(EDMONTON, Alta.) - The season award winners were announced Thursday morning prior to the start of the 2013 CIS indoor track and field championships.
On the women's side, Jenna Westaway from the University of Calgary (track events) and Mélanie Blouin from Laval (field events) were named outstanding performers of the year. Ottawa's Emma Galbraith was voted rookie of the year, while Dalhousie's Rebecca Haworth received the Student-Athlete Community Service Award.
The male recipients were Laval's Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (track MVP), Sherbrooke's Olivier Huet (field MVP), Guelph's Yves Sikubwabo (rookie of the year) and Moncton's Jason MacKenzie (Student-Athlete Community Service Award).
The three-day national meet runs from Thursday to Saturday at the University of Alberta's Universiade Pavilion. All sessions will be webcast live on www.CIS-SIC.tv.
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/trackfield/index
Student-Athlete Community Service Award (F): Rebecca Haworth, Dalhousie
Haworth excelled on and off the field in her third year at Dalhousie University.
The native of Waverly, N.S., claimed gold at five different meets in the high jump, including at the AUS championships and at the McGill Team Challenge in Montreal, where she prevailed with a leap of 1.73 metres, the seventh best performance in CIS this season.
A 4.06 GPA student in psychology, Haworth is the founder of the Special Tigers Sports program, which provides opportunities for Special Olympians to spend a day playing sports with Dalhousie varsity athletes. She volunteers with Dalhousie's Health Mentors and peer partners programs, is co-president of the university's Varsity Council, and is an assistant track and field coach at Halifax's Sacred Heart School. In previous years, she had been a volunteer at Halifax's Light the Night walk for Leukemia and Lymphoma, a meal assistance program volunteer for Capital Health, and the Dalhousie Varsity coordinator for Operation Christmas Child.
"Rebecca is an absolutely outstanding athlete, leader and humanitarian," said Dalhousie track and field head coach Rich Lehman. "Her tireless work ethic always amazes me. She is constantly on the go, but always manages to bring a high level of energy and intensity to practice and competition."
The other nominees were Catherine Goulet-Paradis of Sherbrooke (RSEQ), Jenine McCutcheon of Western (OUA) and Alison Jackson of Trinity Western (Canada West).
Student-Athlete Community Service Award (M): Jason MacKenzie, Moncton
MacKenzie, a fifth-year kinesiology student, had a solid final season with the Aigles Bleus. He broke the school record in the pentathlon three times, including at the AUS championships where he took silver with 3,463 points. The native of Campbellton, N.B., also claimed bronze in the 60m hurdles and the 4 x 400m relay at the conference meet.
The recipient of a Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award, MacKenzie has a cumulative grade point average of 3.41 and has been accepted in his Master's program for next year.
His community involvement is second to none. He spent two weeks in Haiti with Right To Play; volunteers with a number of track and field and cross-country programs and at numerous events; was UdeM team captain each of the past two years; is a member of the university's campus athletes' council; and, in 2011, received the Physical Health and Education student leader of the year award for UdeM.
"Despite having started in the sport of athletics only five years ago, Jason has become one of the best combined event athletes in Atlantic Canada. He has accomplished this through an intense dedication to his sport and many, many hours of hard work," said Steven LeBlanc, technical director and coach of the U de M track and field program. "He exemplifies leadership in his commitment to his teammates. He is also a great example of the principles of sportsmanship and fair play."
The other nominees were Mathieu Hains of Sherbrooke (RSEQ), Josh Archer of Western (OUA) and Ian McLellan of Regina (Canada West).
2012-2013 CIS SEASON AWARDS
Women
Athlete of the year (track events): Jenna Westaway, Calgary
Athlete of the year (field events): Mélanie Blouin, Laval
Rookie of the year: Emma Galbraith, Ottawa
Student-athlete community service award: Rebecca Haworth, Dalhousie
Men
Athlete of the year (track events): Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Laval
Athlete of the year (field events): Olivier Huet, Sherbrooke
Rookie of the year: Yves Sikubwabo, Guelph
Student-athlete community service award: Jason MacKenzie, Moncton
2013 CIS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 7
14:30 Weight Throw (W) Final
15:00 60m Hurdles (W) Pentathlon
15:15 60m Hurdles (M) Pentathlon
15:45 High Jump (W) Pentathlon
16:00 Long Jump (M) Pentathlon
17:15 Shot Put (M) Pentathlon
18:00 60m (W) Heats
18:10 60m (M) Heats
18:15 Shot Put (W) Pentathlon
18:30 High Jump (M) Pentathlon
19:00 60m (W) Final
19:10 60m (M) Final
19:30 Long Jump (W) Pentathlon
19:30 600m (W) Heats
19:45 600m (M) Heats
20:00 4x200m Relay (W) Heats
20:20 4x200m Relay (M) Heats
20:45 1000m (M) Pentathlon
21:00 800m (W) Pentathlon
Friday, March 8
16:30 Weight Throw (M) Final
16:30 60m Hurdles (W) Heats
16:45 60m Hurdles (M) Heats
17:00 Long Jump (M) Final
17:00 Pole Vault (W) Final
17:00 1000m (W) Final
17:10 1000m (M) Final
17:30 60m Hurdles (M) Final
17:40 60m Hurdles (W) Final
17:50 300m (W) Heats
18:05 300m (M) Heats
18:30 3000m (W) Final
18:50 3000m (M) Final
19:00 High Jump (M) Final
19:00 Long Jump (W) Final
19:00 Shot Put (W) Final
19:40 300m (W) Final
19:50 300m (M) Final
20:00 4x800m Relay (W) Final
20:15 4x800m Relay (M) Final
Saturday, March 9
12:30 Triple Jump (W) Final
12:30 Pole Vault (M) Final
13:15 600m (W) Final
13:30 600m (M) Final
14:15 4x200m Relay (W) Final
14:25 4x200m Relay (M) Final
14:30 High Jump (W) Final
14:45 Triple Jump (M) Final
14:45 Shot Put (M) Final
14:45 1500m (W) Final
15:00 1500m (M) Final
16:00 4x400m Relay (W) Final
16:15 4x400m Relay (M) Final