The Ottawa Sports Pages’ 2022 High School Best Series profiles some of the top student-athletes graduating from local high schools this year and moving on to next-level sport.
The Series is presented by the Sports-Études Program at École secondaire publique Louis-Riel – the local leaders in combining athletic and academic excellence since 2005.
Starting June 20, we’ll post a new story on OttawaSportsPages.ca to tip our caps to these great grads. You can also follow along here on this webpage.
Glebe, John McCrae prefer ‘double-double’ when naming senior Athletes of the Year
Imitating a long-time Canadian coffee tradition, Glebe Collegiate Institute and John McCrae Secondary School athletic officials couldn’t decide on only one senior girl and one senior boy for their top athlete, so they went the ‘double-double’ route in selecting their best of 2021-22. READ MORE…
Zach Sikka ‘as busy as possible’ and successful in graduating year at St. Paul
Zach Sikka entered his final year at St. Paul High School with one intention – fill every single moment in his calendar with something related to the Golden Bears community. He certainly didn’t miss much and if he did, it was only because he didn’t have enough time to cram something else in. READ MORE…
Sir Wil’s top athlete & new steeplechase champ Elizabeth Vroom clears all hurdles
Elizabeth Vroom was destined to be a steeplechase runner. The recent Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School graduate never thought about becoming a steeplechase runner in the past, but in reviewing all the evidence and piecing it together in the spring, it made total sense. READ MORE…
Provincial soccer champ leaps into steeplechase, becomes national champ
A dozen years in soccer – including many playing at the highest provincial level – served as an excellent launching pad for Elizabeth Vroom’s new athletic pursuit of steeplechase, where she’s quickly become a champion many times over. Of course, the fitness derived from soccer helped. READ MORE…
Carusi a versatile standout and unexpected basketball hero in his final year at A.Y. Jackson
Bryce Carusi was determined to make the absolute most of his final year at A.Y. Jackson Secondary School. Whether it was sports, academics or volunteering, Carusi achieved more in his Grade 12 year than he did in his first three years combined at the west-end high school. READ MORE…
Future Concordia Stinger happy younger sister was part of her final year at Holy Trinity
In her Grade 12 year as a student/athlete – which included being named senior female Athlete of the Year at Holy Trinity, winning MVP awards in three sports, coaching several teams and sitting on the student council – one of Emma Liagridonis’s best moments involved a family member. READ MORE…
Joining Laval Rouge et Or another big stroke for well-travelled swimmer Éthier
After growing up in the small town of Kapuskasing, Danika Éthier finished high school at Louis-Riel, while spending time training with Team Canada on the west coast. She”ll compete at the Jr. Pan Pacs this summer in Hawaii before joining the Université Laval Rouge et Or in Quebec City. READ MORE…
Longtime Ottawa TFC teammates to continue soccer careers with Louisiana Tech
Riley Bonadie and Flavie Dubé have played competitive soccer together since the under-10 level and are headed south to join the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in a few months where they’ll keep their streak as teammates going and fulfill each of their own long-sought goals of playing NCAA soccer. READ MORE…
Guard Jaden Kirkwood follows family footsteps into university basketball
The family tradition of playing varsity basketball while attending university continues to thrive for the Kirkwood family of Ottawa. Jaden Kirkwood is becoming familiar with his new surroundings at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. READ MORE…
Nepean Raider Luke Posthumus commits to Northeastern U, but when will he start?
When Luke Posthumus looks into his future, the end goal appears clear, promising and fulfilling. On May 7, the gifted Nepean Raiders U18 AAA player committed to attend Northeastern University, but the unanswered question is when he’ll officially walk onto the campus in Boston. READ MORE…
After pandemic & broken foot at worlds trials, swimmer Regan Rathwell rebounds
The one-year-delayed Summer Olympic Games were on the horizon for 2021 and Ottawa swimmer Regan Rathwell was in a rut – she wasn’t going any faster as a backstroke racer. The COVID-19 pandemic was all around and there were annoying, but necessary restrictions and mandates. READ MORE…
After 10 years together, it’ll be a bittersweet goodbye for coach & NCAA-bound diver Grant
When Ottawa National Diving Club head coach Brennan Villemaire talks about the pride he feels in seeing all that Kathryn Grant has achieved, and the person she’s become, he gets a little choked up. He explains that he feels a bit like another parent to Grant, and she’s about to leave the nest. READ MORE…
‘This is success’: Five OSU players headed to national development centre in Toronto
The Ottawa South United Force under-15 girls have totally dominated their competition over the last three years, with only one defeat in that time period. Now, five of the team’s star players are taking their game to the next level and going to the Ontario Regional Excel Super Centre. READ MORE…
Heidi Knoll is turning Orange, set to join many past Nepean Wildcats at Syracuse U
As a young girl who grew up near the Rideau Canal, Heidi Knoll spent countless hours every day each winter skating with her cousins, all hockey players. Neither of her siblings played the sport growing up, so it came as a surprise to her father when his seven-year-old daughter asked to play. READ MORE…
Ethan Boxall and Noah Fahey walking in fathers’ footsteps at Carleton football
More than two decades ago, before Carleton Ravens football was shut down, Scott Boxall and Chris Fahey were teammates. Now, as the rebooted Ravens prepare for their ninth season since returning to the field, Carleton will once again see a Boxall and Fahey together on the gridiron. READ MORE…
Volleyball/track & field athlete Audrey Goddard has plenty of jump in her sporting career
Audrey Goddard loves to jump. Put her in a single lane on a track and she’ll fearlessly attack a sprint hurdle. Have her endure a fast trip around a 400-metre oval and clear multiple hurdles, she’ll do that, too. And you can also see her jumping ability as an elite volleyball player. READ MORE…
Ottawa Elite’s Sheridan Keen, Grace Tongue win major JUEL basketball awards
When Ottawa Elite basketball players Sheridan Keen and Grace Tongue are immersed in a game, they are focused and energized about their multiple assignments. Keen and Tongue both received a major award from the JUEL league reflecting their skills on and off the court. READ MORE…
Alizé Lemieux off to Florida as Ottawa’s first NCAA beach volleyball student-athlete
Alizé Lemieux had the family vacation of a lifetime in 2019. After experiencing all the sights and sounds of Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, she travelled 200 kilometres south to the Altitude Academy to attend a one-week beach volleyball camp. READ MORE…
Orléans basketball phenom reaping rewards of lifelong dedication to his game
Merrick Palmer remembers the day a small 11-year-old boy with light skin and a big blonde afro entered his Orléans gym for drop-in basketball training. Palmer, who runs Capital Courts Training Centre, was immediately drawn to Brayden O’Connor, now set to leap into the NCAA. READ MORE…
Royal Ottawa’s James Newton commits to Rutgers U, named to national junior golf team
Golfer James Newton is at the top of his game. The Royal Ottawa Golf Club junior had many choices, but on Nov. 10 he signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, and become a member of the Scarlet Knights men’s golf team. READ MORE…