ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Elizabeth Manley
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Rick Desclouds
ALPINE SKIING – Mike Tommy – Technical skiers go for broke and that was evident in Tommy’s 1938 results as he had 13 finishes in 39 slalom and giant slalom races. While he failed to complete his two Winter Olympic races and seven of nine World Cups, Tommy scored a second and a third in two Nor-Am slaloms.
ARCHERY – Jonathon Beausoleil – Jonathon placed first at both the Indoor and Outdoor Ontario Junior championships. He was a member of the second place Ontario Games team. He also had second place finish at the Ontario Association of Archers competition.
BADMINTON – Michael Bitten – Winner of four Grand Prix tournaments in Canada, the Carleton University student captured the Canadian Open mixed doubles title with Doris Piche.
BASEBALL – Peter Hoy – The Cardinal, Ontario, right-handed pitcher saw action in the world championships and Seoul Olympics, and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox.
BASKETBALL – Alex Overwijk – The Carleton Ravens’ guard finished his university career as one of the school’s top-10 overall scorers and was winner of the team’s MVP and sportsmanship awards.
BIATHLON – Lise Meloche – Canada’s top female ski/shoot athlete for the past five years. Meloche placed 12th in the world championship women’s 10-kilometre race with a perfect round on the ranges. She is now coaching at the national level.
BOARD SAILING – Carol Ann – The 1986 ACT athlete of the year won the Olympic class world championship in Brazil with seven straight victories. She also had a perfect seven-race series at the CORK competition in Kingston. She was the Canadian Yachting Association’s athlete of the year.
BOBSLEIGH – Ken Leblanc – In his rookie season, Leblanc was a member of the winning two-and four-man teams at the Canadian championships as a brakeman and reached the Calgary Winter Olympics, where he was 15th in the four-man. At the 1989 national championships held last December, Leblanc repeated his double gold medal feat.
BOWLING – Richard Morin – The top tournament winner in the region, Morin was on the Ontario men’s team at the Canadian championships and was the high qualifier at the masters tournament.
BOXING – Brian Brennan – As a lightweight, Brennan fought 13 times, including the Canada Cup meet and on an international card in Ireland.
BROOMBALL – Yvon ‘Skip’ Breton – Recognized as the best player in Canada, Breton was instrumental in leading Embrun Plumbing of the Embrun Broomball League to league, regional, provincial and national championships. He was the MVP at the national men’s elite tournament.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING – Mark Rab – A good showing at the Canadian championships, where he was seventh in the 50-kilometre race and second in the relay, earned Rab a place on the national team. He also was 10th in the Gatineau 55 Worldloppet League race.
CURLING – Phyllis Neilsen, Grace Campbell, Mary Ellen McGugan, Geraldine Barton, Barbara Baird – A 6-4 Win over British Columbia gave the Neilsen rink the Canadian senior women’s curling championship. Neilson, whose rink had the best round-robin record at 9-2, was named to the all-star team as skip. Due to injury, Barbara Baird substituted tor Grace Campbell at the Nationals.
DISABLED (WHEELCHAIR) – Denis Lapalme – A member of Canada’s fifth-placed men’s basketball team at the Paralympics in Seoul, Lapalme led the Ottawa Royals in scoring and, was an all-star in every tournament the team entered. He also was a key off-court organizer for the Royals and president of the Ottawa-Carleton Wheelchair Sports Association.
DIVING – Chris Huber – The 17-year-01d Nepean resident finished 10th in the Canadian senior championships. Chris also placed 3rd at the Ontario Championships before a back injury forced him to sit out the season.
EQUESTRIAN – Ian Millar – The world’s No. 1-ranked show jumper won the World Cup final in Goteburg, Sweden, with Big Ben, and was the 1987 ACT athlete of the year. He scored numerous firsts in North American competitions and was in line for a medal after the first round of Seoul Olympics, but had two critical knockdowns coming home.
FENCING – Michel Dessureault – The area’s top fencer reached the semifinals of the epee individual competition at the Seoul Olympics, placing 31st, and was in the epee and foil team events.
FIGURE SKATING – Elizabeth Manley – When the pressure was the greatest, Manley delivered by winning a Silver medal at the Calgary Winter Olympics and gave Katarina Witt of East Germany another scare in Budapest before settling for her first world championship medal, a silver. She also won her third Canadian senior women’s title.
FOOTBALL – Chris Flynn – The Buckingham, Quebec native won the Hec Crighton award as the Canadian university football player of the year and quarterbacked St. Mary’s Huskies to the CIAU final. But he missed the game because of head injury. In his nine games, Flynn completed 113 of 196 passes for 2,052 yards.
FREESTYLE SKIING – Chris Simboli – A rare combined skier doing ballet, moguls and aerials, Simboli won two gold and six bronze World Cup medals to place second overall in Grand Prix standings. As well, he won his third Canadian combined championship in four years.
GOLF – Jeremy Moore – One of the top juniors in Quebec, Moore won the Ottawa Valley Golf Association junior title and led Glebe Collegiate to the Ottawa High School championship.
HOCKEY – Andrew Cassels – The Ottawa 67’s centre was the Ontario Hockey League player of the year and runner-up at the national level. The OHL’s scoring champion with 48 goals and 103 assists was a first team all-star and voted the Leyden Division’s smartest player, best playmaker and best stickhandler by the coaches.
JUDO – Sandra Greaves – The Pan Am Games and Canadian champion was the first and only woman to represent Canada at the Seoul Summer Olympics in judo, which was a demonstration event.
LACROSSE – Andrew Pyefinch – The MVP for the Gloucester Sports Club Griffins won a similar award in the Quebec Lacrosse League and led his team to the national championship.
LUGE – Leanne Schade – The Osgoode sledder turned to senior competition after a successful junior career and placed fifth in women’s singles at the Canadian championships.
MODERN PENTATHLON – Lawrence Keyte – The Nepean geologist placed eighth at a World Cup meet in Bucharest, the best-ever result by a Canadian, before moving to the Seoul Summer Olympics.
ORIENTEERING – Chris Seligy – When it carne to finding his way through the woods with map and compass, Seligy was at the head of the pack at the North American, Canadian and Ontario championship individual and relay races.
PADDLING – Renn Crichlow – In his first Summer Olympics, he reached the semifinals of the kayak singles and kayak fours. At the Pan-Am championships, he earned three gold medals in K-1 and K-4 races and was the Canadian kayak tandem Champion over 1,000 metres with Rideau Canoe Club teammate Mark Holmes.
RACQUETBALL – Guy Desjardins – The Gatineau resident was the Canadian 18-and-under doubles champion with Jean-Marc Desy of Montreal.
RINGETTE – Brenda Budarick – A member of the Provincial Championship Gloucester Devils, Brenda’s team placed 2nd at the Nationals, where she was voted the all-star white stick centre.
RUGBY – Kevin Smith – An all-star wing forward, Smith was captain of the Bytown Blues, who were undefeated in the Ontario B division of the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union.
SAILING – Stephane Poirier-Defoy, Marc Robin – Runner-up in the Canadian Olympic team selection races in the 470 class. Poirier-Defoy and Robin were 45th at the world championships in Israel.
SHOOTING – Alain Marion – The Canadian Champion in short distance large calibre shooting, Marion, placed 17th out of more than 1,000 competitors at a bicentennial competition in Australia.
SKI JUMPING – Horst Bulau – Canada’s most productive jumper ever had the country’s best-ever 90-metre result at a Winter Olympics when he placed seventh in Calgary. He also placed fourth in a 70-metre World Cup competition at Thunder Bay to start the season and ended it by becoming the national junior coach.
SNOOKER – Andre Goyette – Winner of the first Julian St. Denis tournament, the Aylmer player has been at the snooker table for 32 years.
SOCCER – Rick Curran – The Nepean Hotspurs’ midfielder saw a lot of different soccer fields last year. Curran, who trained with the Ottawa Intrepid of the Canadian Soccer League, played for Canada’s under-16 team in Trinidad when it qualified for the World Cup. He also had an international match in Mexico.
SOFTBALL – Don Cox – The left fielder tor the Stittsville Iber Canadians was picked up by an Owen Sound team, which placed second at the Canadian championships and third in the International Softball Congress.
SPEED SKATING – Chantal Cote – Four medals at the Canadian senior speed skating championships helped Cote finish second overall. She won a gold medal in the 5,000 metres, silvers in the 500 and 3,000 metres and a bronze in the 1,500 metres.
SQUASH – Margo Green – At 17, Green’s the No. 1-ranked player on the Canadian junior women’s team and is an alternate on the senior women’s squad. She plays out of the R.A. Centre.
SWIMMING – Kathy Bald – A member of the national team, the breaststroke and freestyle swimmer qualitied for the Seoul Summer Olympics.
TABLE TENNIS – Horatio Pintea – The No. 2-ranked player in Canada teamed with Joe Ng of Toronto to place ninth in men’s doubles at the Seoul Olympics.
TAEKWONDO – Dave Paquette – One spot kept Paquette out of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, as he placed second in the Olympic team trials, and was third in the Ontario team trials as a middleweight.
TENNIS – Jennifer Kalnitsky – As an unseeded player, Kalnitsky beat the third and fourth seeds to reach the semifinals of the Canadian junior indoor girls’ 18-and-under tournament. In the national outdoor championship, she was sixth. She won her Rolex Ontario age class championship and became the first player ever to capture the women’s singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles at the National Capital Tennis Association championships.
TOUCH FOOTBALL – Barry Hughes – The senior division MVP for a seventh time was quarterback of the Ottawa-Nepean Touch Football League champion Sportshoe Dolphins.
TRACK AND FIELD – John Halvorsen – By running the world’s 18th-fastest time for the 10,000 metres last summer, 27 minutes and 46 seconds, Halvorsen qualified for Norway’s Olympic team. At the Games, he reached the final of the 10,000 metres. His run of 28 minutes, 12 seconds earned him a victory in the local 10-kilometre Run for Research road race.
TRIATHLON – Rick Hellard – One of the city’s best athletes combining swimming, cycling and running, Hellard was fourth and fifth in two California competitions which each had fields of more than 1,900 entrants. He was fifth at the Canadian championship and 20th in the world championships.
VOLLEYBALL – Carol Shore – The consistent play of Shore helped the University of Ottawa’s women’s volleyball team stay ranked in the top 10 throughout the Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Association season.
WATER POLO – France Bastien – France plays goal on Canada’s women’s team. The Canadian team is now ranked 3rd in the world.
WEIGHTLIFTING – Julie Hunter – At the world cup in Budapest, Julie placed 4th in 56 kg class. She holds 3 Ontario records and placed 2nd at the Canadian championships.
WRESTLING – Evan Lavoie – A champion in the 163-pound class at the local and provincial levels, Lavoie finished second at the Canadian Championships in Regina.
The Embrun Plumbing Broomball Team – For the second straight year. Embrun Plumbing captured the Canadian men’s elite broomball championship, outscoring its opposition 27-1 in Yellowknife. The team was riding a 55-game win streak as it aimed for its third consecutive national title last weekend in Winnipeg. Embrun has won the Ontario championship the last four years. The team members are: Gille Dore, Roger Grenon, Norm Lemieux, Michel Bourgeois, Jacques Gagnon, Mike Papineau, Yvan Breton, Dave Henry, Norm Bisaillion, Paul Petersen, Randy Rosenthal, Gerry Clement, Achille Pietrantonio, Steve Harps, Bill Moran, Darren Campbell, Guy Marion, Michel Bisson, Berme Larose, Ron Clouthier, Wilson Montgomery (coach), Maurice Viau (manager), Denis Bernard (scout) and Maurice Lemieux (sponsor).