Confederation College has announced its athletic department award winners for the 2023-2024 school year.
Cross Country ran away with the top awards of the year with Thunderhawks women’s cross country athlete, Jamie Kovacic being crowned Female Athlete of the Year for the third year in a row. Thunderhawks men’s cross country athlete, Tony Elikana received this year’s Male Athlete of the Year award.
At the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association’s Provincial Championships, Kovacic’s second-place performance qualified her to compete at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s National Championships in Truro, NS, where she was the second Ontarian to cross the finish line.
Kovacic also received the Thunderhawks Cross Country Running Team MVP award and was selected to the 2023 OCAA Women’s Cross Country Running First All-Ontario Team.
Elikana is new to Canada, coming from Sudan and is new to this sport. The OCAA Provincial Championship was his first competitive race. Crossing the finish line in 13th place, Elikana also earned a spot at the National Championships.
Male Athlete of the Year wasn’t Elikana’s only award as he was also selected for the 2023 OCAA Men’s Cross Country Running Second All-Ontario Team and OCAA All-Academic Award.
All-Academic Awards were also presented to Quinn Dodds (cross country), Tony Elikana (cross country) and Griffen Wiersema (Men’s Golf).
Varsity Athletic and Sports Team MVPs were also awarded to the following athletes:
- Griffen Wiersema – Men’s Golf
- Rosa Galle – Women’s Indoor Soccer
- Prem Bikram Khadka – Men’s Indoor Soccer
- Brayden Sinclair – Mixed Curling
Captain of the men’s soccer team Yug Dangol, graduating from the Computer Programming program, won the D.A.R. Bradshaw Athletic Achievement Award. This award is presented to a graduating student, who demonstrates the most improvement and, whose quality of spirit and drive contributed to the overall success of the college’s athletic programs.
