Our picks for this year’s best athletes

By Kevin Rothbauer

April 6, the University of Calgary Athletic Department will hand out its annual awards at the Night of the Dino. This year, there will be a few changes. Five nominees for athlete of the year will be announced ahead of time, giving interested parties time to speculate about the winners. As well, a rookie of the year award has been established this year–very appropriate, considering this year’s outstanding rookie crop–and three nominees will be announced for that award. Below are the Gauntlet’s picks for the athlete of the year nominations, as well as the rookie of the year nominations.

Rookie of the Year

Male

Andrew Alley, cross-country: finished 11th at the national championship (first among Dinos); named Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union rookie of the year

Ron Grimard, hockey: led the Dinos in scoring; unanimous selection to the Canada West Universities Athletic Association all-freshman team

John Riad, basketball: earned a starting spot as the year progressed; led the Dinos in playoff scoring; unanimous selection to the CWUAA all-freshman team

Female

Carrie Burgoyne, swimming: led team to third-place finish at nationals; set a number of CWUAA records; named CIAU athlete of the week

Breanne Graham, wrestling: dominated her weight class all season; helped the Dinos to a second consecutive national title

Amanda Moppett, volleyball: one of three rookies to start for the Dinos; consistently led the team in kills and digs; CWUAA and CIAU rookie of the year

 

Athlete of the Year

Male

Lincoln Blumell, football: kept an injury-ridden team in playoff contention; finished sixth in the CIAU with 1929 passing yards; set U of C record by completing 60.6 per cent of his passes

Ron Grimard, hockey: despite being a rookie, led the Dinos in regular season and playoff scoring; stepped up his play after the departure of Eric Schneider

Andy Hutchinson, wrestling: fifth-year Dino has been nominated in the past, dominated his weight category; captured CIAU individual title

Joe Melton, swimming: captained the swim team to a second-place finish at the CIAU championships; captured three individual medals and anchored three medal-winning relay teams

Jeremy Wilcox, volleyball: most consistent of the three top players on his team (including Bill Byma and Denis Zhukov); named to the CWUAA first all-star team and the CIAU second all-star team

Female

Carrie Burgoyne, swimming: top swimmer on a team made up completely of rookies; captured four individual medals at CIAU championships

Leighann Doan, basketball: moved into second place on the Dinos’ all-time scoring list; CWUAA and CIAU first-team all-star and player of the year; led CIAU in scoring and rebounding; took the Dinos to a second place finish at the CIAU tournament

Julie Harris, wrestling: named outstanding female wrestler at the CIAU tournament; led the Dinos to a second consecutive national title

Amanda Moppett, volleyball: in a rebuilding year, took a leadership role on a rookie-laden team; CWUAA and CIAU rookie of the year; CWUAA second-team all-star

Carol Scheibel, hockey: solid two-way player; CWUAA first-team all-star; all-Canadian defender

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