low in the corner on a play that looked as though Lee already had covered the puck, but saw no whistle. Jessie Hurrell earned an assist on the goal. More details.
Thunderwolves edge women’s basketball Lions with late final basket
The York University Lions women’s basketball team was defeated by the Lakehead University Thunderwolves by a score of 77-75 in Thunder Bay Saturday night on a basket by Ayse Kalkan with 29 seconds remaining on the clock.
Kalkan gave the Thunderwolves the victory when she drained a jump shot as time winded down, which put Lakehead up 76-75. Kelsey Bardsley later hit a free throw to seal the win.
The Lions led the contest after three periods, by a score of 54-51, but were topped down the stretch. They had jumped out to an early 21-12 lead after the first quarter, but the Thunderwolves chipped away at the deficit throughout the rest of the game and earned their third win of the season to improve to 3-4. The Lions fell to 1-7 with the loss. More details.
One night earlier, the Lions fell to the University of Guelph Gryphons by a score of 73-48.
The Lions’ chief point-getter was Cyrielle Recoura, who went 4-for-12 in the field and sunk both her foul shot attempts to lead the Lions with 10 points. Nadia Qahwash, who was also 4-for-12 from the field, added nine points of her own with a foul shot. Taylor Ross posted five defensive rebounds to lead the defence.
The Lions kept close to the Gryphons throughout the first half, trailing just 16-15 at the end of the first and 32-29 at the end of the second. But a tough third quarter saw them register just six points against the Gryphons’ 24, and the Lions entered the final quarter chasing the Gryphons from 21 points behind at 56-35. More details.