Local athletes honoured at awards ceremony

 

Athletes from Windsor and Essex County were honoured at the tenth annual Windsor Essex Sports Person of the Year Awards at the Caboto Club on April 13.

 

Former NHL defenceman Chris Pronger was invited to the event as keynote speaker. Pronger held a question and answer session as an intermission.

 

“One of the biggest things when I turned to professional hockey was finding role models and mentors,” Pronger said. “As younger athletes, I call upon you to… nudge [younger athletes] forward, in order to [help them] become the best athletes, people, and persons they can be.”

 

More than 30 awards were presented at the WESPYs, the Windsor Lancers’ women’s basketball squad won team of the year for the fourth year in a row. Kevin Hamlin, coach of the Lancers’ men’s hockey team, won coach of the year, and the University of Windsor’s Hannah Robson won the Mickey Renaud Captain’s Award.

 

Mugsy Rondot won the Female Legacy Award and John Vacratsis won the Male Legacy Award. Kim Bryan, Mike Soulliere and Vancho Cirovski each won volunteer of the year awards.

 

For track and field, Belle River District High School’s Miles Matthews won the track and field award for males and the University of Windsor’s Athletic Club’s Noelle Montcalm track and field award for females. Lancers Parker Van Puskirk and Jenna McKnight won for male and female hockey. St. Clair’s Stefan Mildrag and the Eastside Kicker’s Alicia Amante won the male and female soccer awards.

 

Tecumseh Thunder’s Mitch Kramer won the male award for baseball and St. Clair College’s Skyler Patteson won for women’s fastball. Brad Gyemi of St Anne’s Catholic High School and Holy Names Catholic High School’s Layne Van Buskirk won the male and female volleyball awards, respectively.

 

Bryce Evon of Roseland Golf Club won the male golf award, and Alyssa Getty of Kingsville Golf and Country Club won the female golf award. Lien Philip and Miah-Marie Langlois, both of the Lancers, won the male and female basketball awards. Dean Nixon won the horseman award.

 

“Going away to school in Michigan, it’s just a little bit over the border, but its really helped me realize how much Windsor means to me,” said Bryce Evon, male golf award recipient. “The relationships I have here and the people I have here, the memories I have with them. It really means a lot to come back and be nominated for an award like this.”

 

Andrew Binder and Sadie Fazekas, both of the Windsor Essex Swim Team, won the male and female swimmer’s awards. Jake Nicoletti of the AKO Fratmen won for football and Madeline Potts of the South Windsor Skating Club won for figure skating.

 

Corbin Watson and Ashley Goure won the awards for male and female athletes with disabilities. Hasan Hawilo, of the Windsor Wrestling Club, and Jade Dufour, of L’Essor Wrestling Club, took home the awards for male and female wrestling.

 

Windsor Lancers coach Kevin Hamlin won coach of the year, in honour of the team’s Queen’s Cup victory this past year.  St. Clair’s President John Strasser won Executive of the Year. John DeNapoli was posthumously awarded the first John DeNapoli Sports Community Service Award.

 

Samir Adnan El-Mais of Power City Boxing won Male Athlete of the Year and Miah Marie Langlois also won Female Athlete of the Year, sharing the award with mixed martial artist Randa Markos.

 

“This award means all the world,” said Samir El-Mais. “They stopped nominating boxers in general in the WESPYs, so I had to step it up a notch to come back here and actually win athlete of the year this year and try to be on the map with the WESPYs somehow.”

The tenth annual WESPY Awards honoured the talent and passion of athletes from across Windsor and Essex County. Each trophy acting as a reminder of time spent on their passion and encouraging them to shoot for the stars.