Pronghorns Athletics celebrated with its annual Blue and Gold Awards Banquet recently, announcing its Male and Female Athletes of the Year, President's Award winner, Team Academic Award, as well as the respective most valuable players for each program.
Male Athlete of the Year
Andrew Courtney (men's hockey)
Over his five seasons with the Pronghorns, Andrew Courtney not only excelled on the ice, but he was active in the community, embracing the true spirit of what it means to be a Pronghorns athlete.
He was known throughout the program as the first to support other Horns teams and is actively involved in the local community with the Boys and Girls Club. Courtney also planned and executed the highly successful Movember campaign that raised over $10,000 for prostate cancer research.
On the ice, Courtney returned from a serious knee injury to finish fourth in the conference in goal scoring, leading the Horns with 14 goals. He was also 13th in the Canada West in total scoring with 23 points, despite missing all of the pre-season and the first two weeks of conference action.
Courtney finished his Pronghorn career with 43 goals and 26 assists in 97 conference games.
Female Athlete of the Year
Heather Steacy (women's track)
Throughout her Pronghorns career, Heather Steacy has become synonymous with outstanding performances. This past season she raised her performance to an unprecedented level.
Steacy opened the season by reaching a monumental mark, becoming the first woman in Canadian Interuniversity Sport history to eclipse the 20-metre mark in the weight throw with a toss of 20.28 metres at the Bison Open in Winnipeg. She followed that performance with her fourth Canada West gold medal victory, setting a new conference record of 19.82 metres in the process. Steacy was also recognized with the Outstanding Female Performance of the Meet.
Steacy completed her season by then winning silver at the CIS Championship meet in Sherbrooke, Que., her fourth medal in as many trips to the national meet.
President's Award
Emily Brown of the women's track & field team earned the President's Award, which rewards the student athlete with the highest academic standing at the University of Lethbridge. Brown achieved a GPA of 3.92, while balancing her academic and athletic commitments.
Team Academic Award
The Horns women's basketball team received the Team Academic Award for accumulating a combined GPA of 3.32.
Following are team most valuable players, as voted by their fellow team members.
Men's Soccer – Steve Brown
Women's Soccer – Kathy Curtis
Men's Hockey – Winston Day Chief and Andrew Courtney
Women's Hockey – Shelby Ballendine
Men's Basketball – Randy Davis
Women's Basketball – Becky Heninger
Men's Track – Kyle Murray
Women's Track – Heather Steacy
Women's Rugby – Kelsey Willoughby
Men's Swimming – Jeff Nicol
Women's Swimming – Jessica Kelly
For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.