2012-13 YORK AWARD WINNERS

2012-13 Major Award winners
 
Male Athlete of the Year
David McKay, Track & Field		Complete List
David McKay - Male Athlete of the Year
McKay, a second-year pole vaulter from Victoria, was the best athlete in his event this season, winning both the OUA and CIS gold medals in just his second year as a varsity athlete. During the regular season he won four medals overall, including the gold at the McGill Team Challenge, and was ranked No. 1 in the CIS. He won the OUA championship for the second straight year to earn first-team all-star honours, and then saved his best for last with his first CIS title to earn a first-team all-Canadian selection. McKay’s 10 points at the CIS championships helped the Lions win the team bronze medal.
 
Also nominated for the award were Adrian Pena (soccer) and Ray Szeto (volleyball).

Female Athlete of the Year
Cynthia Appiah, Track & Field		Complete List
Cynthia Appiah - Female Athlete of the Year
Appiah, a fifth-year thrower from Toronto, won two OUA medals and one CIS medal in her final year with the Lions. After winning bronze medals in the weight throw and shot put at the OUA championships, she finished fourth in the weight throw at the national meet and then capped her season with a silver medal in the shot put. Appiah singlehandedly helped the Lions finish 12th at the CIS championships, contributing all 13 points in the team standings, and was named a CIS all-Canadian after the meet. During the regular season she established a new school record in the weight throw, was named the female athlete of the meet at the Windsor Team Challenge,  earned OUA and CIS athlete of the week awards in December and won a total of 16 medals in the two throwing events.
 
Also nominated for the award were Amber Barrett (rugby), Valerie Ushanova (tennis) and Brandie Wilkerson (volleyball).

Charles Saundercook Memorial Trophy
Karim Khalil, Volleyball		Complete List
Karim Khalil - Charles Saundercook trophy
Khalil, a fifth-year outside hitter from Mississauga, Ont., has been one of the most dedicated student-athletes at York and has excelled both on and off the court in his time with the Lions. On the court, he has been the team captain for the past three seasons and has overseen the Lions rise from a non-playoff team to an OUA semifinalist. In the classroom, he is a three-time CIS academic all-Canadian and in the community, he served this year as the president of the York Sport Council and as an academic mentor with the P.A.W.S. program. In 2012 received the OUA’s Dale Iwanoczko Sportsman Award for athletics, academics and community service and the Stuart G. Robbins Award for the student-athlete with the highest GPA among Sport Excellence Award winners. Khalil has been asked on numerous occasions to speak on behalf of student-athletes at events on campus, and he is the true embodiment of the characteristics of the Charles Saundercook Award.
 
Also nominated for the award were Branko Majstorovic (soccer), Pat Russell (football) and David Tyndale (basketball).

Bryce M. Taylor Award
Felicia Turone, Soccer		Complete List
Felicia Turone - Bryce M. Taylor award
Turone, a fifth-year defender from Brampton, Ont., has been a true leader for the Lions women’s soccer team in her five years with the program. A member of the OUA title-winning team in 2009, she became a regular starter on defence in her third year and has helped the Lions allow a division-low 18 goals in 30 regular-season games over the last two years and earning back-to-back OUA all-star selections. Turone has been the team captain in each of the last two years and this season, as a sport council representative, was instrumental in helping the women’s soccer team win the Roar Cup after two years outside the top three in the final standings. She earned CIS academic all-Canadian honours for the first time in 2012 and this year she was the recipient of the Stuart G. Robbins Award after recording the highest GPA among all Sport Excellence Award winners. Turone is also a dedicated volunteer in the community as a youth soccer coach and a tutor, and through the education program at York she has worked with autistic children at a local elementary school. For all of her efforts, Turone was chosen as York’s representative for the OUA Women of Influence luncheon later this spring.
 
Also nominated for the award were Melissa Cunningham (rugby), Kelsey Desjarlais (cross country, track and field) and Gina Morphy (volleyball).

Coach of the Year
Colin Inglis, Track & Field		Complete List
Colin Inglis - Coach of the year
Inglis, the head coach for the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams, took a very young track and field squad to the podium at the CIS championships as the men’s team won the bronze medal despite featuring a roster that included only one individual medallist from the previous year. Of the 25 athletes who qualified for the CIS championships, 11 were at the national meet for the first time. Overall, his student-athletes had 35 CIS qualifying performances, 217 OUA qualifying performances and 171 personal bests. Four athletes were named CIS all-Canadians and three earned OUA all-star honours. Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams were ranked among the CIS Top 10 in the regular season.
 
Joe Costello, head coach of the women’s rugby team, was also nominated for the award.
 
Male Rookie of the Year
Mark-Anthony Kaye, Soccer		Complete List
Mark-Anthony Kaye - Male Rookie of the Year
Kaye, a first-year midfielder from Toronto, quickly became one of the best scorers in the conference in his first season with the Lions. He earned a place in the starting line-up out of training camp and appeared in 15 regular-season games. He finished seventh overall in OUA scoring, and first among all rookies, with seven goals to earn the OUA West rookie of the year award. Mark-Anthony’s play helped the Lions to an undefeated regular season and the OUA team bronze medal.
 
Also nominated for the award were Anojan Sivalingam (track and field) and Daniel Tulloch (basketball).

Female Rookie of the Year
Nour Ghoneim, Soccer		Complete List
Nour Ghoneim - Female Rookie of the Year
Ghoneim, a first-year striker from Toronto, proved in her first year with the Lions that she is one of the most dangerous scorers in the country. She finished third overall in OUA scoring with 13 goals in just 10 games, at least three less games played than every other player in the top 20, and accounted for more than 40 per cent of the team’s goals in the regular season. She scored two natural hat-tricks in back-to-back games to earn OUA and CIS athlete of the week honours in October, and ended the season by being named the OUA and CIS rookie of the year, as well as an OUA first-team all-star.
 
Also nominated for the award were Tameran Defreitas (track and field) and Dorrian Khouri (rugby).

Most Improved Team
Men's Volleyball		Complete List
Men's Volleyball - Most Improved Team
The Lions men’s volleyball team finished with two more wins and two places higher in the standings than last year. The squad’s fifth-place finish in the OUA standings qualified them for the quarter-finals, where they upset the Queen’s Gaels in five sets to advance to the OUA Final Four Championships for the first time since 2007. Before the playoffs, the Lions upset the No. 2 nationally-ranked McMaster Marauders, giving them their only loss of the year, and defeated the eventual CIS semifinalist Western Mustangs three times in five matches. The Lions won Ryerson’s pre-season tournament and finished second at the annual Excalibur Volleyball Classic, and the squad produced its first CIS first-team all-Canadian since 1989. (Pictured - Karim Khalil)
 
The women’s rugby team was also nominated for the award.
 
Spirit Cup Award
Denis Malinowski & Andrew Weppler		Complete List
Denis Malinowski & Andrew Weppler
 
Sport Council Award
Kara Smith & Felicia Turone		Complete List
Kara Smith & Felicia Turone
 
Roar Cup
Women's Soccer		Complete List

Women's Soccer - Roar Cup
(Pictured - Felicia Turone)
 
Athletic Therapy Awards
Brandon Downing, Alyson Hodgson and Chris DeZorzi		Complete List
4315
 
Team Most Valuable PlayersComplete List

Men’s Basketball – David Tyndale
Women’s Basketball – Cyrielle Recoura
Men’s Cross Country – Esteban Clavijo
Women’s Cross Country – Giulia Ferrante
Field Hockey – Adriana Fernandes
Football – Kyle Exume
Men’s Hockey – Jesse Messier
Women’s Hockey – Lisa Stathopulos
Women’s Rugby – Amber Barrett
Men’s Soccer – Adrian Pena
Women’s Soccer – Felicia Turone
Men’s Tennis – Ahmed Shebl
Women’s Tennis – Valerie Ushanova
Men’s Track & Field – David McKay
Women’s Track & Field – Cynthia Appiah
Men’s Volleyball – Ray Szeto
Women’s Volleyball – Michelle Pierce
Men’s Wrestling – Mehrdad Pourkamali
Women’s Wrestling – Urshian Khalid