The 2026 London Sports Hall of Fame class has a Western coaching flavour. Legendary former head football coach and player Greg Marshall and former Olympic wrestler Ray Takahashi are among this year’s inductees. The two are joined by the university’s 1971-78 women’s volleyball teams, which won seven consecutive OUA titles, former NHL player Dave Hutchison, para-swimming star Marie Claire Bilyk (Ross) and late wheelchair basketball organizer Paul Bowes. Marshall – who retired just months ago – won 12 Yates Cup titles as a player and coach as well as a pair of Vanier Cup championships. He would also go onto win a Grey Cup title in the CFL. Takahashi went to the Olympics three times as a wrester and captured the Commonwealth and Pan Am games gold medals before becoming the Western University coach for more than 30 years. The Women’s volleyball team won the Ontario title seven years in a row and won three national titles under coaches Joy Taylor and Fran Wigston Eberhard. Former London Knight Dave Hutchison played nearly 600 games in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, Kings, Devils and Blackhawks. He’s been active ever since in a number of alumni games and associations as well as doing charity work. Bilyk has achieved massive success in the pool winning four medals at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, and then another two gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics. Her golds in the 200m medley and 100m breaststroke were world records. Bowes, who passed away earlier this year, was a well-known coach in the wheelchair basketball world. He guided Canada to gold medals in three straight Paralympics from 2000-2012. The hall of fame induction ceremony will be held Nov. 5 at the Hellenic Centre. RBC Canadian Open Qualifier There could be as many as five golfers from southwestern Ontario in the field at the RBC Canadian Open. Corey Conners and Mike Weir already have their spots locked in but there are three players vying for a place in the field at this weekend’s final qualifier. Local professionals Thomas Code (London Hunt and Country Club), Cam Kellett (The Oaks) and Peyton Callens (PGA Tour Americas) are all in the field at the Pulpit Club in Caledon on Sunday. Code (Dorchester) won the first RBC Canadian Open Regional Qualifier at Lookout Point Country Club in Fonthill, Ont. He was the lone player under par and recorded two birdies to finish atop the leaderboard. He also is into the final stage of qualifying for the US Open. “It would be awesome to get in,” said Code, who now plays less tournaments while working a 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. job. His dream has been to play at PGA Tour event. “You want to play your best to represent your own National Open, which would be great. It’s unfortunate they took away the exemption category away to get right in, but still awesome to have the chance to try and qualify,” he said. Kellett, who played the 2024 Canadian Open as an amateur, also made his way into the final qualifier through Fonthill. He finished runner-up to Code. “There’s nothing like it,” said Kellett when asked about his experience in 2024. “It’s what you dream of as a kid and what you believe you can do all the time. It was nice to be able to have that experience so early in my career and, know what it takes to kind of get there. The Pulpit is a really tough club, and you’ve got to get hit golf shots there. If you grind it out all day and shoot a few under par it gives you a chance,” he continued. Callens, a Langton, Ont. native has made seven of 14 cuts in his career on PGA Tour Americas. OFSAA Week The Medway Cowboys boys Rugby team kicked off OFSAA week with a bang winning a bronze medal. The fourth-seeded Cowboys knocked off Streetsville (2) 12-7 Wednesday morning to win the title. The St. Joseph’s Rams are coming home from the OFSAA baseball tournament in Windsor as consolation champions. The Rams went 0-2 in pool play but made their way through the consolation bracket beating AN Myer 8-7 to win. It’s a busy next few days with OFSAA soccer, girls’ rugby and track and field taking place Thursday through Saturday. LDCSB elementary athletics More than 5,000 elementary students from London, Middlesex County, Elgin County and Oxford County participated in the London and District Catholic School Board (LCDSB) annual track and field meet this week. Held annually since 1957, it’s an opportunity for students to participate in events at a large venue at Western University’s Alumni Stadium. It allows as many kids as possible to compete regardless of ability. “Over these three days it’s just kind of the culmination,” said Graham Gress, recreation supervisor with LDCSB. “We have three finals set. It’s divided A-day for the larger size schools, B-day for medium and C-day for smaller schools. We have first through fourth that get ribbons and can be announced on the podium. First through sixth earn points for their schools and at the end of the day, we announce a school winner.”
