They all gave it the good ol’ college try
Niagara Knights celebrate 2023-24 campaigns with their 54th athletic awards banquet
There was a lot to celebrate when Niagara College held its 54th Ath- letic Awards Banquet on Tuesday night at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
While neither soccer team made the playoffs, the so-called “big four” — men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball — all qualified for post-season play, with the Knights taking the bronze med- al in women’s hoops at the Ontario championship for the second time in three years.
In all, 86 awards were presented, including 47 to student-athletes who made the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) aca- demic honour roll for averaging at least 80 per cent in their first-se- mester courses at the region’s com- munity college.
Besides being among eight players on the women’s basketball team to receive OCAA all-academic awards for the 2023-24 season, Janee Har- rison of Sir Winston Churchill Sec- ondary School in St. Catharines and Taryn Mitchell of Port Colborne, Lakeshore Catholic High School al- so received academic all-Canadian awards from the Canadian Colle- giate Athletic Association, the gov- erning body for college sports in the nation.
The prestigious honour is limited to student-athletes who achieve success in the classroom while be- ing selected to all-star teams in their respective conferences.
With so many awards as well as each varsity coach recognizing the most valuable player on their team, college president Sean Kennedy promised to keep his opening re- marks on behalf of the college’s ad- ministration brief.
“Standing between athletes and food? That’s never a good place to be,” he quipped
He said the college had “lots to celebrate,” and the reason for those celebrations was not limited to wins and losses.
“You always conducted yourselves with class. Incredible effort, amazing teamwork,” Kennedy added.
“Congratulations for an amazing season across the board and for always being extraordinary ambassadors for Niagara College.”
In his remarks, he also recognized the team behind the teams.
Student-athletes, Kennedy pointed out, are supported by a strong team that includes “amazing coaches and therapists and support staff.”
“But all of that needs a good quarterback, needs a strong leader,” he said in singling out athletics and student engagement director Michele O’Keefe for praise.
Frank DeChellis, head coach of the men’s soccer team and a member of the Niagara faculty, conceded his team, which compiled a 1-8-1 record in league play, “didn’t have a statistically strong season.”
“We did have some very good moments, but we just didn’t have enough of them,” he said.
DeChellis said he was proud of how his team performed off the pitch, when they were in the classroom as students.
“We had our best semester academically since before COVID,” DeChellis said.
Outgoing men’s basketball head coach Phil Mosley received two standing ovations. The first when he was recognized for his service to the region’s community college and the second when he gave a recap of the season and presented the team’s Most Valuable Player Award to Khayden Stewart.
Mosley, who was introduced by O’Keefe as a “standup guy you would want around your athletes,” said he couldn’t have asked for a “better group of guys” to coach in his final season coaching at the college.
In all, 86 awards were presented, including 47 to studentathletes who made the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association academic honour roll for averaging at least 80 per cent in their firstsemester courses at the region’s community college
In their final game together as a team, a 75-70 overtime loss to the Seneca Sting, the Knights were denied a chance o compete for an OCAA men’s basketball title.
“But the thing I want our guys to remember is that the wins and losses will go,” Mosley said. “The friendships that you build, the lessons that you learn, the people who you have met along the way, that will last a lifetime.”
Harrison was picked as the college’s female athlete of the year after a standout season in which she scored in double digits in nine games. At the Ontario championship in Sarnia, she had 14 points and 20 rebounds in a win over the St. Clair Saints in the bronze-medal game.
Carter Thurman, of Balgonie, Sask., near Regina, is the Knights top male athlete for 2023-24. Thurman finished the volleyball season with 126 digs and 378 assists on the way to achieving a career milestone of more than 1,000 assists.
Both of Niagara’s top rookies excelled on the volleyball court as freshmen in the OCAA.
Sam Cormier (St. Catharines, Sir Winston Churchill) finished second in the OCAA in blocks per set, with 0.79, while Matthew Takacs finished the men’s volleyball season with a .235 hitting percentage and scored 19 points in a playoff game against the Algonquin Wolves.