Keough, Pritchard named CBU’s top athletes
Athletes that led their teams to Atlantic University Sport banners earned top honours at the 43rd annual Capers Athletic Awards Banquet at Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, Thursday.
Women’s basketball star Alison Keough of Albert Bridge took the female athlete of the year award, while Daniel Pritchard of the men’s soccer team won the top male athlete honour.
Keough, a fourth-year forward and U Sports first team all-Canadian, was named the AUS most valuable player this season. She finished second in the conference with 19.3 points per game and was tied for first in rebounds with 9.9 per game.
The Capers won three games in three days to capture the AUS title in Halifax. They capped things off with a 79-61 victory over the Acadia Axewomen, March 5.
For Keough, she called the award an honour, especially being from the area.
“I’m extremely proud of the team and (head coach Fabian McKenzie) gave a pretty good layout of our season,” said Keough of her coach’s speech earlier in the evening. “We would have had a lot of doubters from the outside in the month of February. People would have been doubting where we were. We got creamed some of the games.
“But we believed in what we were doing and we trusted what our coaches were saying to us. Fabe said he had our hearts, and we just wanted to win, so we came out on top.”
Prichard, a second-year defender from Nuneaton, England, was named a second team all-Canadian this season. He helped anchor CBU’s defence this season as the Capers finished second in the conference with a 9-2-1 record. The Capers men won the AUS title with a 3-1 victory over the Acadia Axemen on Nov. 6 in Fredericton, N.B.
“Obviously, it speaks for itself. It’s a great award, a great achievement,” said Pritchard, an AUS first team all-star. “I’m not always a person to get awards due to my position, but obviously I’m thankful for my team. The way we play makes me shine, so I’m glad to have got the award.”
Women’s soccer player Robyn Novorolsky won the President’s Award for top academic performance among student-athletes.
The Richmond Hill, Ont., native maintained an overall average of 98 per cent while working towards her bachelor of science degree, while also being named an AUS all-star and a U Sports academic all-Canadian.
The Kathy Reid Memorial Award went to Becky Hanna of Howie Centre, a member of the women’s soccer team. The award is given to a student-athlete who was able to overcome mental and physical challenges to compete at a high level.
Jalynn Skeir of the women’s basketball team won the Cape Breton Credit Unions Most Outstanding Performance of the Year Award.
The Halifax native scored 24 points in CBU’s 55-53 quarterfinal victory over the Memorial Sea-Hawks.