The Durham Lords rugby teams shone with two Athletes of the Year winners at the Durham College varsity awards on March 25.
Amber Edgerton with women’s rugby won the Margaret Greenley Female Athlete of the Year award, while Devonne Henry with men’s rugby and Jasean Elliott with men’s basketball earned the William Avery Memorial Male Athlete of the Year honours.
The award ceremony was hosted at the Oshawa campus, recognizing student athletes, coaches and members of the sports community for what they have achieved through sports during the year.
“My biggest purpose is just to get everyone in the building one last time for the year, feed them, play some games, really enjoy the night and celebrate what they’ve done,” says Zachary Ellis, sports information and marketing coordinator with the Durham Lords.
Awards, including leadership and team MVPs, were handed out to acknowledge the hard work of players who showed consistency, skills and leadership during the season, according to Ellis.
“We just want to celebrate our athletes and thank them for a job well done,” he says.
Athletes finishing their first-year were acknowledged for their early accomplishments and those graduating were awarded for their longtime contributions to their teams.
Ellis emphasized the importance of recognizing athletes’ commitment to the program.
“They really dedicate their time to the Durham Lords brand,” he says. “It’s important to acknowledge that.”
The varsity awards also provided a chance to show appreciation towards the training staff, coaches and other supporters who assisted in the background to help teams run smoothly during the season, he says.
The male and female Freshmen Athlete of the Year winners were Owen Mailhot for golf and Sarah Clayton for women’s rugby.
Taylor Wood (women’s rugby and basketball), Ripken Shaver (men’s basketball), Connor DeLuca (men’s rugby) and Evan Brown (men’s curling) received the Bert Dejeet Memorial Award for top GPA.
The Bonnie Ginter-Brown Leadership Award was given to women’s soccer player Chloe Hercia and men’s soccer player Teagan Marks.
The #DC4DC award for most supportive team went to women’s volleyball.
54th DURHAM COLLEGE ATHLETIC BANQUET AWARD WINNERS
“Margaret Greenley” Overall Female Athlete of the Year Award Amber Edgerton – Women’s Rugby
“William Avery Memorial” Overall Male Athlete of the Year Award Devonne Henry – Men’s Rugby Jasean Elliott – Men’s Basketball
Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Sarah Clayton – Women’s Rugby
“David Stewart” Male Freshman Athlete of the Year Owen Mailhot – Golf
“Bonnie Ginter-Brown” Leadership Award Chloe Hercia – Women’s Soccer Teagan Marks – Men’s Soccer
“Bert Dejeet Memorial Award” Top GPA Taylor Wood – Women’s Rugby & Basketball
Ripken Shaver – Men’s Basketball Connor DeLuca – Men’s Rugby Evan Brown – Men’s Curling
#DC4DC Award
Women’s Volleyball
SPECIAL AWARDS
Five-Year Award Danika Johnston – Women’s Rugby Megan Bent – Women’s Rugby Morgan Salter – Women’s Softball Ryan Mattes – Men’s Baseball Brooke Young – Women’s Volleyball Alisia Lush – Women’s Volleyball
Four-Year Award Sean Michalicka – Golf Jocelyn Shelton – Women’s Softball Erik Smith – Men’s Baseball Eddie Borutskie – Men’s Baseball Daniella Kimevski – Women’s Rugby Chloe Hercia – Women’s Soccer Shelby Khan – Women’s Soccer Sage Thomas-Roberts – Women’s Soccer Jaime Pye – Women’s Soccer Teagan Marks – Men’s Soccer Deandre Watkis – Men’s Soccer Aiesha Lewis – Women’s Basketball Tia Chang – Women’s Volleyball
Athletic Therapy Student Trainer of the Year – Noah Mossavat
Strength & Conditioning Commitment Award Jessica Docherty – Women’s Volleyball Ryan Mattes – Men’s Baseball
Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year – Benjamin Rocheleau
“Ken Babcock” Athletic Director’s Award of Excellence Abi Ansell – Game Day Staff
NuStadia Recreation Award Emily Taylor – Women’s Softball
Matthew Paredes – Men’s Volleyball
TEAM-BY-TEAM AWARDS
Men’s Baseball “Boom Baker” MVP: Eddie Borutskie “Bob Johnston” Rookie of the Year: Ryan McGivney “Sam Dempster” Leadership Award: Malik James Top Pitcher: Matt Jones
Women’s Softball “Richard Snowden” MVP: Emily Taylor Rookie of the Year: Georgia Willsie “Jim Nemish” Leadership Award: Jayden Bennett Top Pitcher: Makayla Benz
Golf “Gerry Pettit” Men’s MVP: Owen Mailhot “Ryan Hughes” Rookie of the Year: Colby Hercia “Tyler Martin” Leadership Award: Cory Pharand
Women’s Soccer “Vaso Vujanovic” MVP: Julia Fontana “Gail Reid” Rookie of the Year: Kadi Sutherland “Gord Oliver” Leadership Award: Chloe Hercia
Men’s Soccer “Vaso Vujanovic” MVP: Michael Arfanis “Mario Bombino” Rookie of the Year: Michael Arfanis “Gord Oliver” Leadership Award: Zachery Hamedi
Indoor Soccer Women’s MVP: Jaime Pye Men’s MVP: Daniel Trueman
Women’s Rugby MVP: Amber Edgerton & Camryn Wood
Rookie of the Year: Sarah Clayton Leadership Award: Hayden Venedam
Men’s Rugby MVP: Devonne Henry Rookie of the Year: Taylor Payne Leadership Award: Owen MacKinnon
Women’s Basketball “Bonnie Slaughter” MVP: Sarah-Jane Laplante & Telia Campbell “Lindsay Panchan” Rookie of the Year: Kathy Orellana Leadership Award: Aiesha Lewis
Men’s Basketball “Ted Harrison” MVP: Jasean Elliott “Anthony Batchelor” Rookie of the Year: Jayden Genereux “Ernie Rainbow” Leadership Award: Rudy Fakih
Women’s Volleyball “Stan Marchut” MVP: Elizabeth McFarland “Carol Cruwys-Hart” Rookie of the Year: Julie Wong Leadership Award: Brooke Young
Men’s Volleyball “Laurence Bishop” MVP: Jonas Felix “David Dobson” Rookie of the Year: Jack Hendry Leadership Award: Ravi Hunter
Curling Women’s MVP: Madison Davies Men’s MVP: Canyon Myers Rookie of the Year: Carson Maki Leadership Award: Vanessa Ng
Esports Call of Duty MVP: James Zarafonitis Counter-Strike 2 MVP: Nicolas Pineda League of Legends MVP: Matthew Mason Marvel Rivals MVP: Alex Beleaga Rocket League MVP: Jared Greenwood
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate MVP: Star Solaiman Valorant MVP: Ethan Minogue Leadership Award: Nicolas Pineda