Distinguished guests and varsity athletes gathered together on March 28 in celebration of the Ravens’ best athletes of the year.
Amongst all the awards athletes are nominated for, the banquet gave athletes a chance to mingle with each other in a setting they normally wouldn’t have during the regular season.
“It’s amazing, especially with the hockey teams. We’re secluded in our own building, so we find ourselves alienated a bit from the other athletes,” Alex Boivin, Ravens men’s hockey forward, said. “Tonight is a good opportunity to mingle, get to know people, see people you haven’t seen in a while. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a night we look forward to.”
Aside from the major award winners, fun awards were also handed out to athletes. This year, Boivin won the award for Most Likely to Fall Asleep During Practice.
“I’m not a morning guy, so morning practices aren’t good for me,” Boivin said. “I slept in a few times. It happens. Coach [Van Allen] was not too pleased.”
For the major awards, women’s basketball guard Nicole Gilmore was named the Outstanding Female Graduating Athlete of the Year; men’s soccer midfielder Tristan St. Pierre and football defensive linemen Kene Onyeka both were named the Male Graduating Athletes of the Year.
This year, Gilmore averaged 30 minutes per game while playing in 23 games and averaging 14.3 points per game.
“It’s an honour. I’m very, very grateful for that, as there’s many athletes at that banquet, and especially graduating female athletes, so I was honored to be nominated, and to win it is even more of an honour, but it’s definitely nice,” Gilmore said.
St. Pierre started in all 16 games he played this season while recording one goal and two assists. The fifth-year midfielder also captained his team to their second straight nationals appearance and a bronze medal finish.
“Obviously, I’m super honoured to grab it. In my opinion, it could have gone to about another dozen people that I’ve spent the last four or five years with,” St. Pierre said. “Kene—I’m really happy to share the stage with him, because that’s a guy who’s going to go on to have a super good professional career.”
“Really honoured—I couldn’t have done this without all of my teammates over the years, the coaching staff, as well as an incredible support staff,” St. Pierre added. “People like Nadine Smith, Robert Leroy, all of our doctors—they are genuinely the reason why we do well at this school.”
As for Onyeka, he led Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in sacks with seven while recording 21 tackles, and averaging 3.4 tackles per game.
“I think it’s amazing. I wasn’t even expecting a nomination, to be honest. So, it was cool to be selected as the male graduating athlete of the year, so I’m pretty happy about the selection,” Onyeka said.
Men’s basketball forward Eddie Ekiyor was named the Male Athlete of the Year, while his former head coach Dave Smart also took home the Pat O’Brien Coach of the Year award.
Ekiyor led the OUA in field goal percentage with a total of 63.8 per cent, averaging 23 minutes per game and 13.9 points per game.
“It feels great. Just being here and getting to celebrate this with everyone,” Ekiyor said. “All the athletes here—everyone knows what it means to put in so much work, and everyone has good or bad seasons, and everyone knows how good it is to work all year and be here and get to celebrate this, but it feels good. I wouldn’t be here without my team.”
Women’s Nordic skier Zoë Williams was named the Ruth Coe Women’s Athlete of the Year. Williams competed at the OUA Championships in North Bay, Ont., where she picked up two gold medals, a silver in the team relay, and first place overall as a team.
She went on to the Canadian national championships where she won gold, silver, and bronze medals, as well as a silver in team relay and second place overall. As a result, she qualified to race at the World Cup Finals in Quebec City.
“It’s so exciting. I was so honoured to be chosen as the female athlete of the year, and the award just means so much to me,” Williams said. “In cross-country skiing, not many people choose to go to school and ski. A lot of people just ski, and I’ve been really trying to show people in the cross-country skiing world that it is possible to go to school and to pursue skiing at a high level.”
“So, having all the work I’ve been doing over the past number of years recognized by such a big award, and having the support from Carleton University, just means so much to me,” Williams added.
Men’s hockey goalie coach Matthew Jenkins was awarded the Varsity Council Volunteer award. This was Jenkins’ first year taking the new role, and was part of a goaltending group that started the charitable initiative “Saves 4 Toys,” to collect donations for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).
“It’s been an honour to come in and help. And, obviously, the goalies that I got to work with, and the other parts of the team that allowed me to come in, because having just graduated, they could have easily said you’re not really a good fit,” Jenkins said.
“But, I thank all the guys for allowing me to come in and be a part of the team, because I feel like I still have something to give.”
Image by Valerie Wutti
