Sarah Wilkes and Danny Hanlon make Laurier proud at the national and international level

Former Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawk curling alumna Sarah Wilkes won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship on Sunday, Feb. 24 as a member of Team Alberta.Team Alberta were trailing 5-1 at one point in the finals against Team Ontario. However, Wilkes helped her team complete the biggest comeback in the history of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts finals, as Team Alberta won by a final score of 8-6. 

Wilkes was recently nominated in the Golden Hawk Hall of Fame in 2018, and this accomplishment is just another award that will be added on to a magnificent curling career. During her time at Laurier, Wilkes led the Golden Hawks to three national curling championships — more than any athlete in the school’s history. 

There were also two other former Hawks at the Scotties, including Cheryl Kreviazuk as a member of runners-up Team Ontario, and Jen Gates as a member of Team Northern Ontario. Wilkes will now advance with Team Alberta and represent Canada at the Ford World Curling Championships in Denmark, which take place from March 16 to 24. 

Sarah Wilkes isn’t the only Hawk who has shined at the national and international stage in recent weeks. Current Laurier Golden Hawks men’s hockey forward Danny Hanlon is representing Canada at the twenty-ninth Winter Universiade. 

The Winter Universiade is an international competition between youth players, and it is taking place this year from March 2 to 12 in Russia. Hanlon helped Team Canada get off to a great start at the Winter Universiade, as he scored two goals in an emphatic 13-0 for Canada over Great Britain on March 2.

Canada then followed up with a 6-1 victory over Latvia, as Hanlon added another goal to his international resume.  Hanlon had an impressive 2018-19 season for the Hawks. The third-year forward contributed with eight goals and seven assists in 28 regular season games played. The Waterloo native is making Laurier proud it is going to be exciting to see how far Team Canada can go.