With the arrival of spring comes the annual unveiling of award winners.
A pair of Burnaby natives were front and centre in the proceedings last week when Simon Fraser University announced its 2016 Athletic Awards recipients at the Hilton Vancouver MetroTown.
Collecting the Lorne Davies Athletes of the Year honours were point guard Ellen Kett and linebacker Jordan Herdman.
A junior from Melbourne, Australia, Kett earned a spot on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Conference first team, having placed top-5 in assists and three-point shooting in the NCAA. In the Clan’s upset 67-66 victory over No. 1 Alaska Anchorage, Kett tallied a triple-double with 14 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Herdman, meanwhile, proved a lock as GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, picking up an All-Region first team honour as well as the Clan’s first-ever NCAA All-American second team spot.
The Winnipeg native was a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, presented to the top defensive player in NCAA Div. 2, Div. 3 and NAIA, after setting the GNAC single game record for tackles and placing fifth overall in tackles.
Burnaby’s Cameron Proceviat and Surrey’s Rachel Proctor were chosen the Bill De Vries All-Around Athletes of the Year, presented to senior student athletes who excel in competition, the classroom and the community.
Proceviat, a Moscrop grad, fell 1.2 seconds short of winning the NCAA Div. 2 800-metres indoor title after helping the cross-country team to a 12th place result at nationals. President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Proceviat volunteers as a learning coach and carries a 3.9 grade-point-average in molecular biology and biochemistry.
A GNAC All-Conference first team outfielder, Proctor proved to be one of the top batters in the conference, and made the Dean’s Honour Roll this year as a student in Health Sciences.
The women’s Rookie of the Year choice was forward and Burnaby North alumna Christina Dickson.
In a debut year which saw her deliver a highlight reel game, scoring three times in nine minutes, Dickson led the women’s soccer team with seven goals and three assists, finishing fourth in conference scoring. She was voted the GNAC freshman of the year and All-Region second team member.
Mackenzie Hamill, named the men’s co-Rookie of the Year, achieved a historic first for the men’s swimming program, earning its first NCAA champion title with a victory in the 1650-yard freestyle final.
Sharing the award was golfer Chris Crisologo of Richmond. The freshman placed sixth overall at the NCAA national golf championships and was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year, All-Region first team and to the NCAA All-American second team.
Receiving the Terry Fox Most Inspirational Athletes of the Year awards were soccer players Olivia Aguiar and Brandon Watson.
Aguiar finished third in team scoring while helping the women’s program post its best season in five years. She serves as vice-president of the SAAC, championing the #consentmatters promotion and is a learning coach.
Watson has been a captain and a leader on the men’s soccer team since transferring from Coastal Carolina. The Victoria product posted the second-best goals against average and save percentage in the conference, and held the opposition scoreless at all home games, earning a GNAC All-Conference second-team honour.
The biomedical physiology student serves as a learning coach.
The swimming quartet of Adrian VanderHelm, Gabriel Lee, Colton Peterson and Hamill swam away with the President’s Athletic Achievement Team of the Year trophy. All four netted All-American honours and led the Clan to 10th overall at the nationals.
Middle distance runner and biomedical physiology student Lorenzo Smith completed a hat trick as the Department Scholar Athlete Award, taking the honour for the third straight year after achieving the highest overall GPA of 4.21 out of a possible 4.33.
Basketball’s Elisa Homer picked up the Rick Jones Award for Courage, which recognizes an
athlete who has overcome adversity.
Also honoured were former women’s soccer coach Shelley Howieson, with the Margaret Jones Lifetime Achievement Award, Doug Pauls, with the Director’s Award for lasting contributions to the clan over a multi-year period, Daniel Zackodnik, the VW Kip Dougherty Award for his work as a member of the track and field training staff, and Gabe Lynn, with the Fred Dietrich Award for his dedication as SFU’s videographer and designer in the marketing department.
