UNB’s Lexie Shannon and CBU’s Osman Omar named 2021-22 AUS Athletes of the Year

(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is proud to announce its 2021-22 AUS Athletes of the Year. UNB REDS track and field standout Lexie Shannon has been named the AUS Female Athlete of the Year while Osman Omar of the CBU Capers men’s basketball team is the AUS Male Athlete of the Year.

As the AUS Athletes of the Year, Shannon and Omar will become the Atlantic conference nominees for the Honourable Lois Mitchell and Doug Mitchell U SPORTS Athlete of the Year Awards, presented by Makadiff Sports.

2021-22 AUS Female Athlete of the Year: Lexie Shannon, UNB REDS track and field

In her third year of eligibility with the UNB REDS track and field team, Lexie Shannon has been named the 2021-22 AUS Female Athlete of the Year.

A fourth-year arts student from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Shannon won the gold medal in the women's triple jump at the 2022 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships in Saint John, New Brunswick and was named a U SPORTS first team All-Canadian. Her 12.16-metre gold medal jump not only set a new record for the REDS and the AUS, but also marked the first national-level gold medal in UNB track and field history.

This year Shannon was named the 2022 AUS female field athlete of the year after capturing a gold medal in the triple jump and bronze in the long jump, leading the UNB REDS women’s team to a second-place finish at the AUS championship. She was named the REDS’ track and field team MVP and was honoured as UNB’s 2021-22 Female Athlete of the Year.

2021-22 AUS Male Athlete of the Year: Osman Omar, CBU Capers men’s basketball

Osman Omar, a fourth-year guard with the Cape Breton University Capers men’s basketball team, is the 2021-22 AUS Male Athlete of the Year.

Omar finished his season with the Capers as a U SPORTS first team all-star, the AUS most valuable player for 2021-22 and the recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award. He was also honoured as the Capers’ men’s basketball team MVP and was a co-recipient of CBU’s Male Athlete of the Year.

A community studies student from Mississauga, Ontario, Omar led the AUS in scoring during the regular season, averaging 24.5 points per game—the fourth-most in the country. He was also an AUS leader in field goals made, with 120, and free throws made, completing 106 of 124 attempts from the line. He finished fourth in the conference in steals, with 1.7 per game and averaged 34.3 minutes per game for the Capers.

Off the court, Omar gives back to the community as an advocate and creative, telling the stories of fellow athletes via his Purejumper Media and teaming up with organizations like Justice Fund TO and Mending a Crack in the Sky, a Somali-Canadian founded program aimed at supporting families impacted by gun violence. He is the first player in AUS history to win both the MVP and student-athlete community service awards.