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GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons have become synonymous with success. And for all of the teams and individual athletes who proudly wore the red, black and gold during the 2018-19 varsity season, Thursday, March 28 was the night for the entire athletics program to be recognized. The Gryphons capped an historic year with a well-deserved celebration as a crowd of over 820 people gathered at the 2019 Athletic Banquet in the GGAC.
 
The Gryphons were considered the most successful school in the country this past season after winning U SPORTS championships in women's hockey and both women's and men's track and field. Athletics Director Scott McRoberts was struck not only by the victories but by the people who achieved them.
 
"It just shows you the type of talent we have and the people that our coaches recruit, both on and off the field and in the community," said McRoberts. "I'm so proud of what everybody has accomplished this year and we all get to celebrate in being No. 1 in the country. 

And it's not just accomplishments on the field, it's the grades they are achieving and the difference we are making in young kids' lives in the community."
 
The best and brightest Gryphons were honored, including the 101 athletes who reached league all-star status, 10 first-year athletes named to the OUA All-Rookie teams and the 13 individuals (nine athletes and four coaches) recognized as OUA major award winners. There was an impressive 39 athletes who achieved the pinnacle of collegiate athletics, earning U SPORTS All-Canadian honours.
 
After addresses from both McRoberts and the new Vice Provost, Student Affairs and devoted Gryphon supporter Carrie Chassels, the assembled crowd had some laughs as student emcee Julia Schell of the three-time defending OUA champion women's rugby team chose her co-host (Justice Archer - Track and Field) with a Gryphon version of The Bachelorette. 
 
The major awards gave a glimpse of the diverse and talented athletes who performed so admirably for Guelph this past varsity season. In the end, it was fifth-year track and field star Jenna Westaway and fourth-year striker Jace Kotsopoulos of the men's soccer team who were recognized as the Gryphon Athletes of the Year.
 

🔴⚫️Congratulations to the Female Athlete of the Year, from the women's track and field team, Jenna Westaway! 🎥⬇️#GryphonAB2019 pic.twitter.com/NP45qX43AF

— Guelph Gryphons (@guelph_gryphons) March 29, 2019

Westaway completed a Geology degree in her hometown at the University of Calgary and came to work at Guelph as a graduate assistant.

The fifth-year star enrolled in courses to expand her physiology background with a future focus on coaching in mind and with one year of varsity eligibility left, she joined the defending national champion Gryphons. It proved to be an excellent and influential decision as Westaway went on to establish new senior Canadian records in the 800m and 1000m races before going on to nationals and winning a gold medal with a U SPORTS-record time in the 1000m. She also topped the podium in the 1500m race and as part of the 4x800m relay team en route to earning Female Performer of the Meet honours.
 
And while the historic success on the track was personally gratifying, Westaway suggested that being part of such an amazing group that embraced her from the beginning is what will stay with her.
 
"The connection, the camaraderie, and the competitive nature of the team was something else," she said. "It was really unique and so uplifting.

You would get into training sessions knowing you needed to bring your best for yourself and for your teammates. That creates accountability between women, between men – and that's what I'll remember."
 
Kotsopoulos has celebrated his own successes throughout his tenure as a Gryphon, including an OUA championship early in his career. But the Burlington, ON native went to a new level in his fourth year, pacing the OUA in goals with 15, a tally that ranked second in all of U SPORTS. It wasn't just the volume of goals that made Kotsopoulos's season so impressive but more the meaning of them, as many came in clutch moments to secure important points for the playoff-bound Gryphons. By season's end, he had established a new University of Guelph goal-scoring record with 56 career goals, surpassing the previous mark of 49 held by Robbie Murphy. At the men's soccer All-Canadian banquet in Vancouver, Jace Kotsopoulos joined Robbie Murphy as just the second Gryphons men's soccer player ever to be named the U SPORTS Player of the Year.
 

🔴⚫️Congratulations to the Male Athlete of the Year, from the men's soccer team, Jace Kotsopoulos! 🎥⬇️#GryphonAB2019 pic.twitter.com/NgkM6r0epq

— Guelph Gryphons (@guelph_gryphons) March 29, 2019

"The support from everyone here, being nominated and being voted Athlete of the Year is a very big deal to me," an emotional Kotsopoulos said after the event. "It means a lot. I'm so happy and proud."
 
The W.F. Mitchell Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year is awarded to the graduating athletes who combine excellence in athletics, academics and community work.

There were no more deserving Gryphons than women's hockey goaltender Valerie Lamenta and cross country/track and field veteran Connor Black. Both have been diligent in the classroom in their respective Mechanical Engineering and Human Kinetics programs and both are fixtures in the community, setting an example for Guelph's youth through the Gryphon Believe to Achieve program run at local schools.
 
Incredibly, both capped their amazing five-year athletic careers by writing their own storybook finishes. Lamenta was near-perfect in allowing just six goals in eight playoff games as the Gryphons took both the McCaw Cup and theirs first U SPORTS championship in program history, that final game coming in a 1-0 win thanks to Lamenta's fifth postseason shutout. Black was heartbroken to have missed out on the OUA Championships with a foot injury but he rebounded with a dramatic kick down the stretch of the U SPORTS Championship meet in Kingston to win a memorable gold medal in the final race of his collegiate cross country career.
 
Second-year Gryphon Zoe Sherar and fifth-year man Mostafa Elkurdy were named as winners of the prestigious President's Trophy for the combination of excellence in the classroom and in athletics. Sherar rose to a new level in her second season and was the No. 1-ranked 300m runner in U SPORTS. She swept gold at the OUA and national championships in the event, while also excelling on the record-setting 4x200m relay team. The Economics student from Toronto, ON also maintained an exceptional 85.7 per cent average, showing the same commitment to studies as her training.
 
Elkurdy has been a respected member of both the cross country and track and field teams throughout a great career. The Calgary, AB native was rewarded for his hard work with OUA and U SPORTS silver medals as part of 4x800m relay team, while running great times in the cross-country campaign. Elkurdy is also an Academic All-Canadian, who is pursuing a Masters in Environmental Engineering despite a commitment to athletics in both semesters each year.
 
The Shirley Peterson Award and Don Cameron Award for the female and male athletes showing the greatest athletic progression into their third seasons went to women's soccer star Victoria Hinchliffe and breakout basketball player Banky Alade.

Following up on a memorable second year in which she led the Gryphons to their first OUA championships, Hinchliffe ranked third in U SPORTS with 12 goals in 2018, while Alade averaged 14.5 points per game and led the nation in rebounding with 11.1 per game.
 
First-year track and field athletes Tyra Boug and Matthew MacNeill were recipients of the Dr. Mary Beverley-Burton Female Rookie of the Year and the Scott Yanchus Male Rookie of the Year awards. Boug had an amazing progression in her Gryphon debut, taking the bronze medal in the 60m hurdles at the OUA Championships before establishing another personal-best time at nationals, where she finished fifth among the most elite athletes in the country. MacNeill was a standout as both a 60m hurdler and long jump participant. He earned a silver medal in the hurdles at the OUA Championships and a bronze at nationals in long jump, while also being named the U SPORTS Male Rookie of the Year.
 
One of the truly inspirational points of the evening was the awarding of the Gryphie of the Year for best moment of the varsity season. And that went to the women's hockey team for their gold-medal performance at the U SPORTS tournament. The GGAC crowd was captivated watching the video of fifth-year captain Kaitlin Lowy score the final, and most meaningful, goal of her career in an emotional 1-0 victory over the McGill Martlets. With the team in attendance, the tape played of an injured Lowy scoring and the eventual sea of Gryphons converging on Lamenta's net after the final horn sounded.
 
In his early address to the crowd, McRoberts had mentioned how the nationals crowd in Charlottetown, P.E.I had embraced the Guelph team and helped cheer them on to the history-making win. Those hockey players among other groups, individual athletes, and staff, are the perfect representation of the heights reached by the entire athletics program this season.
 
"This night is really about all of us celebrating that success," he said. "I couldn't be more proud to be a Gryphon.
 
"Being a Gryphon refers to the way we carry ourselves, how we go about our business and how there is thanks for those who came before us.
 
 "There's no me. It's all about us, our family."

A complete list of award winners from the 2018-19 Gryphon Athletic Banquet can be found below.

Highlight videos of all major award winners can be seen on the "Gryph Zone" youtube channel.
 

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2018-19 Major Award Winners

Male Athlete of the Year: Jace Kotsopoulos (Men's Soccer)
Female Athlete of the Year: Jenna Westaway (Track and Field)
"Gryphie" Moment of the Year: "Hockey History" – Women's Hockey
W.F. Mitchell Sportsman of the Year: Connor Black (Cross Country / Track)
W.F. Mitchell Sportswoman of the Year: Valerie Lamenta (Women's Hockey)
President's Trophy (Male): Mostafa Elkurdy (Cross Country / Track)
President's Trophy (Female): Zoe Sherar (Track & Field)
Fred Ramprashad Award: Rebecca Plouffe (Field Hockey)
Don Cameron Award (3-year M.I.P.): Banky Alade (Men's Basketball)
Shirley Peterson Award (3-year M.I.P.): Victoria Hinchliffe (Women's Soccer)
Scott Yanchus Male Rookie of the Year: Matthew MacNeill (Track & Field)
Dr. Mary Beverley-Burton Female Rookie of the Year: Tyra Boug (Track & Field)
Gunner Obrascovs Trainer of the Year: Deanna Quattrociocchi & Rebecca Holland (Women's Soccer)
Cathy Rowe Manager of the Year: Melanie Beck (Figure Skating)
Dr. John T. Powell Award: Al Weersink (Women's Soccer)
 

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Team Award Winners

Baseball: M.V.P. – Robert Wolfer
Basketball (M): Jack Tanner M.I.P. – Banky Alade
Basketball (M): Bill Dimson Memorial M.V.P. – Tommy Yanchus
Basketball (W): M.I.P. – Modupe Okeowo
Basketball (W): M.V.P. – Burke Bechard
Cross Country (M): Rookie of the Year (Al Claremont Freshman Harrier Trophy) – Alec Purnell
Cross Country (M): M.V.P. (Art Hackett Trophy) – Connor Black
Cross Country (W): Rookie of the Year – Nina Whitford
Cross Country (W): M.V.P. (Vic Matthews Award) – Danielle Jossinet
Curling (W): M.V.P. – Dillon Pierce
Curling (M): M.V.P. – Breanna Rozon
Field Hockey: M.I.P. – Sophi Jantzi
Field Hockey: Laura Sharp M.V.P. – Rudi Ballard
Figure Skating: M.V.P. – Andrew McDonald
Football: Rookie of the Year – Brendan Murphy
Football: M.V.P. (Donald Forster Trophy) – Luke Korol
Golf (M): David Fell M.V.P. - Nick Striker
Golf (W): Grace Glofcheskie M.V.P. – Olivia Lee
Hockey (M): Rookie of the Year (Walter Rickard Memorial Award) – Connor Bramwell
Hockey (M): M.V.P. (Jack Pos Trophy) – Scott Simmonds
Hockey (W): Rookie of the Year – Lauren Ianni
Hockey (W): M.V.P. – Claire Merrick
Lacrosse (M): M.V.P. – Josh Manangan
Lacrosse (W): M.V.P. – Carly Stephens
Nordic Skiing (M): M.V.P. – Robert Simpson-Spook
Nordic Skiing (W): M.V.P. – Madeline Aarts
Rowing (M): M.V.P. – Caelan Weber-Martin
Rowing (W): M.V.P. – Carly Zanatta
Rugby (M): Rookie of the Year (Robin Best Award) – Cameron hurst
Rugby (M): M.V.P. (Ieuan Evans Rugger Award) – Marcello Wainwright
Rugby (W): Rookie of the Year – Emily Frasson
Rugby (W): M.V.P. – Alexandra Everett
Soccer (M): M.I.P. – Luke Rankin
Soccer (M): M.V.P. (Bill McAnuff Memorial) – Jace Kotsopoulos
Soccer (W): Rookie of the Year – Laura Marrelli
Soccer (W): M.V.P. – Danielle Sauve
Swimming (M): M.I.P. – Kyle Zammit
Swimming (M): M.V.P. (C.M. Kinnear Memorial) – Samuel Kuntz
Swimming (W): M.I.P. – Veronica Dietrich
Swimming (W): M.V.P. – Samantha Anderson
Track & Field (M): Rookie Award – Matthew MacNeill/Brennan Seguin
Track & Field (M): M.V.P. (Hamilton Olympic Club Award) – Mark Bujnowski
Track & Field (W): Rookie Award – Tyra Boug
Track & Field (W): M.V.P. – Zoe Sherar/Jenna Westaway
Volleyball (M): M.I.P. – Gideon Dresser
Volleyball (M): M.V.P. – Zach Newman
Volleyball (W): M.I.P. (Makala King Memorial) – Cassidy Collins
Volleyball (W): M.V.P. – Tara Tanasijevic
Wrestling (M): M.I.P. – Job Reinhart
Wrestling (M): M.V.P. – Alexander Chaves
Wrestling (W): M.I.P. – Esmee Hotson
Wrestling (W): M.V.P. – Natassya Lu
 

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