Three Burnaby athletes made the shortlist for Sport B.C.'s 46th annual athlete of the year awards.
Five-time Canadian colleges' national women's doubles champion Melody Liang of Burnaby was named one of three finalists for the college athlete of the year at the Sport B.C. selection committe meeting on Tuesday.
Liang, a Douglas College grad, won an unprecedented five provincial and Canadian Colleges' Athletic Association title, setting a national record with 95 wins without a loss in her career.
Liang was nominated along with men's volleyball players William Quiring from Columbia Bible College and University of B.C. - Okanagan's Preston Tucker.
Burnaby North Secondary student Shirley Fu was nominated in the junior girls' athlete of the year category along with Coquitlam golfer Jisoo Keel and Victoria diver Emily Schmidt.
Fu had a remarkable 2011 season, winning multiple, provincial and national titles in table tennis.
The 16-year-old Burnaby athlete was the B.C. junior and women's singles champion, as well as the Canadian under-15 cadet and under-18 junior women's champion.
Fu went on to also place first overall in the Canadian under-21 women's singles and open women's championships.
Fu also won three medals at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax, taking gold in both the women's singles and doubles competition. She won a bronze medal in team competition.
Fu also earned a spot on the Canadian women's team to the Pan American Games in Mexico in October.
Simon Fraser University middle distance runner Helen Crofts was also nominated in the university athlete of the year category.
Crofts was shortlisted alongside Trinity Western University basketball player Jacob Doerksen and UBC volleyball player Shanice Marcelle.
Crofts had a year of multi-championship titles and personal bests on the indoor and outdorr tracks in 2011.
The 21-year-old SFU senior completed a gold-medal season with a sixth-place finish in the women's 800 metres at the World Student Games in China in August.
In December, she was named the most outstanding athlete in a Canadian university by Athletics Canada.
Crofts won both the NAIA and NCAA Division II Great Northwest conference indoor and outdoor 800m titles, while also being named the most outstanding performer at the outdoor championships in both associations. She set national track records for 800m at both the indoor and outdoor NAIA nationals.
She also helped the SFU relay and distance medley relay teams to gold at the NAIA nationals.
Crofts capped a remarkable season of running, winning the Canadian national championships in the 800m.
Sport B.C. will hold its annual gala adwards dinner at the River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond on March 8.
Tickets for the dinner and awards ceremony can be reserved at SportBC.com.
