Varsity athletes saluted
Intercollegiate honours to be presented at Sport P.E.I. banquet on Feb. 3
Island athletes excelling on the varsity stage will be recognized on Wednesday, Feb. 3, when Sport P.E.I. hosts its annual amateur sport awards banquet at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel.
Finalists for the intercollegiate male athlete of the year are Trevor Banks (Concordia, wrestling), Ibrahima Sanoh (Holland College, soccer) and J.P. Stevenson (Canisius College, baseball) while the female honour will be decided between Quincy Beck (Brown, squash ), Veronica Keefe( Concord ia, wrestling) and Keirstin Visser (UPEI, hockey).
Banks, a Charlottetown native, has enjoyed a fine wrestling career at Concordia, and 2015 saw his most successful yet, when he won a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) silver medal in the 54-kilogram division. Twice during the year he was recognized with the school’s athlete of the week honour, and with some fine tournament wins behind him, he will be approaching his final CIS championship as the No. 1-ranked wrestler for his category in the country.
The Holland College Hurricanes men’s soccer team went unbeaten in the region again in 2015, thanks mainly to the goals and assists of Sanoh.
The Hurricanes athlete of the year, Sanoh netted 12 times and created numerous others as the Hurricanes won the Atlantic College Athletic Association (ACAA) title, earning himself a second successive conference MVP award. At the nationals, he scored in all three of the Hurricanes games, and for the second successive season he was named all-Canadian.
Stevenson enjoyed a fine rookie season at NCAA Division 1 Canisius College, going 7-4 in 18 appearances, and winning two games in the playoffs to help his team with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) title. For his efforts the New Glasgow native was named to the MAAC tournament team, to go along with the rookie of the week, and pitcher of the week honours he also earned.
His numbers on the year were very good, limiting opponents to just 18 walks in 73 innings, while striking out 69.
Beck is enjoying a fine varsity squash career at Brown University, one of the topranked squash schools in the United States.
The Charlottetown native is the No. 1-ranked player on the team and has enjoyed good performances against the top players from other schools. This past season she was recognized with the school’s Melucci-Morphy Award for her skill, sportsmanship and contribution to the team.
Keefe has not lost to a CIS-eligible wrestler for two seasons, and she capped off her varsity career at Concordia by successfully defending her CIS 72-kg title. With numerous tournament wins, the Winsloe native was three times named the Stingers athlete of the week, and at year’s end she was recognized with the school’s female athlete of the year award.
Visser has been one of the best defencemen in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) throughout her career, and she was recognized in 2015 by being named to the Canadian team that won a silver medal at the World Universiade in Spain.
Dedicated and an excellent leader, the Charlottetown native was named an AUS all-star defenceman in 2015, the third time in her career that she has received conference honours.