Young, old and in every age group in between, Niagara-on-the-Lake boasts many athletes who have achieved remarkable things in sport.
Some of them have been immortalized on the Wall of Fame in the Virgil arena lobby — David Mines (hockey and lacrosse) and the late Michael Kappel (wrestler and rower) were added to that shrine this past year.
But many Sporting Heroes just quietly toil away at their chosen pastimes, happily training and performing, often excelling in their fields.
Looking back over the past year or so, there are numerous athletes whose accomplishments are worthy of note.
This week, we highlight a few of NOTL’s many Sporting Heroes:
Skier Carter Simpson, 31, brought home two bronze medals and had one fourth-place finish in the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy.
NOTL native Kaleb Dietsch, a stalwart on defence for the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL, celebrated suiting up for his 100th game with the club. A graduate of the NOTL minor hockey system and the Southern Tier Admirals AAA program, he is in his third season with the 67’s after being drafted in 2023.
In minor hockey, last year the U18 NOTL Wolves rep team put together a dream season, skating to a 40-2-6 record, winning the Niagara District title and two tournaments along the way.
The Wolves also qualified for the Ontario Minor Hockey Association championships for the second straight year. They fell short in the championships thanks to some bad bounces but still had what coach Adam Whyte recognized was “an amazing season.”
Boxer Mckenzie Wright is one tough customer. At age 35, the St. Davids athlete won her fifth career national championship this fall, as she navigates the long road to the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Winning five national titles is a “rare” feat in Canadian boxing history, noted Boxing Canada executive director Christopher Lindsay.
“Her athleticism and skill continue to set her at the top of our women’s 51-kilogram weight class and among the top of our national team pool of athletes.”
Canadian cross-country runners Ben Bayne and Luke Simpson travelled to Tennessee in December with teammates from the Thorold Elite Track & Field Club and returned home as “all-Americans.”
The 13-year-olds finished in the top eight in their age class (Bayne was second and Simpson eighth), which qualified them for the special designation. And their performances helped the Thorold team dominate the meet and win the overall gold.
Senior runners Margot Devlin and John Bobrel just keep going and going.
Devlin completed three marathons this year — in Paris, London and New York — meaning she has now finished an enviable more than 20 marathons.
And Bobrel earned the Six Star medal, a rare award recognizing runners who compete in the world’s original six major marathons: Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York and Tokyo.
The retired head electrician at the Shaw Festival, ran the Tokyo race last March and then set his sights on the Sydney race Down Under in 2026.
The husband-and-wife duo of Stephen Warboys and Louise Robitaille continued to make their mark on North America’s oldest golf course — the 150-year-old NOTL club.
Warboys, a retired tennis club pro, is one of the most consistent players at the NOTL club and last year won the club’s senior men’s title.
He also finished fourth in the 70 and over division of the prestigious Ontario Senior Men’s Golf Championship.
Robitaille, meanwhile, was crowned the women’s Open champion at the NOTL club for the fifth time since 2018.
St. Davids Public School classmates Kaige Zhu and Eli Perng, both just 13, competed in the Canadian under-15 championships in British Columbia.
Zhu led all competitors after the first round but fell back on the final day to end up fifth while Perng was 34th in the field of more than 50 players.
Perng also won junior titles at Eagle Valley and Cherry Hill, and over the Christmas holidays was victorious in a junior tourney in Florida.
- Do you know of someone who deserves to be recognized as a Sporting Hero? Let us know: editor@niagaranow.com.
