CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Islanders were recently recognized across the Maritimes as universities recognized their year-end athletic award winners.
Here are some of what The Guardian has seen as the post-secondary institutions released the awards via social media this year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic.
Mount Allison
Kelsey MacKinnon was named the MVP of the Mount Allison Mounties women’s badminton team. The fourth-year bachelor of science student is a Grand River native and Three Oaks graduate.
A pair of Islanders also won rookie of the year honours for their respective teams.
Charlottetown’s Nicole Doncaster, a midfielder who played with the Winsloe Charlottetown Royals Football Club, earned the women’s soccer team’s award.
Stratford’s Lauren Steele received the recognition for the women’s hockey team after recording three assists in 28 games. The forward played for the Burlington Barracudas of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League in Ontario in 2018-19.
UNB
Stratford’s Jeremy Neuffer was named the rookie of the year for the UNB Reds’ cross country team.
Alex Gallant, a third-year UNB student from Summerside, won the red and black award for Reds’ men’s curling team.
St. FX
Summerside’s Lydia Schurman received the coach’s award for the X-Women’s hockey team that she captained. The fifth-year X-Women’s forward had 12 points in 28 games this season.
King’s
Charlottetown’s Jack Ronahan earned the Calvin Headley award as the rookie of the year at the University of King’s College in Halifax and shared the badminton team’s MVP award with his teammate, Bryce Mason.
The duo won silver at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) nationals and shared the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) MVP award. Ronahan also earned the ACAA rookie of the year award while Mason received King’s male athlete of the year honours.
Mount Saint Vincent
Nikki Arsenault, a third-year guard from Summerside, was named the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics basketball team’s co-MVP with Randi Hudson.
Arsenault averaged 11.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and four assists per game.
Cornwall’s Donald Dewolfe, a third-year bachelor of science student, shared the cross country coach’s award with Hannah Baillie. He also was one of three recipients of the Windsor Flash Trophy for highest GPA. Jillian Smith and Julia Short were the other recipients. Dewolfe is also a presidential scholar with a GPA of 4.3.
Saint Mary’s
Former Charlottetown Islanders forward Mitchell Balmas was named the Saint Mary’s Huskies rookie of the year. The Sydney, N.S., native was also named U Sports rookie of the year and was a second team all-Canadian after recording 43 points in 27 games.
Islanders goalie Matthew Welsh’s older brother, Nicholas, was named Saint Mary’s male athlete of the year. Matthew will join them next season after playing his five-year career in Charlottetown.
Dalhousie
A former Holland College Hurricanes basketball player was named the MVP of the Dalhousie Tigers women’s team.
Chelsea Slawter-Wright, a guard from Dartmouth, N.S., averaged 10 points, five rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals in final year of eligibility for the Anna (Pendergast) Stammberger-coached Tigers.
