Two for Two - Branton and Trotman awarded Athletes of the Year

For the second year in a row, the Female and Male Athlete of the Year awards went to King's student-athletes Shona Branton and Treye Trotman, respectively, as a part of the annual Mustangs Awards. 

Branton, a fourth-year Social Sciences student, received the Female Athlete of the Year award for her accomplishments in women's swimming and Trotman, a second-year BMOS student with honours specialization in Finance and Administration, received the Male Athlete of the Year award for his accomplishments in men's wrestling. Branton and Trotman were recognized at the 2024 Mustangs Awards, held at Western’s Alumni Hall on April 3, 2024. Branton and Trotman joined four other King’s student-athletes in being recognized as Team MVPs.

The Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards recognize student-athletes who have achieved outstanding success this year, representing Western at the provincial and/or national level.

"I am super happy (to win the award) and with the season that I had this year. The other two nominees were just incredible and had incredible seasons. It's just amazing to win this award," Branton says. 

In January, Branton set a new Western record with a final time of 1:05.70 in the 100 m breaststroke in the Mustangs Dual Meet with the University of Toronto. That same month, she travelled to the Luxembourg Euro Meet as part of Team Ontario. In a field that included Olympic gold medalists and reigning world champions, she swam to a personal best of 1:07.10 in the preliminary rounds of the 100 m breaststroke and then improved on that with a time of 1:06.59 in the final.

With her results in Luxembourg, Branton established herself as a contender in the women’s 100 m breaststroke at the Canadian Olympic trials later this year. She is also ranked sixth on the all-time Canadian performers in the Women’s 100 m breaststroke.

At the U SPORTS Swimming Championships in March, Branton won four medals (two gold medals in the 50 m and 100 m breaststroke, a silver in the 200 m breaststroke, and a bronze as part of the 4x100 m medley relay) and was named Female Swimmer of the Meet.

Trotman says receiving the award is proof that "if you show up all the time and put in the work, eventually the hard work will pay off, so just keep grinding and do your best."

Trotman, the number 1 ranked wrestler in U Sports and currently the number two ranked senior wrestler in Canada, also repeated as the Male Athlete of the Year. Trotman went undefeated against all university competitors for the second year in a row. He took the gold medal in the 57 kg division in the Guelph Open in late January. He had a 3-0 record with two wins coming by technical superiority 10-0 and 11-1, and one win by pin. He also won gold in the men’s 57 kg weight class at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Wrestling Championships in February and at the U Sports Wrestling Championships, held on March 1 in Guelph. 

Savaughn Magnaye-Jones ’23 was nominated for the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy. This award is presented annually to the male student-athlete who has made the greatest contribution to intercollegiate athletics within the university. Magnaye-Jones was named a 1st Team All-Canadian for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. He was awarded a Purple Blanket during the 82nd annual Mustang Awards on April 6, 2023.

The ceremony recognized all Mustangs team members, including those named as Team MVPs:

• Shona Branton – Women’s Swimming
• Andrew Bruder – Men’s Hockey
• Ibrahem Saadi – Men’s Soccer
• Elizabeth Schori – Women’s Rugby
• Manik Singh – Men’s Table Tennis
• Treye Trotman – Men’s Wrestling

Congratulations to all of King’s student-athletes who were honoured as part of the Mustangs Awards.

Visit our Athletics page to learn more about how King’s is home to over 160 student-athletes.

Media Coverage:

Western Mustangs website: Celebrating Excellence at the 2024 Mustangs Awards

London Free Press: Western University year-end awards

Sydenham Current: Former WDSS swimmer Shona Branton named Western Mustangs 2023-2024 Female Athlete of the Year

Photo credit: Brandon VandeCaveye/Western Mustangs