ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Glenroy Gilbert
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Lois Kemp
ALPINE SKIING – Brent McKinlay, Gloucester – Brent won the first medal ever by a Canadian male in Slalom winning bronze at the World Junior Championships. He won gold at the Italian Junior Championships and bronze in the French Juniors.
ARCHERY – Bruce Malmberg, Ottawa – For the second straight year, Bruce is the area’s top archer. Competing in the compound class, he won the Canadian championship with a national record score, and placed first in two tournaments in England and one in Atlantic City.
BADMINTON – Doris Piché, Ottawa – In her 20th year of playing competitive badminton, Doris travelled the world to gain enough points to quality for Canada’s Olympic team. Her results included winning the Spanish and Irish open championships qualifying her for Atlanta.
BALL HOCKEY – Elio Malandra, Ottawa – Elio led the tier 1 Black Eagles to the championship finals. He was top scorer in the Ottawa-Carleton Ball Hockey League scoring 18 goals, including five game winners, and had 17 assists for 35 points in 18 games.
BASEBALL – Cameron Pelton, Nepean – Cam led Le Moyne College of Syracuse in five offensive categories, including hitting .459, home runs, and runs batted in. He played errorless at first base and was named to the Dean’s list as a freshman. Playing for the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians Sports Club team of the Canadian-New York League he has been Rookie of the Year, league MVP and led them to the league championship.
BASKETBALL – Stella Ighorewo, Ottawa – The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees’ player had an outstanding season being named to the Ontario women’s east first all-star team and the second Canadian all-star team. She was second in rebounds in the country and tied for second in Ontario scoring.
BIATHLON – Chris Lindsay, Kanata – Competing all year round, Chris participated in the inaugural world senior summer biathlon championships while still a junior. He won eight of nine races on the United States summer biathlon series, and was first in junior and second in senior at the Ontario Cup summer meets. He also qualified for the world junior winter biathlon championships.
BOARD SAILING – Caroll Ann Alie, Gracefield, Quebec – After winning the Canadian Olympic trials and entering the Summer Olympics ranked 11th in the world, Caroll-Ann finished ninth in women’s Mistral windsurfing in Georgia. She also was 13th at world championships.
BOBSLEIGH – Sheridon Baptiste, Ottawa – Sheridon, the brakeman for driver Chris Lori, won overall World Cup bronze medals in the four-man and combined bobsleigh standings. Although his team never won an individual World Cup race medal, the foursome had six top-nine results.
BODY BUILDING – Johanna De Jager, Kanata – Johanna enters this year’s Canadian bodybuilding championships in Montreal, knowing she’s one of best in Ontario. As the lightest competitor in the heavyweight division, she won the silver medal in the provincial championships.
BOWLING (10-PIN) – Thomas Clarke, Vanier – Thomas bowled the second perfect 300 game of his 10-pin career, and rolled an outstanding three-game series of 774. His 205 average was Capital District’s highest for the third straight year and he won the region’s doubles and team titles.
BOWLING (5-PIN) – Marc Madore, Hull – It was a golden year for Marc bowling in Hull/Aylmer zone he won he Quebec and Canadian five-pin bowling championships in singles and mixed team. He also qualified and represented Quebec at the TSN Pins Game.
BOXING – Trevor MacDougall, Ottawa – Boxing for Ottawa’s Beaver Boxing Club, Trevor was the gold medal winner at the Ontario boxing championships in the men’s 60-kilogram class. At the Canadian championships, he also reached the medal podium, accepting the bronze medal.
BROOMBALL – Jacques Gagnon, Embrun – For the past 10 years, Jaques has been a steady defenceman for Embrun Plumbing, which won nine national titles in that time. His dedication to the game allowed him to win several all-star awards at the provincial and Canadian championship levels.
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING – Arthur Ayres, Aylmer – A member of the Skinook Club and the national junior team, Arthur won two silver medals at the Canadian junior ski championships. He also finished ninth and was the top junior in the 30-kilometre race at the national senior championships.
CURLING – Anne Merklinger, Metcalfe – Anne’s rink of Theresa Breen, Patti McKnight and Audrey Frey will be shooting for a berth in the 1998 Olympics later this year, after qualifying for the Games playdowns by winning the SaskPower Classic. The Rideau Curling Club rink also competed in the Scott Tournament of Hearts Ontario championship in Peterborough.
CYCLING – Linda Jackson, Nepean – After a frustrating introduction to the Olympics, Linda had her crowning moment at the world championships, winning the bronze medal in the road race and placing seventh in the time trial. The national time trial champion was ninth at the Olympic time trial after crashing early in the road race.
DIVING – Fernando Henderson, Nepean – Fernando captured bronze medals in the one and three-metre springboard events at the Canadian diving championships. After winning both springboard competitions and placing second off the platform, he was the best overall male and the top springboard diver at the Ontario championships.
EQUESTRIAN – Claire Smith, Burritt’s Rapids – A member of Canada’s three-day event team at the Atlanta Summer Olympics, Claire placed 15th in team competition. She was consistently one of the top 10 riders in meets along the Eastern Seaboard with one first, two seconds and two thirds.
FENCING – James Ransom, Nepean – A five year University of Ottawa student, James is in his second year with the national senior team. He made the final round of 32 at World Cup meets in Paris, Poitiers and Legnano. His highlight performance was a seventh at the World Cup in Valencia, Venezuela. At the Olympics in Atlanta, he was 38th individually and 9th in the team competition.
FIELD HOCKEY – Hari Kant, Ottawa – A nine-year member of the Canadian men’s field hockey team, Hari has been the national team goalkeeper in 67 international games. After a tour of games in England and Belgium, Hari played for Canada in the World Cup preliminary tournament in October.
FIGURE SKATING – Michel Brunet, Gatineau and his partner Chantal Lefebvre of LaSalle, Quebec – Together only seven months, they won a silver medal in senior ice dance at the Canadian figure skating championships and went on to place 15th at the world championships. In three international meets, they were eighth at Skate Canada and Trophée de France, and ninth at the NHK Trophy in France.
FOOTBALL – (Tie) – Jesse Palmer, Nepean, and Chris Evraire, Ottawa – Jesse accepted a football scholarship to join NCAA Division I football champion University of Florida Gators, after leading Myers Riders to the Ontario midget championship. The League MVP tossed 31 touchdown passes and averaged 296 passing yards a game in his 10-game season. A wide receiver for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, Chris was the only unanimous All-Canadian all-star choice, leading the country in five categories – receiving yardage, average yards per catch, punt return yardage, average yards per return and all purpose yards. The Ontario-Quebec’s most outstanding player was a double conference all-star at wide receiver and kick return specialist.
FREESTYLE SKIING – Jeff Bean, Ottawa – In Jeff’s first year on Canada’s World Cup freestyle team, he surprised everyone by placing third in the aerials semi-final at a meet in Austria and 10th in the final. He also had a World Cup personal best ninth-place finish. At the Canadian championships, he was fourth in aerials.
GOLF – Chris McCuaig, Nepean – Chris finished 2nd in medalist play at the Canadian Amateur and placed 3rd in Alexander of Tunis. He then added a top 10 finish in the Duke of Kent. Chris was named to Canada’s 6-man team that will compete in a four country tournament in Japan.
HOCKEY – Alyn McCauley, Ottawa – Alyn was the OHL junior hockey player of the year, scoring 34 goals and 48 assists in 55 games for the Ottawa 67’s. Voted the OHL’s smartest player, top face-off man and top defensive forward, Alyn scored the final goal in Canada’s 4-1 win over Sweden to give the national team its fourth consecutive world junior hockey title.
JUDO – Nathalie Gosselin, Ottawa – A fourth degree black belt, Nathalie won the senior national championship in the women’s 52-kilogram class and qualified for the Summer Olympics. On the road to Atlanta, she won a bronze medal at an international meet in Bulgaria.
KARATE – Vicky Anne Beaudoin, Gatineau – Only 11 years old, Vicky Anne won two gold medals at the 1996 Quebec Games. In karate for only seven years, she is motivated by her mother, father, sister, grandfather, uncles, aunts and cousins who are all involved in the martial art.
LACROSSE – Sean Steinwald, Ottawa – A scholarship athlete at Cornell University, Sean played for Canada at the 1996 world junior field lacrosse championships in Japan, where the team won a bronze medal. Last summer, Sean played box lacrosse for Whitby in the Ontario junior A league.
ORIENTEERING – Irene Jensen, Ottawa – A rookie in be 50-and-over class, Irene won Ontario, Canadian and North American masters titles and also qualified for the final at the World Masters Games in Spain. She has competed for more than 20 years, winning medals at each age category.
PADDLING – Renn Crichlow, Nepean – In his final year as a national team kayaker, the Harvard University medical student competed in his third Olympics, placing seventh in the men’s K-4 final. Renn prepared for the Games by winning six individual medals at meets in Hungary and Italy.
RACQUETBALL – David Fisher, Chelsea – The very successful former Philemon Wright high school coach in Hull won the Canadian and Quebec racquetball doubles titles with partner Dave Bates of Chelsea in the 55-and-over class. David was second in the 55-and-over Canadian singles.
RINGETTE – Kari-Anne Petersen, Gloucester – Kari-Anne was busy both on and off the ice. Not only was she the goaltender for the AA Belle division team at the Ontario and Canadian championships, but she also helped to coach the petite AA team.
ROAD RACING – Joyce Switzer, Gloucester – In her best-ever year of running, Joyce, who is 39, won eight of her 15 open races against younger competition. The Canadian Forces road race champion was 13th at the world championship. She also was 11th at the Canadian 10-kilometre road race final, and second at the national masters cross-country running championships.
ROWING – Alison Korn, Ottawa – Alison was a member of the women’s eight boat which won a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In preparation for the Games, the crew was second at international meets in Germany and Switzerland, and also third in another race in Germany.
RUGBY – Al Charron, Ottawa – Before signing a contract to play professional rugby in England, Al played eight international matches for Canada and was the Canadian captain in three. He played three times against the U.S. and was in games versus Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Uruguay and Argentina.
SAILING – Monica Dingle, Ottawa – Following a rewarding 1996, Monica will compete in the World youth championships this summer in Tokyo. She was second at the Canadian youth championships in the laser radial class and third at both the Ontario championships and Ontario Summer Games.
SHOOTING – Alain Marion, Hull – A member of the Order of Canada and the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, Alain won the coveted Queen’s Prize at the Bisley meet in England for the third time in his shooting career. The Bisley is considered one of the key meets of the international season.
SOCCER – Danielle Vella, Ottawa – As a member of the Ontario and Canadian women’s university soccer championship team at the University of Ottawa, Danielle was a provincial all-star, an All-Canadian and an Academic All-Canadian. As captain of the Nepean United Spirits, she helped her team to the Ontario Cup quarter-finals.
SOFTBALL – Michel Bougie, Rockland – The top pitcher in the A division of the Conventional Softball league, Michel sparked Savin Knights’ march to the playoff championship, winning six of nine games, hitting five home runs and earning the MVP award. He also helped the Ottawa Blue Bombers win the Ontario title and place fifth at the national championships.
SPEED SKATING (Short Track) – Andrew Lahey, Ottawa – Skating for the Pacers Speed Skating Club of Ottawa, Andrew won the Ontario championships and set records in the 500, 666, 777 and 1,000 metre races. At the Canadian juvenile championships, he was third overall, and sixth at the North American finals.
SQUASH – Heather Wallace, Ottawa – Ranked No. 1 in Canada, Heather placed ninth at the world championships in Malaysia. Heather has been the Canadian women’s singles champion for 10 straight years, which ties a record for the number of consecutive national titles by a woman.
SWIMMNG – Yannick Lupien, Aylmer – One of the fastest 16-year-old swimmers in the world, Yannick won the 50 and 100 metre freestyle races at the Canadian senior championships. He is a member of the Gloucester-Ottawa Kingfish Swim Club, and also the junior and senior national teams.
TABLE TENNIS – Lijuan Geng, Ottawa – At her first Summer Olympics, Lijuan won her first three matches and reached the round of 16 in singles. The Canadian singles, doubles and mixed doubles champion won the North American singles title and was a singles finalist at the U.S. Open.
TENNIS – Eva Januskova, Nepean – A ranked player on the Women’s Tennis Association tour, Eva qualified for the Canadian open women’s tennis championships. She also won four tournaments in Quebec as well as the Ottawa open tournament.
TOUCH FOOTBALL – Leo Benvenuti, Kanata – A member of the Sportshoe Dolphins, Leo was voted the most valuable player as well as the top offensive and defensive player in the Ottawa-Nepean Touch Football League. He was instrumental in taking the Dolphins to the league championship.
TRACK & FIELD – Glenroy Gilbert, Gloucester – Glenroy became the first local athlete in 12 years to win an Olympic gold medal, when he joined Donovan Bailey, Bruny Surin, and Robert Esmie to win the men’s 4×100-metre relay at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He also reached the quarter-finals of the 100 metres, placing fifth.
TRIATHLON – Sharon Donnelly, Gloucester – Sharon was the Canadian Forces athlete of the year. Ranked second in the country she helped the Canadian team win a bronze medal at the world championships. During the World Cup season, she had two top 10 results, placing fifth and eigth.
ULTRAMARATHON – Michel Careau, Hull – At the world 1,000-kilomete ultramarathon running championships in Nanango, Australia, Michel placed second and set 38 North American records. He also set a North American record in the Six Day Race of 453 miles 1,320 yards.
VISUALLY IMPAIRED – Stuart McGregor, Ottawa – Running seven seconds than he had ever run before, Stuart passed Kenyan runners in the final stretch to win tie silver medal in the 1,500-metres at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta. His time was four minutes, 3.71 seconds.
VOLLEYBALL – Susan Lesage, Kanata – Fully recovered from major reconstructive knee surgery, Susan led York Yeowomen to its fifth Ontario University Women’s volleyball title in six years. She was an Ontario university all-star for the third time, and the playoff tournament MVP.
WATER POLO – Waneek Horn-Miller, Ottawa – Co-captain of the Carleton University Ravens water polo team, she won the school’s women’s athlete of the year award for a third straight time. A member of the national women’s team, she scored 42 goals in 12 games and was named an Ontario university all-star as Carleton earned the provincial bronze medal.
WATER SKIING – Dan Anderson, North Gower – No. 1 in Canada in the men’s 35-44 age group in slalom water skiing, Dan was the silver medalist at both the Eastern Canadian and Canadian championships in the slalom event. He also set a provincial slalom record.
WHEELCHAIR SPORTS – Chantal Benoit, Gloucester – Chantal was a key member of the Canadian gold medal winning team in women’s basketball at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta. She also helped the Ottawa Shooters win the bronze medal at the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League championships and was selected to all-star team.
WRESTLING – Mike Smith, Nepean – The University of Western Ontario student won the silver medal in the men’s 65-kilogram class at the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union championships. One step away from the Olympic Games he served as the 68-kilogram alternate in Greco Roman Wrestling.
EMBRUN PLUMBING SUPPLY BEAVERS – Mens Broomball – In its final year, Embrun Plumbing won the regional and provincial crown for the 11th year in a row. They went undefeated, in Barrie Ontario, to win their sixth straight national title. This win gave them nine Canadian championships in the past 10 years. A powerhouse in the sport, they disbanded in 1996 only to reappear and competed again for the title in Vancouver last week.
MYERS RIDERS – Midget Football – The Riders won the Ontario Major Football League football championship for the third season in a row. They were undefeated, at 10 and 0, in the regular season averaging over 50 points a game and limited their opponents to an average of 6 points. Of the many all-stars on the team three received athletic scholarships to U.S. universities; Brock Flemming – Colgate University, Dan Wilson – Mansfield University and Jesse Palmer – University of Florida.
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA – Women’s Soccer – Ottawa was undefeated during the season with a record of 13 wins and 2 ties, scoring 43 goals and allowing only 5, while dressing 12 rookies. The Gee-Gees women’s soccer team won the Ontario and Canadian women’s university championships. They defeated the Alberta Pandas 1 to 0 in extra time on a goal by the tournament MVP, Danielle Vella who was named Second Team All-Canadian at the CIAU awards and Steve Johnson was named coach of the year.
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA – Men’s Golf – The Gee-Gees Golf Team captured the Ontario Universities Athletic Association men’s team title. Following the two day tournament at St. Andrew in Aurora they were tied with Laurier University at 622 strokes. The tie was broken by the best fifth player score giving Ottawa a one stroke victory, and its second consecutive OUAA title. Team members Luke Saunders and Steve Toth were named to the First All-Star squad.