The Wilfrid Laurier Department of Athletics and Recreation held their annual year-end banquet on Monday evening at the Athletic Complex. The event honours student-athletes excelling in their athletic endeavours, as well as in the classroom.
This year first team All-Canadians Liz Knox of the women’s hockey team and Dillon Heap of the men’s football team, earned two of the ceremonies’ highest honours – The President’s Award, as athletes of the year, and the Luke Fusco Academic Athletic Achievement Award.
“The amount of talent that Laurier student-athletes exhibit in their respective sports and in the classroom just shows what kind of a community we have here,” said Knox. “Because I know most of the nominees personally, I know how much time and dedication it takes to earn these accomplishments. It really is a true honour to be recognized amongst them.”
The pair of awards tops off a tremendous season for Knox. The fourth year sociology major won both the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Player of the Year awards, led the OUA in save percentage and was named Laurier’s Outstanding Woman of the Year. On top of all that, she managed to maintain a 9.2 grade point average (GPA), of a possible 12.
“It is a strange position for me, as a goalie, to accept such prestigious awards because it truly couldn’t have been done without the people in front of me,” said Knox. “These girls play their hearts out every game and truly embody what it means to me to be a Golden Hawk: pride, dignity, and passion.”
Third year business student Heap excelled with a 10.13 GPA this year, while consistently performing on the field topping Laurier, OUA, and CIS charts: most notably he led the nation in all-purpose yardage, and set a new CIS record in punt return yardage.
“It’s an honour to be recognized by the Laurier community for my achievements this past season,” commented Heap. “It definitely comes with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. The award is individual but a lot of people contributed to the season’s success.”
The Rich Newbrough Rookie of the Year awards went to Julie Gordon of the women’s volleyball team and Andrew Greenberg of the men’s baseball team. Gordon is a psychology major who earned OUA West Rookie of the Year, and was named to both the OUA and CIS All-Rookie squads.
Double degree business and math student Greenberg also won OUA Rookie of the Year, as well as being named to the first-team OUA All-Star team.
The Glenn Carroll Team of the Year award was given to the women’s hockey team who had a tremendous season. The ladies won their seventh straight OUA championship, tying the record for most consecutive titles, and went on to win a CIS bronze medal.
“Our team accomplished so much this season,” said Knox. “I’m happy to have us recognized as team of the year, the girls really deserve it.”
