The top local contributions in sport were recognized at the Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards. The ceremony was held on Feb. 20 at the Coast Bastion Inn. (Dan Marshall/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Dan Marshall

Sporting Excellence

Nanaimo’s best honoured at 15th Sport Achievement Awards

Feb 21, 2020 | 9:52 AM

NANAIMO — The city’s best in sport and competition was recognized at the 15th annual Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards at the Coast Bastion Inn on Thursday, Feb. 20.

A total of 20 different awards were handed out to athletes, coaches, officials, administrators and volunteers.

Vancouver Island University won a series of major honours including Sports Story of the Year for their ‘perfect sweep’ for court sports.

The Mariners won PACWEST gold medals in both men’s and women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball. At the CCAA nationals the men’s basketball team and women’s volleyball squad added gold medals while the men’s volleyball program earned bronze.

Other VIU athletes took home individual awards as well with golfer Mitch Turko being named the Top Male Athlete. He was the top player in the PACWEST in 2019.

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Soccer player Shea Battie, who also played for the Island-champion Nanaimo United side, won the sport achievement award for best female team athlete.

Outgoing Mid Island Pirates manager Doug Rogers was selected as the High Performance Coach of the Year. In his final year at the helm of the Premier Baseball League club the Pirates had their best ever regular season, finishing first with a 38-10 record.

Monica Bonczak won the Female Individual Athlete of the Year after capturing a bronze medal at the World No-Gi Jiu Jitsu Championships in California.

The Male Team Athlete of the Year winner was Thomas Vaesen of the Junior A Timbermen lacrosse team. The All-Star sniper led the the BCJALL with 53 goals and he also finished fourth in league scoring.

In the Junior category, racewalker Olivia Lundman was the top female after setting a record in the 3000 metre race at the youth track and field nationals. Top male honours went to swimmer Tayden De Pol who earned a bronze medal in the 100 metre backstroke at the Canadian Championships.

The Junior Male Athlete of the year was John Barsby All-Star defensive lineman Kaden Browne. Junior Female Team Athlete went to pitcher Isabella Bortolotto due to her standout 2019 that included a victory at the Women’s World Series in Florida.

The top team awards went to the John Barsby Senior Boys Cross Country running team in the junior category and the Nanaimo United Premier Women’s soccer club was recognized as the best senior squad.

In November the Barsby crew won the provincial cross country championship in Abbotsford, while United won it’s first Vancouver Island championship (the Terry Price Cup) and advanced to the provincial semi finals.

Other awards went to swimmer John Stymiest for Masters Athlete of the Year, Special Olympics coach Angela Behn was named the Grassroots Coach of the Year, lacrosse referee Colton Merner was recognized as the top official, Cathy Coulson was named as the Sports Administrator of the Year for her work with minor hockey and lacrosse and the Partners of the Year went to synchronized swimmers Kiana Jepson and Naomi Mayer.

Most of the winners came from a group of three finalists but three other awards were earmarked specifically for individuals who have made special contributions to the local sporting community.

The Steve Smith Memorial Award for achievement in extreme sport was presented to the family of Jordie Lunn. He passed away in 2019 but left a legacy of 20 plus years as a mountain bike racer. Lunn was also instrumental in the construction of the Stevie Smith Memorial Bike Park and was an inspiration to local youth riders.

The Hero in You Award was given to long time Nanaimo Buccaneers volunteers Barb and Chris McLeod. They’ve been with the local Junior B hockey team from day one eight years ago and theirs are the first faces most fans see when going to games at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.

The pair arrived late to the ceremony, after spending the first part of the evening volunteering at the Bucs final home game of the season.

The Michael Rhode Memorial Award for longtime dedication to sport went to lacrosse and football equipment manager Crawford Seward. ‘Crow’ as he is called by every player he’s ever worked with is a fixture at lacrosse games all over the city.

He has been a staple of the sporting community for several decades.

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77