Each day for 10 days the York University Athletics & Recreation Department will be honouring the Lions student-athletes who are graduating at the end of this season. These student-athletes have been tremendous contributors to our varsity community and will be missed by their teams, coaches, administrators and fellow Lions. We congratulate them for all of their accomplishments at York and we wish them the very best in their future endeavours.
Abdiaziz Ali
Ali joined the Lions in 2016 as a middle distance runner and has improved his times each year throughout his career. He represented York three times at the OUA championships, running in the 600m, 1000m and on the 4x800m relay teams. His best individual finish was a ninth-place result in the 1000m at the OUA meet. He also competed at the national meet twice, including a ninth-place result in the 600m in 2019. He will earn his degree in international development studies.
Corey Braithwaite
Braithwaite's commitment and determination to the sport showed throughout his five years at York. He has shown his love for athletics and shown he is a student of the sport. With hard work, he was able to improve his performances year over year while growing as a student and an athlete. During his time at York, he continually encouraged his teammates and was always available to lend a hand in any way he could, including serving as the team's equipment manager for two seasons. He will graduate with a degree in sociology.
Jason Clare
York has a long history of talented pole vaulters and Clare is the program's most recent success. He came to York in 2016 and competed in three straight OUA championships. His best finish was in 2019, when he won the OUA silver medal in the event and earned OUA second-team all-star honours. That year he also had his best U SPORTS result, finishing fifth. Clare will earn his degree in kinesiology and health science.
Mark Hutchinson
Hutchinson has been a relays mainstay for the Lions throughout his five-year career at York. He won his first OUA medal – a bronze – in 2018 in the 4x400m and repeated the feat in 2020. He has also competed at three national championships, the highlight being a key contribution to the 4x200m relay team that won the silver medal in 2019 and earned him U SPORTS second-team all-Canadian honours. He is also a strong student and earned U SPORTS academic all-Canadian honours while studying kinesiology and health science.
Michael Miglietta
Miglietta has been with the Lions for four seasons as a jumps specialist. A team captain, he qualified for his first OUA championship in the long jump in 2012 and was a strong contributor in 2020, finishing sixth to earn important points for the team as the Lions went on to win the team bronze medal. He is also the team's sport council representative and has excelled in the classroom and earned U SPORTS academic all-Canadian awards in each of his years while studying kinesiology and health science.
Tohma Van Bergen
Tohma came to York in 2017 and blossomed into a leader for the sprinters throughout his career. He won a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay at the OUA championships in 2018, the first year he qualified for the meet, and added another bronze in 2020 in the same event. He also represented the Lions at three national championships and won a silver medal in the 4x200m relay in 2019, earning U SPORTS second-team all-Canadian honours. His degree will be in psychology.
David Vargas
Vargas has been with the Lions since 2016 and is an enthusiastic student-athlete who is always eager to learn. In addition to training hard with the team, he works at the Toronto Track and Field Centre and was responsible for holding his teammates accountable with their training. He was also the team's motivator when things did not go as planned and brought a positive attitude to the team. He will earn his degree in kinesiology and health science.
