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The Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawk Hall of Fame welcomed seven new members as part of 2020 virtual Homecoming celebrations in September. Five athletes, one team and one builder had their names etched into Golden Hawks history.
This year’s athlete inductees include men’s basketball guard Max Allin, men’s football running back Dillon Campbell, women’s hockey forward Laura Brooker and women’s soccer players Emily Brown and Kelsey Tikka. Joining them are men’s basketball head coach Peter Campbell in the builders category and the 1995 women’s soccer team in the team category.
“This year’s induction class is truly special,” said Peter Baxter, Laurier’s director of athletics and recreation. “They join the Hall of Fame along with the most highly decorated student-athletes, builders and teams to ever don the Golden Hawks uniform.”
The 1995 Golden Hawks women’s soccer squad is the only team in program history to sweep both the provincial and national championships. The group, which featured Gigi Cignini – one of only two Laurier players to ever be named national player of the year – along with fellow all-stars Lorraine Hodds and Karen Conboy, posted an impressive 8-1-3 record during regular season play.
One of just eight Golden Hawks to ever earn all-Canadian recognition, Allin was an all-around force on the court, finishing his career as Laurier’s all-time leader in rebounds (799) and assists (434) while ranking second all-time in points (1,745).
A two-time CIS first team all-Canadian, Campbell holds the Golden Hawks’ all-time career rushing record of 3,568 yards, a mark that ranks him 18th all-time on U Sports career rushing list. His success was fuelled by a remarkable 2014 campaign in which he led the country in rushing yards with 1,458.
A two-time OUA Champion, Brooker was an offensive force for the purple and gold, racking up 73 goals and 128 points over the course of her career, which rank her second all-time in team history in both categories. Brooker is the only women’s hockey player to be named an OUA all-star five times, earning first-team honours on two occasions and second-team recognition three times.
Brown was unstoppable on the pitch during her five-year career with the Golden Hawks. A two-time OUA West most valuable player, she finished her career with an OUA modern-day record of 76 goals, including a program-best 21 goals in 2014, a year in which she led the country in scoring and was named a Laurier President’s Award winner.
Tikka enters the Hall of Fame as one of the most decorated players in women’s soccer team history. In 2010, her presence on the back line helped lead Laurier to an OUA championship and a CIS silver medal. Along the way, Tikka was named both the OUA West and CIS rookie of the year and was recognized as tournament MVP at the CIS championship.
During the course of a 16-year career with Laurier, Campbell helped return Golden Hawks men’s basketball to prominence at the OUA and national levels. Hired prior to the 2000-01 season, Campbell was named OUA West coach of the year the following season. Four years later, he led the Golden Hawks to their first CIS championship appearance in 28 years. In total, Campbell won 155 games with Laurier, the most wins by a head coach in program history.
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