The Warriors had a dominant showing this week. Ben Lemon from track and field and Isaiah McRae from men’s basketball, who both transferred to UW in the second year of their careers, have been named W Store Athletes of the Week after a record-setting performance from Lemon and all-star-calibre play from McRae.
Ben Lemon
Rocketing towards the finish line and his second athlete of the week award this season for three total is Waterloo’s very own third-year track runner Ben Lemon, setting a new personal best in the 600 metre race with a final time of 1:21.34 at the Windsor Can Am classic. It’s the second event in a row where Lemon set a new personal best; he finished with a time of 1:21.46 at the York Open, the first meeting of the season.
“I’ve still got room for improvement,” he says. “Things are starting to come together [for me] now. I’ve dealt with injuries in the past, and now our team is starting to build up momentum.”
Originally a pole vaulter at the University of Guelph, Lemon transferred to UW when he switched into accounting and finance, and he decided to try “something different” when he walked on to the track and field team, this time as a runner.
“[UW] has a lot of former high-level athletes for coaches, and they help us balance school, co-op, practices. They’ve given me a lot of knowledge,” he says. “We manage our time well.”
The team’s excellence was on full display from the moment the meet began. Despite being the lowest-ranked runner in his heat in a race where “it’s easy to come out too fast or too slow,” Lemon paced himself well and focused on his technique. His strategy paid off; the record-setting run catapulted him into the number two spot in the OUA for the 600 metre event, and he’s ranked #11 in U Sports. Not bad for a walk-on.
After resting during the Don Wright Team Challenge this week in London, Lemon will be headed to Montreal for the McGill Team Challenge on Saturday, January 23rd, where he’ll be testing his skills against tougher competition.
Isaiah McRae
The men’s basketball team brought in the new year with back-to-back blowout wins against the Algoma Thunderbirds on the road, behind a huge performance from point guard Isaiah McRae. He scored 37 points across both games, shooting 17/25 from the field and hitting 5 out of 9 three-pointers attempted. Standing at 6’1, the Burlington native still grabbed eight rebounds in the first game and five in the second, and is averaging 4.1 for the season.
“We didn’t play to our expectations in the first half of the season, so against Algoma it was just about not taking our foot off the gas and starting the year off right,” he says.
McRae, a lifelong basketball fan and player, began his OUA career at Toronto Metropolitan University. The sports management major transferred over when “some friends from [UW]” recommended the school.
“Me and [Coach Troy Stevenson] just had a good connection. I’ve grown a lot as a basketball player at [UW],” he says. “I’ve been challenged since the day I got here to become the best version of myself I can be, regardless of winning or losing.”
His growth has been outstanding; this is his fourth athlete of the week award and second this season. He also averages 17.1 points a game, the ninth most in the OUA.
“When Isaiah plays with confidence, he truly is an OUA all-star,” says Stevenson.
The men’s basketball team will return to Carl Totzke court on Saturday, Jan. 24, to play the rival Laurier Golden Hawks. The Golden Hawks are 6-8 after a loss to the Windsor Lancers.
