The Centennial Colts Celebrated their 56th Annual Athletic Awards Banquet on Friday. It was a fantastic evening filled with recognition, camaraderie, and gratitude. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to our sponsors and supporters for their generosity in providing excellent prizes that our student-athletes thoroughly enjoyed.
This year's banquet introduced exciting new awards, including the prestigious Coach of the Year award, honouring exceptional leadership and mentorship. The introduction of the Green Heart Award recognizes outstanding commitment to sustainability within our athletic community, while the S&C Team of the Year award acknowledges the dedication of our varsity team's dedication to Strength and Conditioning. With these additions, we continue to foster excellence, sportsmanship, and holistic development within our athletic programs.
Team Awards
Badminton
Most Improved Player: Prarthana Deuba
Most Valuable Player: Colin Zhou
The Badminton team had one of the best seasons of all time. Both the Men's and Women's teams won at regional, and at the provincial championship, the women's team won their first Women's Provincial Title in program history. Also congratulations to Colin Zhou 2-time Provincial champion and the 2024 Men's Badminton Finalist.
Baseball
Most Improved Player: Owen Nicholes
Most Valuable Player: Josh Savoie
Riley Briggs and Liam Oates were recognized by the OCAA as 2nd Team All-Stars.
Men's Basketball
Most Improved Player: Abdalmuhaymin Sudani
Most Valuable Player: Deandre Goulbourne
A big congratulations to Deandre Gouldbourne for being named a 1st-team All-Star and Tavonn Mars-Buckley for being named to the All-Rookie Team, and recognized as the East Division Rookie of the Year.
Women's Basketball
Most Improved Player: Zhané Michael
Most Valuable Player: Mikayla Simon-Tucker
Zhané Michael capped off a successful first year, earning OCAA All-Rookie team honours.
Cross-Country
Most Improved Player: Ben Yalin
Most Valuable Player: Skye Pinto
Men's Outdoor Soccer
Most Improved Player: Senay Kurban
Most Valuable Player: Joshua Naraine
Men's Indoor Soccer
Most Improved Player: Aziz Traore
Most Valuable Player: Duarter Ventura Oliveira
Women's Outdoor Soccer
Most Improved Player: Emilee Duncan
Most Valuable Player: Emily Cullen
This season saw the Colts Women's Soccer team earn their most OCAA awards in program history, With Emily Cullen, Taylor Powell, and Kai Douglas being named 1st-Team All-star, and Elizabeth Maione, Vanessa Lima, and Jaelyn Reymer making 2nd-Team All-star.
Women's Indoor Soccer
Most Improved Player: Vanessa Lima
Most Valuable Player: Jordyn Chrons-Slaght
Women's Indoor Soccer continues to set the bar as they made another remarkable achievement in clinching another Women's Indoor Soccer Medal, securing a well-deserved silver. This season marks a significant milestone for the Colts, as it's the first time since 2005 that they've attained such an honour, having previously secured gold. Special acknowledgements to Emily Cullen for returning to the Indoor Soccer All-Star Team and Jordyn Chrons-Slaght as the Top-Keeper.
Men's Volleyball
Most Improved Player: Zachary Orat
Most Valuable Player: Lionnis Salazar
Men's Volleyball took major strides forward in the program reaching the OCAA Championship Final four for the first time in 30+ years. Congratulations to Michael Matsuto for earning a spot on the All-Rookie Team and Gianluca Righetto, for winning the OCAA East Division Scoring Title and being named a 1st-team all
Women's Volleyball
Most Improved Player: Kaiyra De La Ronde
Most Valuable Player: Jaque Ronquillo
S&C Team of the Year
With the team award presented to the recipients, attention shifted to the Strength and Conditioning Team of the Year award. This award was a new addition to recognize the effort and excellence of teams who dedicated additional time to improving their performance through Strength and Conditioning. The inaugural recipient of this award was the Men's Baseball team. The Colts Men's baseball team consistently demonstrates a culture of dedication and growth, both on and off the field, focusing on injury prevention, strength gains, mobility, and skill enhancement. Their commitment to accountability, respect, and teamwork fosters a motivating and encouraging environment, allowing them to continually evolve and excel as individuals and a cohesive unit.
Seniors Recognition
The Centennial Colts proudly recognize the achievements of their graduating seniors. Seniors, defined as those completing a minimum two-year program, are celebrated for their dedication and contributions to the Colts community. The Colts celebrate their hard work and perseverance, wishing them all the best in their future endeavours. This year's graduating seniors: Ali Azim, Shianne Carrington, Sophia Clement, Tayeshaun Crawford, Kaiyra De La Ronde, Tara Dowrich, Cassidy Dunlop, Marc Esguerra, Deandre Goulbourne, Isabella Heath, Tiffany James, Owen Nichols, Liam Oates, Kevin Akiyama, Nathan Chard, Christina Triska, Zachary Orat, Lionnis Salazar, Robert Salerno, and Alexandros Tsevas.
Coaches Recognition
The Centennial Colts extend a heartfelt thank you to the Varsity coaching staff for their invaluable contributions to our Varsity teams. Their dedication, expertise, and tireless efforts have played a pivotal role in guiding and shaping the success of our student-athletes. Their commitment to excellence and unwavering support are deeply appreciated, making a significant impact both on and off the field.
OCAA All-Academic
This year, the Centennial Colts had 26 Student-athletes named to the OCAA-All Academic Team. The student-athletes who achieved this feat successfully achieved a 3.9 GPA and above. Congratulations to Sarah Campbell, Pedro Casellatto, Rini Chiu, Uypheng Chou, Jordyn Chrons-Slaght, Ka Ki Chung, Kaiyra De La Ronde, Alyssia Devellis, Kai Douglas, Emilee Duncan, Cassidy Dunlop, Nicole Galon, Zakhar Hamarnyk, Michael Hapanovich, Shoya Hase, Jingdong He, Elizabeth Maione, Kristine Mayol, Vlasis Papaefthimiou, Skye Pinto, Larissa Rocha, Rolando Rodriguez, Joshua Savoie, Kenneth Tsang, Soledad Vazquez, Erdenesuvd Zanabazar.
Academic Team of the Year
This year the Academic Team of the year was the Women's Volleyball team with a collective GPA of 3.82. The team secured the award by the slimmest of margins edging out Women's Soccer, who had a 3.81, a margin of 0.01. In third, Badminton with 3.77.
Anne Buller Award
In honour of Centennial College's President Emeritus, Anne Buller, the Anne Academic Excellence Award is awarded to the male and female students with the highest GPAs out of all student-athletes. This year's recipients were Zakhar Hamarnyk (Men's Soccer), and Rini Chiu (Badminton)
Green Heart Award
The Green Heart Award debuted this year. This award is given to the recipient who truly represents and embodies the Mission, Vision and Values of Colts Athletics. This student-athlete goes above and beyond, attending varsity games, participating in non-mandatory events and taking a special interest in assisting the department. It's with great pride that Colts Athletics names Emily Cullen as the inaugural recipient of this award.
Coach of the year
Coach Rich Hirst has been honoured with the Centennial Colts inaugural Coach of the Year award as a testament to his exceptional sportsmanship and dedication on and off the field. Throughout his tenure as Head Coach since 2021, and now as the full-time Sports Field and Dome Coordinator for Athletics and Recreation, Hirst has prioritized athlete development and creating a positive team culture. Hirst's commitment to the holistic well-being of his athletes extends beyond the game, providing networking opportunities and fostering academic growth. Under his guidance, the team has seen a remarkable improvement in their ranking and record, showcasing his effective coaching strategies and dedication to excellence. His team was ranked 8th in the nation for the first time in over a decade and was the only team to defeat the National Champion Seneca Sting in the regular season in three years. These efforts saw him recognized as the OCAA East Division outdoor soccer Coach of the year. During the indoor season, Coach Rich's team would secure a Silver medal, the first time the team reached the indoor soccer finals since 2005. Coach Hirst's recognition as Coach of the Year reflects his coaching prowess, outstanding character and commitment to his players and Colts athletics.
Rookies of the Year
It was now time for the female and male Rookie of the Year. This award to outstanding seasons by a first-year player. This year's Female Rookie of the Year is Kai Douglas. Kai was a dominant force for women's soccer as a rookie. Leading the team with nine goals, earning OCAA East Division Rookie of the Year, OCAA First-Team All-Star and making the OCAA all-rookie team.
Michael Matsuto is this year's Male Rookie of the Year. Starting all 18 games for the Men's Volleyball team, Michael was instrumental in the Colts Attack, finishing 2nd in total assists and 3rd in Assists per set in OCAA, helping him earn OCAA All-Rookie Team Recognition. Michael's crafty setter dump in their quarter-final match against the St. Clair Saints sent the Colts to the OCAA championship.
Athletes of the Year
After one of the best seasons in program history, Colts Badminton swept the Athlete of the Year awards, with Colin Zhou being named the Male Athlete of the Year and Prarthana Deuba earning Female Athlete of the Year. Zhou remained King of the Court, going back-to-back as the OCAA provincial Title and again made it to the National Championship Finals, earning a Silver medal. Prarthana played exceptionally as a rookie, finishing second or better in all her competitions, netting a Silver at Provincials. At nationals, she would finish fourth.