Athletics Ontario is pleased to announce the finalists (please see list below) for the annual athlete of the year awards. The awards will be presented to the male and female winners in each of the following categories: Sprints/Hurdles, Distances, Jumps, Throws, Combined Events. Additionally, there will be the following Para Awards: Outstanding Track Performance and Outstanding Field Performance. In most cases there will be one winner for each age group.
The gala, “Celebrating Excellence in Athletics”, is to take place at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel & Suites on Saturday September 27, in conjunction with the 2014 AO Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Highlighting the event will be Sultana Frizell, as the evening’s Guest Speaker. Sultana, a member of the Ottawa Lions TFC, is coming off a spectacular performance in Glasgow as the Commonwealth Games Gold medalist and record holder in the Hammer Throw. Emceeing this annual event for the third straight year is Kate Van Buskirk. Kate, a member of Athletics Toronto, won the Commonwealth Games Bronze medal in the 1500m.
Details on the banquet, including ticket information, can be found at: http://athleticsontario.ca/celebrating-excellence-in-athletics/
Finalists of the 2014 AO Awards (As of September 9)
Sprints/Hurdles
- Bantam Girls: Shaleah Colaire, Elizabeth Martin, Anna Witherspoon
- Midget Girls: Alyssa Marsh, Xahria Santiago, Arielle Tessier
- Youth Girls: Kyra Constantine, Mariam Abdul-Rashid, Lexi Aitken
- Junior Women: Leya Buchanan, Sade McCreath, Tia Thevenin
- Senior Women: Khamica Bingham, Crystal Emmanuel, Noelle Montcalm
- Bantam Boys: Aiden Allen, Duante Henriques, Asante Jackson
- Midget Boys: Vahid Andrews, Nathan Friginette, Khamal Stewart-Baynes
- Youth Boys: Myles Banfield, Joseph Daniels, Shermar Paul
- Junior Men: Bolade Ajomale, Andre Ford-Azonwanna, Jared Kerr
- Senior Men: Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse, Gavin Smellie
Distances
- Bantam Girls: Anna Carruthers, Madison Greig, Meg Jackson
- Midget Girls: Finley Adams, Emily Cohen, Shona McCulloch
- Youth Girls: Erinn Stenman-Fahey, Kailee Sawyer
- Junior Women: Katelyn Ayers, Heather Petrick, Gabriela Stafford
- Senior Women: Melissa Bishop, Rachel Seaman, Kate Van Buskirk
- Bantam Boys: William Jones, Braydon Trowbridge, Joshua Zelek
- Midget Boys: Mathieu Plamondon, Braydon Clarke
- Youth Boys: Robert Heppenstall, Josh Keller, Braydon Rennie
- Junior Men: Brandon Allen, Justyn Knight, Ben Preisner
- Senior Men: Mohammed Ahmed, Brandon McBride, Matthew Hughes
Jumps
- Bantam Girls: Autumn Bigger, Abbey Gibb, Sarah Saldutto
- Midget Girls: Keira Christie-Galloway, Madeline Li, Tess Verhoeven
- Youth Girls: Makiah Hunt, Dallyssa Huggins, Jamilah James
- Junior Women: Allison Harris, Emma Li, Danielle Quinn
- Senior Women: Alysha Newman, Jillian Drouin
- Midget Boys: Chandru Bahi, Logan Panek, Nojah Parker
- Youth Boys: Micah Peters, Keysean Powell, Tristan Slater
- Junior Men: Paul Galas
- Senior Men: Shawnacy Barber, Derek Drouin
Throws
- Bantam Girls: Emma McDougall, Sarah Saldutto, Madura Muraleetharan
- Midget Girls: Grace Tennant, Trinity Tutti
- Youth Girls: Alexis Brenzil, Sam Buck, Cyerra Cassell
- Junior Women: Bailey Dell, Kelly Gribbons, Obeng Marfo
- Senior Women: Brittany Crew, Sultana Frizell
- Bantam Boys: Jeremy Elliott, Colin Ratcliffe, Callan Saldutto
- Midget Boys: Tony Elliott, Christian Janzen
- Youth Boys: Joseph Maxwell, Noah Rolph, Fletcher Smith
- Junior Men: William Christodoulou, Eli Pawliw, Andrew Vermette
- Senior Men: Raymond Dykstra, Timothy Nedow
Combined Events
- Midget Girls: Victoria Fair
- Youth Girls: Alexis Brenzil, Emily Campbell, Dallyssa Huggins
- Senior Women: Jillian Drouin, Emma Siuciak
- Youth Boys: Sam Fennell, Brayden Noyes, Payden Selleck
- Junior Men: Pierce Lepage
- Senior Men: Patrick Arbour, Damian Warner
Overall Athlete of the Year: Aaron Brown, Derek Drouin, Sultana Frizell, Damian Warner
The following athletes and builders will be inducted into the Athletics Ontario Hall of Fame on September 27:
Athletes: Angela Bailey, Marita Payne-Wiggins, Mark McKoy, Ann Peel, Silvia Ruegger, Jane Haist & Yvonne Saunders
Builders: Rolf Lund, Enrico Toscano & Bill Heikkila