The Champlain Cavaliers held their annual Athletics Banquet on Tuesday, April 28th at the Sandman Hotel in Longueuil, officially wrapping up their 2014-15 seasons with an evening of celebration. Over 220 student-athletes from the Cavaliers’ 12 teams were in attendance, joined by Campus Director Don Shewan, college administrators, faculty and staff in addition to the coaches, assistants, academic coaches and Athletic Therapy staff, a great evening was enjoyed by all.
62 team awards were handed out, including awards for Academic Excellence, Most Valuable Athlete, Most Improved Athlete, the Unsung Hero Award and the Fairplay Award. In addition, the Cavaliers recognized the student-athletes named to their respective all-star teams as well as those recognized as CCAA Academic All-Canadians, RSEQ Academic-All-Stars and those graduating Cavaliers who have maintained and 80 or above average during their years as a Cavalier. A complete list of award winners can be found at the end of this page.
The Cavaliers Athletic Shield, presented annually in appreciation and recognition to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the Champlain Cavaliers Athletics program, was awarded this year to Kieran Duke and Robert Shaul for the dedication and hard work throughout the year and their involvement with game day operation.
The 2013-14 Female Athlete of the Year nominees were Céline Marks (Cross-Country Running), Siarh Diarra (Women’s Basketball) and Gina Lavallée-Patenaude (Women’s Rugby), with Lavallée-Patenaude named the winner. Having a great season with the Women’s Rugby team: she was named an RSEQ All-Star and was her team’s MVP for the season. Gina was a well-respected leader on her team and helped with the growth and development of the Women’s Rugby program here at Champlain.
Nominees for the Male Athlete of the year included CCAA All-Canadian Kasheem Thomas (Men’s Basketball), RSEQ All-Start Ilias Elbekri (Men’s Volleyball), and RSEQ All-Star and RSEQ Defensive Player of the Year Alex Meijer (Football). Capturing the title was Elbekri from Men’s Volleyball who led his team to a Bronze medal in the Sud-Ouest conference championships and a Bronze medal in the RSEQ provincial championships this year.
The team with the best academic average was Cross-Country Running team, passing 99.44 of all classes taken with a team average of 82.67 while the award for the graduating Cavaliers with the highest academic standing was presented to Alexandra Hamel from the Women’s Volleyball team.
Images from the evening can be found at champlainphotos.com.
Complete Award List:
Cavaliers Athletic Shield: Kieran Duke and Robert Shaul
Graduating Cavalier with the Highest Academic Average: Alexandra Hamel
Cavalier Team With Highest Average: Cross-Country Running
Female Athlete of the Year: Gina Lavallée-Patenaude
Male Athlete of the Year: Ilias Elbekri
Badminton
Most Improved Athlete: Jonathan Picher
Unsung Hero: Anne-Sophie Monette
Fair Play Award: Audré-Anne Kieu
Most Valuable Athlete: Andy Fung
Academic Excellence: Li Xin Zhang
Men’s Basketball
Most Improved Athlete: J.J. Hamel-Carey
Unsung Hero: Nikita Kasongo
Fair Play Award: Joany Castor-Thadal
Most Valuable Athlete: Kasheem Thomas
Academic Excellence: Andrew Treffeisen
Women’s Basketball
Most Improved Athlete: Coralie Dumont
Unsung Hero: Roxanne Boulianne Douaire
Fair Play Award: Cindy Laliberté
Most Valuable Athlete: Sirah Diarra
Academic Excellence: Clara Dagenais
Cheerleading
Most Improved Athlete: Maria Monica Artunduaga
Fair Play Award: Sarah Bergeron
Most Valuable Flyer: Sarah Beaulieu
Most Valuable Base: Catherine Boisvert
Most Valuable Back: Kayla Pearman
Academic Excellence: Maria Monica Artunduaga
Cross-Country Running
Most Improved Athlete: Geneviève Collette
Unsung Hero: Paul Ramsay-Vejlens
Fair Play Award: Louis-Carlos Vargas
Most Valuable Athlete: Nassim Ennabaoui
Academic Excellence: Wen Di Yu
Football
Rookie of the Year: Jarek Richards
Most Valuable Lineman: Alex Meijer
Adam Taylor Fair Play Award: Samuel Collette
Most Valuable Defensive Player: Dalton English
Most Valuable Offensive Player: Daniel Lazzara
Academic Excellence: Sam Safai-Naraghi
Men’s Rugby
Most Improved Athlete: Kevin Mort Bontemps
John Jones Fair Play Award: Jonathan Leblanc
Most Valuable Forward: Nick Dubé Mercier
Most Valuable Back: Laurent Jomphe
Academic Excellence: Jonathan Leblanc
Women’s Rugby
Most Improved Athlete: Lois Chen
Fair Play Award: Sarah Nellis
Most Valuable Forward: Libera Collini
Most Valuable Back: Gina Lavallee Patenaude
Academic Excellence: Lois Chen
Men’s Soccer
Most Improved Athlete: George Lazure
Unsung Hero: Charles De Santis
Fair Play Award: Chris Rose
Most Valuable Athlete: Mamadi Camara
Academic Excellence: Kerry Zhang
Women’s Soccer
Most Improved Athlete: Marie Charbonneau-Vigneault
Unsung Hero: Gabrielle Brouillard
Fair Play Award: Sabrina Morningstar
Most Valuable Athlete: Laurence Ste-Marie
Academic Excellence: Sabrina Morningstar
Men’s Volleyball
Most Improved Athlete: Isaiah Norfleet
Unsung Hero: Patrick Chartouny
Fair Play Award: Charles Lasnier-Davis
Most Valuable Athlete: Ilias Elbekri
Academic Excellence: Andrew Ostiguy
Women’s Volleyball
Most Improved Athlete: Keyona Vassell
Unsung Hero: Erica Patton
Fair Play Award: Jazceal Johnstone
Most Valuable Athlete: Emilie Pagliarulo-Frechette
Academic Excellence: Zoé Keller
