Award-winning athletes

Skier Andrea Lee and basketball defensive whiz Greg Carter were obvious choices when Lakehead named its male and female athletes of the year on Tuesday.

Lee, an OUA all-star who also represented Canada at the world under 23 Nordic championship in Europe, led the Thunderwolves to an unprecedented ninth conference title and yet another national championship.

Carter, who graduates after five seasons, was equally impressive.

All he managed to do was capture a fourth-straight OUA defensive player of the year award, garner a second straight national defensive player of the year award and lead the Wolves to within a game of a Canadian Interuniversity Sport title.

“It’s great,” Lee said after accepting her award, “because I know there are so many great athletes here at Lakehead. So to be amongst them is really exciting for me.”

Lee, who also skis for the National Development Centre – Thunder Bay cross-country team, said it’s been a whirlwind season.

“I’ve done a lot of cool things this year. It was a great team to be a part of. We had excellent results at OUAs. We dominated. Then we went to nationals and we dominated again. I had the opportunity to race over in Europe at the Czech Republic at the world championships.”

For Carter it was a second straight win, having taken athlete of the year honours in 2011-12.

“It’s amazing right now. Winning it twice in a row is a pretty humbling experience for me. I don’t even know if that’s been done before at LU. Actually,” he said, pausing for thought, “it has been done before because I know Tasia McKenna has done it."

Basketball's Dan Zapior also turned the trick in 2002 and 2003.

“But it’s been a really good year for me, coming second in Canada and making history for LU. So it’s been great.”

University athletic director Tom Warden said it’s a golden era for sports at the Thunder Bay school. With both the men’s and women’s team taking national Nordic titles, the men’s basketball team winning silver, track star Dylan Brown emerging as one of the top athletes in the country and the volleyball team making the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade, it’s full speed ahead, Warden said.

“It’s like a family. Together we accomplish a lot,” Warden said. “If you look at the year 2000 when we started our hockey team again and how that helped our brand and how that helped push us to new goals and believing that we could win and be better than we were.

“And now that’s the attitude, whether it’s our basketball team, whether it’s our Nordic program, whether it’s our hockey program, our volleyball program, which made playoffs this year, I just think the whole attitude around here is great.”

Brown was named male freshman athlete of the year for his efforts, the female award going to wrestler Emma Horner.

Thunderwolves basketball star Yoosrie Salhia earned the Argus Award, presented to a graduating athlete for outstanding contributions to Lakehead athletics, while teammate Joseph (J.J.) Jones took home the prestigious Hank Akervall Memorial Award.