Hockey's Spencer Blackwell, basketball's Tiffany Reynolds and track star Amy Stieh won top honours at the annual awards ceremony.
THUNDER BAY – Winning ways can sometimes make it tough to figure out whose contribution mattered most.
It’s not surprising, then, that two of the four major categories at Lakehead University’s annual athletics award ceremony wound up in a tie.
In the female athlete of the year category, track and field’s Amy Stieh, who helped lead the Thunderwolves to a fourth-place finish in the 4x200-metre relay at the OUA championship and a sixth-place finish in the 600-metre race at nationals, tied for the trophy with basketball’s Tiffany Reynolds.
Reynolds, who capped her all-star career by collecting her 1,000th point with the team, was recognized for her leadership on and off the court.
The Toronto native finished fourth in the OUA in assists per game and 11th in points per game, and was clearly the heart and soul of the program.
The men’s rookie athlete of the year also finished in a tie, between hockey’s Josh Van Unen and Nordic skiing’s Erikson Moore.
Van Unen helped lead the hockey team to within a win of a berth at nationals, the team finishing in the top 10 for the first time in several seasons. In his freshman season he put up nine goals and 20 points in 25 games, a key cog in the teams return to relevance after several campaigns battling for a playoff berth.
Moore, on the other hand, helped deliver a national championship.
He captured two golds and a silver at the OUA championships and two golds and two silvers at the national championship held last month at Lappe Nordic.
Hockey’s Spencer Blackwell took home male athlete of the year honours, rising to the top of the Thunderwolves depth chart with a 12-goal, 26-point regular season, as Lakehead won the OUA West for the first time in 15 years.
Women’s basketball freshman Sara Azzolini, a Hammarskjold High School graduate, won female rookie of the year honours.
Basketball’s August Ricketts and hockey’s Kyle Auger were awarded the Hank Akeverall Award, while basketball’s Chume Nwigwe and skiing’s Sarah Lutes won the Argus Award.
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Hank Akervall Award
- August Ricketts, Women's Basketball
- Kyle Auger, Men's Hockey
Argus Award
- Chume Nwigwe, Men's Basketball
- Sarah Lutes, Women's Nordic Skiing
Female Rookie of the Year
- Sara Azzolini, Women's Basketball
Male Rookie of the Year
- Josh Van Unen, Men's Hockey
- Erikson Moore, Men's Nordic Skiing
Female Athlete of the Year
- Amy Stieh, Women's Track & Field
- Tiffany Reynolds, Women's Basketball
Male Athlete of the Year
- Spencer Blackwell, Men's Hockey
Team Awards
Men’s Hockey
- Rookie of the Year: Josh Van Unen
- Best Offensive Player: Spencer Blackwell
- Best Work Ethic: Noah Massie
- Best Defensive Player: Tyler Jette
- Most Valuable Player: Griffen Fox
Women’s Basketball
- Rookie of the Year: Sara Azzolini
- Most Improved Player: Hana Whalen
- Best Defensive Player: Tiffany Reynolds
- Amanda Nesbitt Award: Lily Gruber-Schulz
- Most Valuable Player: Tiffany Reynolds
Men’s Wrestling
- Most Improved Wrestler: Abraham Ntienjem
- Most Valuable Wrestler: Mike Zale
- Frank Schaller Award: Chase Birch
Women’s Wrestling
- Rookie of the Year: Isabelle Galaise
- Most Improved Wrestler: Isabelle Bedard
- Most Valuable Wrestler: Erin Clayton
Cross Country Running
- Most Valuable Runner – Female: Katherine Lucas
- Most Valuable Runner – Male: Jett Dobson
Indoor Track & Field
- Most Valuable Runner – Female: Amy Stieh
- Most Valuable Runner – Male: Rami Gharsali
- Erron Williams Memorial Spirit Award: Aiden Webster
Women’s Volleyball
- Rookie of the Year: Alysha Goundrey
- Coaches Award: Megan Nahachewsky
- Corrinne Kollmann Award: Virginie Franks
- Most Improved: Emily Heil
- Most Valuable Player: Rebekah Hara
Women’s Nordic Skiing
- Rookie of the Year: Emma Toriseva
- Most Valuable Skier: Sarah Lutes
Men’s Nordic Skiing
- Rookie of the Year: Noah Connell & Patrick Wiss
- Most Valuable Skier: Conor McGovern
- Sportsperson of the Year: Luke Pollex
Men’s Basketball
- Rookie of the Year: Harold Santacruz Cardenal
- Most Improved Player: Nathan Bilamu
- Best Defensive Player: Dylan Morrison
- Most Valuable Player: Michael Okafor (pictured below)
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