Lakehead Orillia Athletics celebrated its annual Athletic Banquet on Thursday night, capping off a successful athletic season.
Marking the first season back with all of our sports back to regular training and competition, there was a lot to celebrate among the Thunderwolves Varsity, Extramural, and Club teams. Awards and recognition were presented to our athletes acknowledging the achievements of the season.
Taking home the coveted Athlete of the Year Awards were Grace Heywood (Indoor Soccer) and Jack Beck (Golf & Men’s Hockey). Athlete of Year is one of two major awards handed out at the banquet and is awarded to two student-athletes based on qualifications including athletic excellence, commitment and leadership both on and off the playing surface, positive and team-building attitudes, and possession of exceptional and unconventional character through their athletic and academic career at Lakehead Orillia.
Heywood, a graduating defender from Bracebridge, has played in all 29 games for the Thunderwolves this season, tallying 6 goals and 4 assists, along with leading the team in minutes played. Heywood has been a 4-year starter, a former Athlete of the Month, and was last year's Varsity Female Soccer MVP. “Grace is everything you could ask for in a Thurdewolves player” stated coach Marco Moras, “Grace is a dynamic, determined, committed athlete and a supportive teammate. A true competitor that will be missed once she graduates.”
Beck, a dual-sport student-athlete, has shown strong potential from the beginning of his career with the Thunderwolves, as he was the Varsity Golf teams Rookie of the Year in the 2021-22 season. Through his years in the program, he has grown to be an outstanding leader on both the Golf and Hockey teams. He has been noted for being a committed and dedicated member of both his Golf and Men’s Hockey team. Jack is an Athletics program ambassador and a great example of what our programs are all about.
The second major award presented at the banquet, The Principal's Award for Leadership in Athletics and Recreation is a relatively new honour, having only been previously awarded once in the department's history. The 2022-23 Principal's Award was presented by Dr. Linda Rodenburg, Interim Principal of Lakehead University Orillia. This year's recipient was Thunderwolves Indoor Soccer Team Captain, Breann Sharma. Breann is a graduating Education student who has been a staple of the Women’s Indoor Soccer team over her six years with Lakehead. Breann has not only been an invaluable asset to the Women’s Indoor Soccer program, but has also been an orientation leader, a volunteer note-taker for Student Accessibility Services, has participated in leadership programming offered by the Student Success Centre, and a speaker in Lakehead Orillia’s Annual Remembrance Day Ceremony. Breann has been a crucial piece in the growth of our Women’s Indoor Soccer program, even leading her team to provincials in the 2021-2022 season.
The OCAA All-Academic Award recognizes student-athletes achieving honours standards in their respective academic programs while competing in varsity sports. Lakehead Orillia is pleased to have Grace Heywood (Women’s Indoor Soccer), and Tyler Jackman (Men’s Indoor Soccer & Men’s Hockey) achieving OCAA All-Academic Awards for the Winter 2022 semester, while Joshua Brown (Golf) & Noah Collins (Golf & Men’s Hockey) were OCAA All-Academic Award recipients for the Fall 2022 semester.
The coaching staff presented team awards including MVP and Rookie of the Year to recognize outstanding athletes from each of the Thunderwolves' teams. Lakehead Orillia Athletics is exceptionally proud of the accomplishments and dedication of these athletes this season.
The final category of honour recognized Orillia Thunderwolves graduating seniors. This honour was presented to all graduating student-athletes, honouring the dedication of these student-athletes to high-caliber athletics and academics through their post-secondary careers.
Lakehead Orillia Athletics congratulates all student-athletes and award winners on a successful 2022-23 season and would like to thank all coaches, student-staff, administration, and community partners for their continued support of the Thunderwolves Athletic programs this season.
A complete list of award winners can be found below.
Athlete of the Year:
Grace Heywood, Women's Indoor Soccer
Jack Beck, Golf & Men's Hockey
Principal's Award for Leadership in Athletics and Recreation:
Breann Sharma, Captain, Women’s Indoor Soccer
OCAA All-Academic:
Joshua Brown, Golf, Fall 2022
Noah Collins, Golf, Fall 2022
Grace Heywood, Women's Indoor Soccer, Winter 2022
Tyler Jackman, Men's Indoor Soccer, Winter 2022
Alexandra Morris, Women’s Indoor Soccer, Winter 2022 *Graduate*
Rookie of the Year:
Patrick Hayes, Varsity Golf
Jonathan Aronov, Varsity Men's Indoor Soccer
Anna Toomey, Varsity Women's Indoor Soccer
Bobby Munro, Extramural Men’s Hockey
Taylor Maclean, Extramural Women’s Hockey
Hunter Chmilnitzky, Equestrian Team
Keaira Luedee, Dance Team
MVP:
Noah Collins, Varsity Golf
Bruno Dias, Varsity Men's Indoor Soccer
Bethany Foster, Varsity Women's Indoor Soccer
Tyler Jackman, Extramural Men’s Hockey
Mackenzie Callery, Extramural Women’s Hockey Team
Danika Brown, Equestrian Team
Amy Eakin, Dance Team
Graduating Seniors:
Breann Sharma, Women’s Indoor Soccer
Grace Heywood, Women’s Indoor Soccer
Bruno Dias, Men’s Indoor Soccer
Yuvraj Bakshi, Men’s Indoor Soccer
Joshua Brown, Golf
Ronnie Money, Extramural Men’s Hockey
Ethan Sleep, Extramural Men’s Hockey
Tyler Roberts, Extramural Men’s Hockey
Emma Dunn, Extramural Women’s Hockey
Anna Clarke, Extramural Women’s Hockey
Danika Brown, Equestrian Team
Hunter Chmilnitzky, Equestrian Team