The Carleton Ravens have had a monumental year in sports.
From national and international championships to record-breaking individual performances, the Ravens’ talent kept fans on the edge of their seats all year long.
Here’s a ranking of the top ten Carleton Ravens sports moments of the year.
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Carleton master’s student squashes the competition at national championships
In late January, Glen Chamberlain topped the Men’s A Division at the 2026 Jester’s Canadian University and College Squash Championships after heading into the tournament unseeded.
The 11-7 win was “something really special I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said.
Chamberlain, a human-computer interaction masters student, competed for McGill University during his undergraduate studies.
After being diagnosed with severe hip issues, he took a step back from the sport and underwent two hip surgeries. Through months of rehabilitation, Chamberlain worked his way back to high-level competition.
The championship was Chamberlain’s first university tournament since his time at McGill, marking a dominant return to the court.
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Lauren Illman earns top honours in final season with Ravens women’s soccer program
The Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team were out in Round 1 of the OUA playoffs, but forward Lauren Illman enjoyed a record-breaking year.
Illman ranked third in OUA goals and fifth in U SPORTS goals, scoring nine in her final season as a Raven.
Her offensive skills earned her a spot as a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian — the first from Carleton’s squad in 15 years. She was also named to the OUA First Team.
Illman finished with 25 career goals and 36 career points in 45 games, capping off her time as a Raven by earning the Outstanding Graduating Female Athlete of the Year award at the 2026 Varsity Banquet.
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Ravens golf team prepares for nationals after stellar season
Following a successful season, the Carleton Ravens golf program is preparing to send both the women’s and men’s teams to the 2026 Canadian University/College Golf Championship this summer.
The teams’ performances in the fall scored them the invitations, with the men’s side returning to the tournament for a second consecutive year.
Dylan Rouse helped them to a seventh-place finish at the OUA Championships in October, shooting a -2 (142) to capture bronze and earn OUA First Team All-Star honours.
With scores of 77 and 78 from Claire Stoney and Sanvi Swarup, the Ravens jumped two spots on the final day of the women’s competition to place fifth, securing their bid to the Canadian University/College Golf Championship.
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Men’s curling team wins second consecutive U SPORTS silver medals
The Carleton Ravens men’s curling team repeated last year’s results at the 2026 U SPORTS curling championships, bringing home a silver medal from the national stage.
The Ravens fell to the Calgary Dinos — but not without a fight. They kept the score against the Dinos close through each end, tying the game up at 6-6 in the eighth to send it into extra ends.
Their performance earned skip Owen Nicholls, third Jordan McNamara, second Jack Ragan, lead Jacob Clarke and alternate Philip Burgess the Second Team All-Canadian honours award.
The Ravens led the tournament with the most stolen points of any team.
The roster is expected to make a full return next season, looking to build off their success in hopes of winning the program’s first national title since 2019.
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Carleton women’s basketball squad crowned World Cup champions
The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team beat Ukraine’s Vasyl Stefanyk University 16-11 to win the FISU 3×3 Basketball University World Cup in Brazil in November.
Tatyanna Burke, Dorcas Buisa, Ingrid Matteau and Noelle Kilbreath went undefeated to claim the title, the first time for any Canadian school.
The team qualified for the tournament after dominating the FISU America Championship in May, extending their 2025 international record to 11-0 in the World Cup.
The Ravens squad finished with a tournament-high average of 19.2 points in five games.
“It was such a cool opportunity,” Kilbreath said. “I had finished my last year playing university basketball and thought it was done.”
“To get to compete for Carleton again on such a big stage was so cool.”
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Ravens Nordic skiers sweep OUA championships
The Carleton Ravens Nordic skiing team defended their legacy this February, winning their fourth-straight women’s title and tenth men’s title at the OUA Nordic Skiing Championships.
The team now boasts a combined 27 provincial championships — including nine of the last ten on the women’s side.
Helen McCulligh took home silver in both of her individual races, while Sophia Giangrande captured bronze in the 15-kilometre race. Along with Beth Marchant, McCulligh and Giangrande won gold in the relay event over uOttawa.
Fiona McClure, Tessa Quinn-Crook and Maya Abraham made up Carleton’s second relay team, coming away with the bronze medal.
Nathaniel Sneyd earned OUA gold in the men’s 15-kilometre race, with teammates claiming second through seventh place.
Their dominance continued with both relay teams finishing on the podium in second and third, respectively.
The men’s tenth title broke the Lakehead University Thunderwolves’ four-year streak, while the fourth consecutive title for the women’s side tied up the Thunderwolves for the all-time record of 17 wins.
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Rowing duo breaks quarter-century medal dry spell
The Carleton Ravens women’s rowing team took home bronze at the Canadian University Rowing Championships in early November.
Rosie O’Brien and Hayley Murray became the first Ravens rowers to reach a national podium in 11 years, ending a 25-year drought for the women’s team.
The pair’s bronze in the women’s lightweight doubles event marked only the third time they’d competed together. O’Brien claimed a second bronze on the national stage in the women’s lightweight singles event.
Earlier in the season, she won Carleton’s first rowing OUA gold medal in more than a decade.
Murray competed with the women’s coxed four, capturing provincial silver over the Western University Mustangs by a razor-thin margin of 3.2 seconds.
O’Brien finished her rowing season with six medals, earning dual honours as the OUA’s female rower of the year and female athlete of the year.
“It means a lot to me just to see the university recognize the sport a little bit more,” she said.
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Kyana-Jade Poulin leads women’s basketball team to fifth-straight Capital Hoops win
The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team extended their Capital Hoops Classic win streak to five with a 87-60 victory over the uOttawa Gee-Gees on February 6.
The Ravens outscored the Gee-Gees 19-12 in the final quarter to secure the trophy.
Veteran guard Kyana-Jade Poulin led the charge, putting up 28 points to break the single-game women’s record and finish one point shy of the overall tournament record.
“I’m happy I broke the record, but I’m even more happy that as a team, we did so well,” Poulin said.
She ended the game with a triple-double, recording 11 assists and 11 rebounds to tie the record for assists set in 2017.
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Football team snaps six-year Panda game losing streak
The Carleton Ravens football team set the victorious tone for the athletic season by ending their six-season Panda game drought with a 20-14 triumph over the uOttawa Gee-Gees on Oct. 4.
Ravens quarterback Elijah Barnes, who entered the game in the second quarter, went 13-for-19 for 189 yards.
Barnes made some crucial plays to give the Ravens the edge — including a 13-yard pass to receiver Tristan Ready in the Gee-Gees endzone to close out the first half.
Early in the third frame, he completed a 40-yard throw to receiver Frederick Hachey to put the team in scoring position. Brandon Forcier capitalized on the chance, earning his 56th career field goal.
Forcier added another field goal in the fourth before uOttawa made a late push, but Carleton’s strong defensive showing stopped them from a seventh-straight Panda win.
As the clock ran out, Ravens fans rushed the field to celebrate their team’s first victory at TD Place since 2017.
“Finally us getting it done, it feels like a dream come true,” Forcier said.
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Men’s basketball team breaks U SPORTS national title record
The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team marked their return to the top with a 78-75 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters on March 8 to become national champions.
After extending their undefeated streak in the national finals to 18-0, the program now holds the record for most U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Championship titles in Canadian university history.
Playing without stars MJ Okado and Emanuel Milon, the Ravens squad had to step up to get the job done.
Guard Aubrey Dorey-Havens backed the team with a career-high 35-point performance, connecting on nine three-pointers to break the championship game record.
Despite trailing multiple times during the game, the Gaiters couldn’t stifle Dorey-Havens and the rest of the Ravens’ roster, allowing nine different players to contribute to the score.
On top of the national title, Dorey-Havens earned a trio of honours: Carleton’s player of the game, tournament MVP and U SPORTS All-Star alongside teammate Cedric Mbiaba.
While a few key players across Raven’s sports will graduate, many returning athletes will surely be hungry for more. Whether they’re defending titles and records or aiming for them, the Ravens are sure to keep fans hooked right from the start of next season.
Featured image by Simon McKeown/the Charlatan
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