Van Huyse & Shi Headline Award Winners

Stephanie Van Huyse (Scarborough) and Wenchao Shi (China) were named Seneca Sting Athlete of the Year winners for 2015-2016 at the 49th Annual Athletics & Recreation Awards Banquet Wednesday night.

Van Huyse was the skip on the Women's Curling team that captured both the OCAA Championship and CCAA Championship, the first National Championship in Curling for the Sting.

Shi also captured an OCAA Championship and CCAA Championship in Badminton. The Men's Singles standout was undefeated on the season and was named CCAA Badminton Athlete of the Week on March 8.

Hilda Chmait (Mississauga) received the highest honour given to a student-athlete with a jersey retirement recognition banner. Chmait's number seven will hang next to ten other student-athletes and three coaches who have also had their careers recognized with a jersey retirement. In her five years, Chmait was a part of three OCAA Championship teams (one outdoor, two indoor) and three OCAA silver medalist teams (two outdoor, one indoor). Chmait was also a member of the 2014 CCAA bronze medal winning team.

Joining Chmait in receiving the pinnacle of recognition was retired Softball Head Coach Rick Finlay. After 30 seasons, Finlay called it a career after compiling a regular season record of 159-131 including more than 185 overall wins. For his career, Finlay coached four OCAA Champions and ten additional OCAA medal winning teams.

Along with Chmait and Finlay, former Men's Volleyball Head Coach Shane Timms and retired staff member Ian Blundy were both inducted into the Seneca Sting Hall of Fame. Timms stepped down after eight years at the helm where his team captured two OCAA Silver medals and an overall record of 119-53 (.692). Blundy was a staff member for thirty-five years, primarily in Sports Centre operations. Credit for the prestine state of the soccer pitch goes directly to Blundy who also served as Manager of the Hockey and Football teams.

Rookie of the Year distinction went to Kendra Swann of Women's Soccer (Newmarket) and Men's Volleyball's Sidney Wilding (Oshawa).

Women's Volleyball's Bianca Newman (Ajax) was recognized as the Bonnie Bacvar recipient for perseverance and dedication.

For leadership in sport, Sarah Givens (Kingston) received the Stephen E. Quinlan award. A two-sport student-athlete, Givens was named an OCAA League All-Star in both Rugby and Basketball.

In their first season, Dance won the inaugural President's Award as having the highest team GPA (grade point average).

On the recreation side, Amiel Grant (Seneca @ York) received the Presidents' Gavel. Alik Derderian (Newnham) was recognized with the Supreme Service Ring while the Wayne Norrison award went to Yuting Zhong (Seneca @ York) for her display of leadership and excellence over her two years as a recreation leader.

Outstanding Team Contributions:
King Recreation Council - Hamid Najibullah, Alisha Goss, Vince Ybanez
Markham Recreation Council - Jazmine Singh, Anastasia Bazhanova
Newnham Recreation Council - Alik Derderian, Evan Maltby
Seneca @ York Recreation Council - Amiel Grant, Yuting Zhong, CJ Araneta
Varsity Council - Lauren Watt

Team Most Valuable Player Awards:
Badminton (Women's) - Sallie Jiang
Badminton (Men's) - Wenchao Shi
Baseball - Kurt Roy
Basketball (Women's) - Sarah Givens
Basketball (Men's) - Joshua Yorke-Frazer
Cross Country Running (Women's) - Florine Imb
Cross Country Running (Men's) - Nathan Bryant
Curling - Stephanie Van Huyse
Dance - Victoria Peulic
Golf - Matt Madden
Indoor Soccer (Women's) - Bianca Granata
Indoor Soccer (Men's) - Bilol Abdulvakil
Rugby (Women's) - Valerie Ng
Rugby (Men's) - Jake Moreau
Soccer (Women's) - Mariam El-Masri & Hilda Chmait
Soccer (Men's) - Justin O'Garro
Softball - Brianne Ghaney
Volleyball (Women's) - Paulynne Reyes
Volleyball (Men's) - Jorell Miller

Team Rookie of the Year Awards:
Badminton (Women's) - Victoria Liao
Badminton (Men's) - Vinson Wong
Baseball - Matthew Chow
Basketball (Women's) - Taylor Allicock, Alcian Satchel
Basketball (Men's) - Jermaine Hall
Cross Country Running (Women's) - Florine Imb
Cross Country Running (Men's) - Ramon Laruan
Golf - Scott Baker
Indoor Soccer (Women's) - Christiana Carmosino
Indoor Soccer (Men's) - Edward Buabeng
Rugby (Women's) - Emily Bullock
Rugby (Men's) - Luke Travell
Soccer (Women's) - Kendra Swann
Soccer (Men's) - Justin O'Garro
Softball - Brianna Bader
Volleyball (Women's) - Nicole Mironov
Volleyball (Men's) - Sidney Wilding

Sting 360 Awards (Recognizing Character, Excellence and Leadership):
Badminton (Women's) - Christina Truong
Badminton (Men's) - Eldon Lai
Baseball - Francisco Mata
Basketball (Women's) - Sharifa Clarke
Basketball (Men's) - Tevin Goodridge
Cross Country Running (Men's) - Ramon Laruan
Curling - Courtney Mabee
Dance - Nicole MacIsaac
Golf - Juan Novoa
Indoor Soccer (Women's) - Sarah Donato
Indoor Soccer (Men's) - David Lortkipanidze
Rugby (Women's) - Natalie Puopolo
Rugby (Men's) - George Manoukas
Soccer (Women's) - Hilda Chmait
Soccer (Men's) - Emmanuel Adjei
Softball - Erin Duggan
Volleyball (Women's) - Lauren Watt
Volleyball (Men's) - Evan McMillan