Balancing athletics, academics

Intercollegiate finalists include athletes from basketball, soccer, field hockey, wrestling, hockey baseball

Athletes representing six different sports are finalists for the Synergy Fitness and Nutrition Intercollegiate athletes of the year honours.

The two winners will be announced Feb. 7 when Sport P.E.I. hands out the 2017 Amateur Sport Awards.

Here is a short bio of the three male and three female finalists provided by Sport P.E.I.

Female Jenna Mae Ellsworth

Charlottetown’s Jenna Mae Ellsworth is a rare dual-sport athlete. Playing key roles with both the UPEI soccer and basketball Panthers, her physical style and work ethic are second to none. On the pitch, Jenna Mae can be found holding down the backline, while on the court the point guard has proven to be a wellrounded competitor.

In 2017, she placed top five in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) for scoring, assists and steals. These tallies earned her the following recognition: AUS rookie of the year, AUS second team all-star and U Sports all rookie team member.

Shifting gears between soccer and basketball is second nature for Jenna Mae and she will continue to have a strong presence in Panther Athletics for years to come.

Abbey MacLellan

After a season-ending injury a year ago, Abbey MacLellan returned to field hockey and proved she is not only resilient, but a fierce competitor.

In her second year as a UBC Thunderbird, Abbey certainly made her mark. Having been named a Canada-West all-star for her league performance, and later named a U Sport all-Canadian.

But the honours didn’t stop there, in the Canadian U Sport championship series, Abbey was named player of the game as the Thunderbirds claimed the national title winning two straight over the York Lions.

An inspiring story of determination and courage, Abbey isn’t slowing down any time soon.

Hannah Taylor

Hannah Taylor flourished in her incredible rookie season with the Brock Badgers wrestling team. The Summerside native stood on the podium in each intercollegiate wrestling tournament during 2017. Her medal haul included three gold, three silver and one bronze.

After securing a silver medal at the U Sports championship, Hannah was recognized as the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and U Sports rookie of the year.

To cap it all off, Brock recognized her as their varsity athlete rookie of the year.

Hannah’s history-making season is only the beginning in what will certainly be a storybook career.

Male Stephen Anderson

Morell native Stephen Anderson knows a thing or two about national championships. Finishing the 2016-17 AUS hockey season with 25 points in 27 games, Stephen went on to win his second straight U Sports title with the UNB Varsity Reds. Looking to complete a national championship hat trick, Stephen’s 2017-18 season has started out with a bang. After earning himself national recognition as U Sports athlete of the week, Stephen was named to the U Sports all-star team that swept the Canadian world juniors squad with two wins in exhibition play.

Ibrahima Sanoh

Ibrahima Sanoh has set the bar for Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) men’s soccer.

The Holland College Hurricane’s striker entered the league four years ago and has been breaking records ever since. A four-time ACAA player of the year, four-time Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) all-Canadian, two-time national medallist and most recently CCAA player of the year, Ibrahima not only set the bar, but set it high. Graduating from the conference with 101 goals, Ibra’s impressive tally stands above any other player in ACAA history.

Ibrahima certainly deserves to take a moment and reflect on four years of total domination.

John Patrick Stevenson

John Patrick (J.P.) Stevenson had a terrific junior year as a starting pitcher for the NCAA Division I Canisius College. The New Glasgow native led his team in wins with a very solid 3.65 ERA. The southpaw also led the team in innings pitched and strikeouts, allowing only 89 hits in 93 innings. Stevenson was one of five NCAA players named to the firstteam all-Canadian college baseball team, a prestigious honour chosen by the Canadian Baseball Network. He was the only player east of Ontario named to the team.

J.P. continues to show why he is the province’s top pitcher and has dreams of one day playing in the big leagues.