Mount Allison honours top athletes

Mount Allison held its annual Night of the Mounties on Thursday, March 27 and one of the highlights was the launch of a new athletics website - a virtual exhibit on the history of sports at the university from 1843-1919.
One of its designers Kip Jackson delivered a brief introduction to the project that was followed by a slide show of historical sports photos from the website - now available online at: http://www.mta.ca/threecheers.
Volleyball captain Lori Joyce and second-time winner football Mountie Gary Ross were named Mount Allison's female and male athletes of the year.
A second-year, 2007-'08 All-Canadian, Ross was also selected as the football Mounties' overall MVP. A second-time Atlantic University Sport (AUS) all-conference receiver and special teams player, he posted impressive numbers in his sophomore season by leading the nation in both punt return yardage (686) and kick return yards (607).
Ross led the Atlantic conference in all-purpose yardage for the second year in a row and also added a league high 633 receiving yards. He returned two punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns last fall, and found the end zone five times as a receiver. In eight regular season games he accumulated more than 200 all-purpose yards on five occasions, more than 100 yards receiving three times, and was the only player in the conference to score a touchdown in every game. He led the AUS and CIS conferences with 1,936 multi-purpose yards.
A 2006-'07 AUS conference all-star returner and receiver, Ross is also a former city all-star and MVP from Riverside Secondary School in Windsor, Ont. As a rookie, he was named one of Mount Allison's athletes of the year and the football team's overall MVP and offensive MVP. This year, he was Mount Allison's athlete of the month for September, a three-time AUS football athlete of the week, and a CIS athlete of the week in late October. Currently in second-year science, he was also a CIS academic all-Canadian in 2006-'07.
A resident of Dartmouth, N.S., Joyce is a third-year honours chemistry student, and a former volleyball star from Prince Andrew High School. A captain for the volleyball Mounties, she was selected this year as the MVP of both her team and the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association (ACAA), and was also recognized as a Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) all-Canadian. A former rookie of the year for Mount A and the ACAA in 2005-'06, Joyce has been a conference all-star every season she has played with the Mounties, and has been an impact player at the setters position since she arrived on campus in 2005.
Winning outstanding senior scholar athlete awards this year were basketball Mounties Ali Duret and Mathew Finniss. Both captains, the two have been four-year leaders on the hard court and in the classroom while maintaining dean's list standings every year at Mount Allison. Duret hails from Elmwood High School in Ottawa while Finniss is a former star from Sussex High School.
A commerce student, Duret has been the recipient of numerous faculty awards while Finniss, in honours chemistry, won the 2007 ACAA's prestigious Rod Shoveller Award, and is a current natural sciences and engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant recipient.
Selected as the outstanding senior athletes this year were Laura KarisAllen of the badminton Mounties, and in a tie for the male honours were Doyle Anthony from the basketball team and Zack Macaulay, an offensive lineman for the football Mounties. This award recognizes the four-year achievements of outstanding Mounties who are in their graduation year.
An ACAA all-star in 2006-'07, KarisAllen was also the Mounties' and the league's MVP in women's singles. Though a volleyball Mountie in her first year, KarisAllen later advanced twice to the national championships in badminton. She was a winner of the prestigious Bell Scholarship and is former athlete from J.L. Ilsley High School. She is in her final year of biology and resides in Halifax.
Macaulay has been a solid leader with the Mounties since first joining the team in 2003. He was rookie of the year with the Mounties and a three-time Mount A offensive lineman of the year. A hard-working student-athlete, Macaulay is well respected by both his peers and opponents in the conference and was honoured as an Atlantic University Football Conference all-star in 2004. A resident of Milton, Ont., he is in his fifth-year at Mount Allison, majoring in math. He is a former football standout at Richview Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke, Ont.
Anthony has been a dominant Mountie of the hard court for his four seasons. The team's rookie of the year in 2005-'06, he was twice honoured as its MVP, and also was a three-time ACAA all-star. Last season, he was recognized as a CCAA all-Canadian and Mount Allison's athlete of the year. A West Ferris Secondary School MVP, Doyle is currently in his fourth year of arts (history) and resides in North Bay, Ont.
Overall university rookie of the year honours went to two Halifax residents: a promising young soccer goalie Elissa McCarron of Halifax, and a talented football linebacker Ben Halpern.
McCarron was more than solid in nets for the soccer Mounties, winning the AUS rookie of the year award, and being selected a second-team all-star. Also winning her team rookie honours, McCarron was a Mount Allison athlete of the month and the 2007-'08 Mounties' MVP. A former N.S. provincial team goalie, she was also a star with the J.L. Ilsley High School team and is currently in her first year of science.
Halpern, a linebacker with the Mounties, worked his way into a starting position early in the season, and held it all year. Displaying good football intelligence, he led all conference rookie linebackers with three sacks, 26.5 tackles, and one fumble. A former three-time high school football N.S. all-star, Halpern was a star at Saint Patrick's High School and was also a Nova Scotia provincial player. He's currently enrolled in first-year arts.
The women's and men's sportsmanship trophies were presented to three outstanding individuals. Third-year international relations student Laurel Carlton, a volleyball Mountie; Shauna Neary, a senior hockey goalie; and second-time winner Scott Yorke of the badminton squad, were all honoured with the university's sportsmanship awards.
Carlton has been a team-oriented, spirited leader on the volleyball court all season. A current resident of Ottawa, Carlton has been a two-time ACAA all-star, and both a CCAA academic all-Canadian and a CCAA scholar athlete. A captain and a power hitter with the Mounties, she is a former multi-sport MVP from Nepean High School.
Neary was the university's nominee for the James Bayer Memorial Award, and during her career was honoured as the 2004-'05 team and university rookie of the year. A fourth-year geography major, Neary is a former star with Hebron Academy and currently resides in Antigonish, N.S.
Yorke and his doubles partner Brent Barkhouse dominated the men's doubles badminton scene again this season.
The two ACAA all-stars represented Mount Allison and the Atlantic team at the national championships for the second consecutive year, finishing fourth. A Lower Debert, N.S. resident, Yorke is a multi-sport athlete from Cobequid Educational Centre. He is in fourth-year honours science and was also the recipient this year of the CCAA's Eileen Harle Fairplay Award, and Mount Allison's prestigious Don Norton Award.
Winning the major Bubsy Grant Award this year was the Mounties' volleyball coach Andrew Kennedy. Having been involved with Mountie volleyball since he was a first-year science student at Mount Allison, Kennedy has volunteered in so many ways.
He was a player turned assistant coach, and over the past three seasons as Mounties' head coach, Kennedy has developed his team into being one of the top programs in the ACAA. Last season he led his Mounties to the national championships with a stunning victory over Fredericton's volleyball Tommies and this year he was honoured as the conference's coach of the year. Also a Volleyball Canada official, he is always first to volunteer his help to other programs and individuals.
Kennedy is employed in Sackville with Environment Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service, and is a former resident of River Denys, N.S.
Managers of the year were Rebecca MacKenzie for the women's teams, and Simon LeBlanc for the men's teams.
MacKenzie is no stranger to the awards podium, winning similar awards in past seasons, and also nabbing the sportsmanship and the Bubsy Grant Awards last year.
In addition to winning the manager's award this year, she was honoured at the annual university grad banquet as winner of the coveted Gil Latter Award, which recognizes a student who contributes greatly to the Mount Allison and Sackville communities. Formerly from Sydney, N.S. and now living in Amherst, MacKenzie has contributed as a player in Mountie soccer and as a four-year manager for women's hockey. She is in her final year of the music program.
LeBlanc is a resident of Sackville and has been with the football Mounties for nearly a decade. After his father retired from the same position a few seasons earlier, LeBlanc was quick to offer his assistance and has been the hard-working and reliable manager behind the team for many seasons.
Four others were recognized with Billy Johnstone Merit Awards, named in honour of the late Billy Johnstone, a great friend and supporter of Mount Allison athletics. The service award honours went to Roy Chineh, the men's assistant soccer coach; Steve Ridlington, Sackville's "Voice of the Mounties"; Wray Perkin, multi-tasker and volunteer football manager; and Maggie Doucet, volunteer athletic therapist.
The trainer with distinction plaque was given to Ashlee Donaher, a fourth-year science student formerly from Miramichi Valley High School. The award recognizes her outstanding contribution to the Mount Allison athletic therapy clinic. Donaher has worked countless hours in the clinic over the past two sports seasons, and was a volleyball Mountie in 2003-'04. Though her primary responsibility was the care and medical attention of the volleyball Mounties, she was always willing to also help the badminton and lacrosse teams.
Team rookies of the year were: Akil Smith (basketball); Ben Halpern (football); MacGregor Grant (swimming); Shawn Cory (soccer); Elissa McCarron (soccer); Danielle Trenholm (basketball); Sarah McQuaid (volleyball); Andrea Switalski (hockey); Lindsay Sherwood (badminton); and Tara Stokes (swimming).
Most valuable team members were: Gary Ross (football overall MVP); Scott Sheffer (football defence); Kelly Hughes (football offence); Mike Walker (soccer); Brendon Smith (swimming); Doyle Anthony (basketball); Braden Freeman (badminton); Laurie Joyce (volleyball); Judith Glania (swimming); Carrie Murray (badminton); Elissa McCarron (soccer); MacKenzie Turner (basketball); and Mandy Burgess (hockey).