Former Huskie athletes Ostertag (left) and Veale (right) will be inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.

Huskies athletes, teams and builders will be inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame on November 2 at TCU Place.

Two former Huskie athletes, Dave Ostertag and Donna Veale, will be inducted for their outstanding sporting careers.

Dave Ostertag competed for the University of Saskatchewan as a track and field athlete on the 1987 Canadian university’s men’s championship team. During his time at the U of S, Ostertag also played defensive back with the Huskies football team for one season.

Ostertag competed in the decathlon at the Canada Games and the Pan American junior track and field championships. At the 1985 Canada Games Ostertag won gold in the decathlon event and broke the Canada Games record with 7, 097 points in the event.

Since retiring as an athlete, Ostertag has encouraged others to compete by coaching track and field, soccer and minor basketball.

Donna Veale was also a multi-sport athlete at the U of S. She played on the basketball, field hockey and volleyball teams.

Veale is among the top 10 all-time scorers of the U of S women’s basketball team.
After competing for the Huskies, Veale went on to have an impressive career in softball. Veale played centre-fielder for the Saskatoon Harmonay Centre, who went on to win the Canadian senior women’s softball championship in 1978. She also played on the Canadian national softball team for 11 years, playing three Pan American Games and two International Softball Federation world championships.
Veale is currently helping to develop softball athletes and the softball program in Canada.

Sports massage therapist Al Bodnarchuk is also being inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame this year. As a massage therapist he has been to the Olympics five times, the Pan-Am Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Universiade.

Bodnarchuk worked with the U of S football and track and field teams, three different Vanier Cup winning football teams and two U of S women’s track and field teams.
Currently, Bodnarchuk works with Olympic bobsledder Jaime Cruickshank and Olympic pole vaulter Kelsie Hendry in Saskatoon.

Over the last 18 years, Bodnarchuk has also been sharing his knowledge by teaching massage therapy.

The final inductees into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame are the U of S women’s track and field teams of 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

The women won consecutive team titles at the Canadian Interuniversity Sports championships with the help of impressive performances by many members of the team.

Lyle Sanderson, who has led the Huskies to 10 Canadian university team titles in men and women’s track and field and cross-country running, coached the team.

With the addition of these Huskie athletes, teams and builders into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame, the U of S continues to build on its reputation of producing world-class athletes.

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Photo: Supplied