Mohawk Athletics celebrated its most successful season in more than five years on Thursday night at its 55th annual Mountaineers Athletic Banquet.
Across its nine high-performance programs the Mountaineers captured five OCAA team medals in the 2022-23 campaign, a feat that had not been achieved by the department since 2016-17.
The team success was once again led by the men's curling program, who won their second consecutive OCAA Championship and brought home a CCAA bronze medal as well. In addition, mixed double curling, women's cross country, women's basketball and men's basketball all claimed an OCAA bronze medal.
A total of 29 Mountaineer athletes were honoured with provincial and national awards during this past year in their respective sports ranging from OCAA major awards, all-star nods, all-rookie team mentions, and CCAA Championship all-star recognitions. Furthermore, three Mohawk coaches took home Coach of the Year awards in their respective sports.
At the April 20 banquet, the Dr. Sam Mitminger Award – the highest honour in Mountaineer Athletics which is presented to graduating athletes – was presented to cross country standout Ashley Lof (Beamsville, ON) and men's volleyball captain Anthony Beijes (Hamilton, ON).
Graduating from the Mohawk Nursing program, Lof finished her four-years with the Mountaineers by helping the women's cross country program earn its first OCAA medal since 1996. Lof was named an OCAA First-Team All-Star once in her career and Second-Team All-Star three times. At the OCAA Championships, Lof placed in the top-11 all four times she competed with her highest finish being sixth-place in 2019.
In Lof's final three years in the classroom, she earned both OCAA All-Academic and CCAA Academic All-Canadian honours.
Beijes competed with the men's volleyball team for three seasons with the 2022-23 year being easily his best. As team captain, Beijes was named an OCAA West Division Second-Team All-Star and an OCAA Championship All-Star this season while guiding the Mountaineers to a fourth-place provincial finish.
Statistically Beijes in three seasons had 323 kills, 33 service aces, 109 digs and 71 blocks in 44 matches. Beijes is graduating from the Computer Engineering Technology program.
Anika Gatto (Coquitlam, BC), one of the best libero's in the OCAA, was celebrated as the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year, and men's basketball teammates Daniel Graham (Hamilton, ON) and Jerry Jr. Mercury (Scarborough, ON) were the co-winners of the Wes Hicks Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year.
Gatto had one of the best seasons ever for a Mohawk libero finishing with 262 digs, which is the second-best total digs number in Mountaineers women's volleyball history and led the OCAA this season. The fourth-year helped lead her team to an OCAA bronze medal.
Graham and Mercury were big contributors in men's basketball capturing an OCAA bronze.
Individually, Graham averaged 20.1 points per game during the 2022-23 season on 41.6 per cent shooting, and he led the province in three-pointers made with 63 which also ranked top-five in the CCAA.
Mercury finished the season averaging 18.8 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game, finishing with a double-double performance in 10 games while shooting 50.6 per cent from the field. At the OCAA Championship tournament, Mercury averaged 21.6 points and 16.3 rebounds in three games.
The Mountaineers Athlete of Distinction award is presented to third to fifth year student-athletes who enriched the Mohawk Mountaineer high-performance program through achievement, leadership and community involvement and academics. The recipients this year were Lof, Graham and Rommel Claura (Hamilton, ON) of men's basketball. All three were presented with their game jersey framed.
The Female and Male Freshman Athletes of the Year both saw co-winners with Ava Snyder (Burlington, ON) and Alyssa Glasbergen (Burlington, ON) earning the female honours, and Peter Pilling (St. Catharines, ON) and Stefan Anisko (Haldimand County, ON) being the male recipients.
Snyder won an OCAA bronze medal with the women's cross country team while placing fourth overall at the provincial championships.
Glasbergen led women's soccer with five goals and 12 points during the 2022 campaign. The Mountaineers would finish the season 5-0-5 and advance as far as the OCAA quarter-final.
Pilling in only his first OCAA season was one of the best setters in the league, finishing the year with 447 assists and 6.57 assists per set, while also recording 35 kills, 19 service aces and 116 digs.
Anisko finished in the top-10 in the OCAA in scoring, averaging 20 points per game on 51.2 per cent shooting and 40 per cent from three.
Following an announcement last month that he would be retiring after 17 seasons as the men's basketball head coach, Brian Jonker was honoured as the Laurie Cahill Head Coach of the Year. Jonker in his final season coached his squad to an OCAA bronze medal and a 14-4 regular season record, and the team finished as the best scoring team in the league.
Francisco Font was named the Bernetta Scime Assistant Coach of the Year, as he helped coach women's soccer to its first undefeated season since 1998.
Mohawk Athletics also introduced three new awards this year.
The first of those awards was the Athletic Director Award, which was given to a group of student-athletes who had significant contributions to their team's performance this season, while showing up in their respective sport with an outstanding attitude, level of effort and exemplified the spirit of a true competitor.
Winners included Abigail Woods (Paris, ON) of women's soccer, Cale Calura (Hamilton, ON) from men's basketball, Tia Stys (St. Catharines, ON) of women's basketball, men's soccer goalkeeper Oliver Steinke (Dundas, ON) and Joel Sloots (Hamilton, ON) of men's volleyball.
Growing Through Grit was the second newest award, and was given to athletes who found a way to push through when things got tough and never gave up or gave excuses.
The four recipients of the award included Paige Epp (Grimsby, ON) of women's soccer, Liam Little (Haliburton, ON) from men's curling, men's volleyball libero Turner Neame (Hamilton, ON) and Mackenzie Hart (Hamilton, ON) from men's basketball.
Mountaineer Culture Cultivator Award was the third honour introduced, and was given to athletes who have grit, are resilient, take initiative in their community involvement and are tenacious in their respective sports.
The winners included mixed doubles curler Ashley Verhees (Elmwood, ON), cross country runner Stefania Salzer (Hamilton, ON), Beth Minielly (London, ON) of women's basketball and Yvonne Mann (Kitchener, ON) from women's volleyball.
Matias Tessel (Guelph, ON) of cross country and Irene Jaramillo of women's volleyball were awarded the Dr. Keith McIntyre Leadership Award. This award is named after Dr. Keith McIntyre, who is a former Mohawk president, and is awarded to a person who showed outstanding leadership qualities that have contributed toward the enrichment, support, development and enhancement of student life at the College.
The Michelle Harkness Department of Athletics Award was presented to Michaela Walker (Dundas, ON) of women's softball. This honour is in recognition of outstanding participation in both varsity and campus recreation programs.
Robert Rawson, who worked for Athletics as a student game day staff member, was awarded the Barb Moore Spirit of Athletics Award. Barb Moore was part of the Mohawk Student Life Department for over 20 years, and this award is given to an individual who as a non-varsity participant played a valued role in the Athletics Department.
A Mountaineer Media Award was also presented this year, and this award is honoured to a student who worked under the Sports Information umbrella and helped advance the Mohawk Athletics digital footprint. The winner of this award was student videographer Alexander Macdonell for his fantastic work with highlight reels that received tremendous engagement on social media.
Minielly and Maegan Dorris (Brantford, ON) were both recipients of the Kelly Dunham Memorial Scholarship Award. It is the second year in a row Minielly was awarded this scholarship. This scholarship recognizes female student-athletes in the women's basketball program that best demonstrated the values put forth by the Kelly Dunham Memorial Foundation - a non-profit charitable organization that provides support by enabling those in our community to better themselves and achieve what they believe in.
Emma Becke (Burlington, ON) took home the Athlete Scholar Award for having the highest-grade point average amongst all athletes using fall grades. Women's volleyball were awarded the Team Scholastic Award, which is given to the team who attained the highest-grade point average amongst all team members using fall semester grades.
2022-23 MOHAWK MOUNTAINEERS MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
Dr. Sam Mitminger Award: Ashley Lof (cross country) & Anthony Beijes (men's volleyball)
Wes Hicks Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year: Daniel Graham (men's basketball) & Jerry Jr. Mercury (men's basketball)
Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year: Anika Gatto (women's volleyball)
Male Freshman Athlete of the Year: Peter Pilling (men's volleyball) and Stefan Anisko (men's basketball)
Female Freshman Athlete of the Year: Ava Snyder (cross country) & Alyssa Glasbergen (women's soccer)
Laurie Cahill Head Coach of the Year: Brian Jonker (men's basketball)
Bernetta Scime Assistant Coach of the Year: Francisco Font (women's soccer)
Athletic Director Award: Abigail Woods (women's soccer), Cale Calura (men's basketball), Tia Stys (St. Catharines, ON), Oliver Steinke (men's soccer) & Joel Sloots (Hamilton, ON)
Growing Through Grit Award: Paige Epp (women's soccer), Liam Little (men's curling), Turner Neame (men's volleyball), Mackenzie Hart (men's basketball)
Mountaineer Culture Cultivator Award: Ashley Verhees (curling), Stefania Salzer (cross country), Beth Minielly (women's basketball), Yvonne Mann (women's volleyball)
Michelle Harkness Department of Athletics Award: Michaela Walker (women's softball)
Dr. Keith McIntyre Leadership Award: Matias Tessel (cross country) & Irene Jaramillo (women's volleyball)
Barb Moore Spirit of Athletics Award: Robert Rawson
Mountaineer Media Award: Alexander Macdonell
Mountaineer Athlete Scholar Award: Emma Becke (women's volleyball)
Mountaineer Team Scholastic Award: Women's Volleyball
Athlete of Distinction:
Rommel Calura (men's basketball)
Ashley Lof (cross country)
Daniel Graham (men's basketball)
2022-23 Scholarship Awards
Kelly Dunham Memorial Scholarship Award: Beth Minielly (women's basketball) & Maegan Dorris (women's volleyball)
Judge William K. Warrender Scholarship Award: Ashley Gibbons (women's volleyball)
Hap Holman Business Award: Eric Just (curling)
Grace Siu Excellence Leadership Award: Emma Becke (women's volleyball)
2022-23 Team Awards
Men's Basketball
Most Valuable Player – Daniel Graham & Jerry Jr. Mercury
Coaches Award – Rickey Morrison
Women's Basketball
Most Valuable Player – Rachel Guanzon
Coaches Award – Tia Stys
Curling
Most Valuable Player – Joel Matthews
Coaches Award – Ashley Verhees
Cross Country
Most Valuable Player – Ava Snyder
Coaches Award – Stefania Salzer
Men's Soccer
Most Valuable Player – Oliver Steinke
Coaches Award – Keion Smith
Women's Soccer
Most Valuable Player – Samantha DeHaan
Coaches Award – Ryenn Jans
Women's Softball
Most Valuable Player – Kerri Smith
Coaches Award – Michaela Walker
Men's Volleyball
Most Valuable Player – Anthony Beijes
Coaches Award – Joel Sloots
Women's Volleyball
Most Valuable Player – Anika Gatto
Coaches Award – Rachel Vanderwal
