WHITBY SPORTS HALL OF FAME 2023 INDUCTEES

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep

Athlete – Track and Field

2004 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) indoor champion – 60-meter hurdles

Won Bronze Medal – Women’s 100-meter hurdles – 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games

2010: World #1 Rank and Diamond League outdoor season champion –100-meter hurdles

By Whitby Sports Hall of Fame Executive

Adrian Woodley

Athlete – Track and Field

Won 6 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations titles: 110m hurdles (3), triple-jump (3)

Won 4 Canadian championships in 110-meter hurdles: 1 Junior (1994) and 3 Senior (1999-2001)

Syracuse University – National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American 1999 and 2000

Derek Suddons

Athlete – Lacrosse

Won Bronze Medal with Team Canada – U-19 World Field Lacrosse Games (Tokyo, Japan)

Won 2 Minto Cup Canadian Junior A Championships with Whitby Warriors (1997 and 1999)

2004 Merv McKenzie Memorial Trophy winner – Top Defensive Player in Major Series Lacrosse

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep - Athlete - Track and Field

champion in the 60-meter hurdles and was a two-time NCAA silver medalist in the 100-meter hurdles (2004 and 2005). Priscilla also achieved considerable success representing Canada at the international level. In 2005, she reached the semi-final in the 100-meter hurdles at the World Championships held in Helsinki and won the silver medal when these championships were staged in Berlin in 2009. Priscilla is also a two-time Canadian Olympian, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008. It was at the Beijing games where she captured the bronze medal in a very closely contested hurdles final. Of note, this was the only track and field medal won by Canadian athletes at these games, as well as the first medal for a Canadian woman in Olympic track and field since 1992.

Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Priscilla Lopes-Schliep developed a passion for running or, more accurately, for sprinting at an early age, routinely besting neighbourhood friends in foot races on the street in front of her home. But it was after moving with her family to Whitby in 1997 that she would embark on her distinguished career in track and field. As a sign of the success that lie ahead, Priscilla was a finalist in the 100-meter hurdles event at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships in her first year of formal competition, despite racing in standard running shoes while her competitors wore conventional track cleats.

She then proceeded to refine her technique through the tutelage of coach Anthony McCleary, eventually earning a scholarship to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). While competing at Nebraska, Priscilla became the 2004 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) indoor

The 2010 season was unquestionably the best of her career. It began with a bronze medal in the 60-meter hurdles at the World Indoor Championship in Doha, Qatar, and continued into the outdoor season during which Priscilla was undefeated in 12 races, earning her a World #1 ranking. She capped the summer by winning the prestigious Diamond League title, awarded to reflect season-long consistency by an athlete in a particular discipline.

A graduate of Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School, Priscilla now resides in Lincoln, Nebraska with her husband Bronsen Schliep, an Orthodontist, and their daughters Nataliya and Jaslene. Priscilla continues to exemplify her dedication and passion for her chosen sport by serving as a volunteer coach for the UNL track and field team, imparting her knowledge to help develop young athletes who have a primary focus on sprints and hurdles.

Adrian Woodley - Athlete - Track and Field

Born in Montreal, Quebec, and raised in Whitby after he and his family relocated to Ontario in 1988, Adrian Woodley embarked on his illustrious track and field career when he joined the Durham XL Track Club in 1990. Durham XL was recognized for developing talented athletes, and if Adrian wanted to fulfill his potential, he would need to prove himself within this highly skilled group. He did so by quickly establishing a dedicated, diligent, and respected work ethic that would lead to considerable success from the local level to the international stage.

Recognized by his coaches, teammates, and competitors alike to be an excellent sprinter who specialized in the 110-meter hurdles, Adrian soon became a force on the track as well as an inspiration and role model to those who would follow in his footsteps. As a member of the Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute’s track and field team from 1991 to 1995, Adrian was a six-time Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) champion, winning three titles each in 110-meter hurdles and triple-jump. His success at the provincial secondary school level coincided with his 1994 Canadian Junior championship in 110-meter hurdles, and subsequently led to a track and field scholarship at Syracuse University.

Adrian continued to excel during his collegiate career at Syracuse from 1996 to 2000. He was a two-time Big East Conference Indoor Champion in the 60-meter hurdles (1999 and 2000), the Big East Conference Indoor Champion in the 200 meters (2000), the Big East Conference Outdoor Champion in the 110-meter hurdles and the 200 meters (2000) and was recognized as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American in 1999 and 2000. Adrian also received the Big East Conference Most Outstanding Male Track Performer Award in 2000.

On a national level, Adrian was a four-time Canadian champion in the 110-meter hurdles; in addition to winning his national Junior title in 1994, Adrian dominated the competition in the Senior division by winning three consecutive championships from 1999 to 2001.

Over and above his success at the various high school, collegiate, and national competitions, Adrian also represented Canada on several occasions, including:

• 1993 Pan American Junior Track and Field Championships

• 1994 World Junior Track and Field Championships (Portugal)

• 1994 Commonwealth Games (Victoria, British Columbia)

• 1999 Pan American Games (Winnipeg, Manitoba)

• 1999 World Track and Field Championships (Spain)

• 2000 Summer Olympic Games (Sydney, Australia)

• 2001 World Indoor Track and Field Championships (Portugal)

Adrian currently resides in Toronto with his wife Lami, and their children, Xavier and Serena. He continues to give back to the sport he loves as a volunteer coach whenever his schedule permits, and often mentors aspiring athletes by providing direction based on his experiences.

A native of Whitby, Gil Nieuwendyk was introduced to the sport of lacrosse at the age of six when he was registered by hisfather to play in the Whitby Minor Lacrosse Association. And it did not take very long for Gil to demonstrate his exceptional talents on a lacrosse floor; by age 15, Gil was playing Junior B lacrosse in Ajax before returning to play for his hometown Whitby Warriors Junior A team from 1979 to 1982.

During his four seasons with the Warriors, Gil played in 86 regular season games, recording 124 goals and 139 assists for 286 total points or 3.3 points per game. He maintained a similar pace in 35 playoff games, scoring 49 goals and adding 62 assists; this includes 19 goals and 13 assists in the 1980 playoffs when the Warriors won the Minto Cup national championship. This team was later inducted into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame (2006).

At the conclusion of his junior career, Gil went on to play Major Series Lacrosse, joining the Brooklin Redmen in 1983. In his first season with Brooklin, Gil won the Gene Dopp Trophy, awarded to the Outstanding Rookie in Major Series Lacrosse.

Over six seasons from 1983 to 1988, Gil spearheaded a powerful offence for these Brooklin teams; he won the league scoring title (Bucko McDonald Trophy) in 1983 and again in 1985, and finished in the Top 10 in league scoring in each of the six campaigns. In 117 regular season games during his senior career, Gil scored 256 goals and added 307 assists for 563 points, a pace of 4.8 points per game. He accumulated another 113 goals and 160 assists in 85 playoff games, leading Brooklin to Mann Cup championships in 1985, 1987, and 1988.

As a further testament to his scoring and playmaking skills, Gil was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) by the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League in 1993 –five years after his retirement from lacrosse.

Gil was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2014, both times in the player category. A father of three, Gil has remained heavily involved in the sport, coaching at the minor level and with the Brooklin senior team.