HIGH ACHIEVERS: Ravens’ Kali Pocrnic, Gee-Gees’ Franky Lapenna double university athletic award winners

By Martin Cleary

After eight months of training, games, playoffs and a variety of championships, the 2023-24 university athletics season has come to an end.

The official closing ceremony for each university is the annual athletic awards banquet, where the top athletes, coaches and volunteers are recognized for their all-around contributions.

Here’s a look at the recent top award winners from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa:

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

CARLETON: Kali Pocrnic, basketball, and Maggie McClure, nordic skiing, (tie)

At five feet, three inches tall, Pocrnic thrived among much taller players because of her skill, quickness and leadership. She was the floor general as the Ravens won a second straight OUA and U Sports national women’s basketball championship. Individually, Pocrnic was the U Sports Final Eight, OUA regular season and Critelli Cup OUA championship tournament MVP as well as a second team All-Canadian. She also broke seven Carleton women’s records this season.

It was hard to keep pace with McClure on the cross-country ski trails and her collection of awards is proof of that. At the OUA Nordic Championships, she earned gold and silver medals in her two individual races and sparked the Ravens to victory in the relay and the overall team championship. As the OUA individual champion, McClure was named the OUA athlete of the year. At the Canadian College and University Nordic Championships, she had two fifth-place results in her three individual races and helped Carleton win the team championship.

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OTTAWA: Natsuki Szczokin, basketball

A fourth-year criminology student, Szczokin showed great talent as a point guard, feeding the ball to her teammates or stealing the ball to set up more offensive opportunities. She led the OUA in assist average at 4.6, which ranked her third nationally. Her 3.0 steals a game placed her fourth on the U Sports ranking list. The OUA first-team all-star helped the Gee-Gees reach the OUA semifinals.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

CARLETON: Luca Piccioli, soccer

Piccioli’s all-around play as a midfielder led the Ravens to the OUA men’s conference championship (10-1-1, 2-0-1) and a berth in the U Sports nationals (0-2). He was Carleton’s top goal scorer in the regular season with nine and counted three in as many OUA playoff games. Piccioli also had four regular-season assists and one in the playoffs to lift the Ravens. During the 2024 Canadian Premier League – U Sports Draft, he was selected third overall by Atlético Ottawa.

OTTAWA: Hugo Lemesle, swimming

The finance student from Nice, France, made Gee-Gees’ swimming history by becoming the first athlete to win three gold medals at a single U Sports national championships. He was untouchable in the men’s 50-, 100- and 200-metre breaststroke finals. Lemesle also was a triple gold medallist in the same three races at the RSEQ conference championships, which served as half of his six-medal haul. U Sports named him a first-team All-Canadian.

GRADUATING FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

CARLETON: Kali Pocrnic, basketball

Pocrnic started her four-year run with the Ravens by winning the OUA rookie-of-the-year award in 2020 and was a conference first-team all-star in 2022. In her final two seasons, she was twice a second-team All-Canadian, the MVP for the U Sports championship tournament and an OUA first-team all star. She also was on the 2023 U Sports championship tournament all-star team.

GRADUATING MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

CARLETON: Raphaël Garcia, soccer

The Ravens’ captain gathered many memories from his three seasons with the Carleton soccer team – a U Sports Top 8 Academic All-Canadian Award, a U Sports national championship silver medal, an OUA conference title, and a selection to the first and second All-Canadian teams. He also was a three-time academic All-Canadian and the soccer player of the year at the Ottawa Sports Awards dinner.

FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

CARLETON: Madeline Bartek, rowing

At the OUA rowing championships, Bartek made an impressive debut, winning a pair of silver medals. Bartek and crew partner Rosie O’Brien produced gold- and silver-medal efforts at the Brock University invitational regatta.

OTTAWA: Isabel Langridge, swimming

At the RSEQ conference swimming championships, Langridge scored a bronze medal in the women’s 400-metre freestyle final and helped the Gee-Gees to third-place finishes in the 4×100-metre and 4×400-metre freestyle relays. Her strong results earned her the RSEQ rookie-of-the-year award. At the U Sports national championships, the human kinetics student from Ottawa qualified for two C finals.

MALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

CARLETON: Xavier Spencer, basketball

The Calgary resident had a remarkable debut for the Ravens, leading the OUA and U Sports in four different categories – points (13.6 per game), field goals (102-262, 38.9 per cent), free throws (63-78, 80.8) and assists (72 in 22 games). His impressive play earned him the OUA and U Sports rookie of the year awards as well as berths on both all-rookie teams and a spot on the OUA third all-star team.

OTTAWA: Franky Lapenna, men’s hockey

An instrumental player for the successful Gee-Gees men’s hockey team, Lapenna backstopped Ottawa to a team record 19 of its 20 regular-season wins. He had the best save percentage in Canada at .942 (tying a school record) and was second nationally in goals-against average at 1.72. His stellar play earned him two major awards – OUA East goaltender of the year and OUA East rookie of the year. Lapenna also won the university’s President’s Award for varsity men’s teams and was a finalist for the varsity athlete of the year.

COACH OF THE YEAR

CARLETON: Dani Sinclair, women’s basketball; Kevin Shields, nordic skiing

For the second time in as many years, Sinclair was named the Ravens’ top coach, but this time she shared it with nordic ski coach Kevin Shields. Sinclair led the Ravens women’s basketball team to a 21-1 regular-season record and a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs, which culminated with Carleton’s second consecutive U Sports championship. Her leadership and the team performance allowed her to win the OUA women’s coach of the year award and saw the Ravens ranked No. 1 in Canada for eight of 12 weeks.

A strong women’s program allowed Shields to guide Carleton to seven of eight possible medals and the OUA team championship. The men’s team picked up one medal. He also earned his second straight OUA coach-of-the-year honours. At the Canadian College University Nordic Championships, Carleton captured the women’s team title ahead of the University of Calgary and the University of Ottawa as Helen McCulligh won three medals (one each of gold, silver and bronze) and three skiers finished in the top six.

Here are some other notable winners from the two local universities:

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA

Kennedy Burrows, rowing, Athlete of the Year for varsity garnet women’s teams;

Glenn Roy, rugby, Athlete of the Year for varsity garnet men’s teams;

Jordanna Hartley, softball, Athlete of the Year for varsity grey women’s teams;

Sacha Vasiliev, fencing, Athlete of the Year for varsity grey men’s teams;

Aurora Bowie, rugby, President’s Award for varsity women’s teams;

Anna Sierra Heffernan-Wilker, nordic skiing, President’s Award for varsity garnet women’s teams;

Pascal Morimanno, rowing, President’s Award for varsity garnet men’s teams;

Elyssa Caron, artistic swimming, President’s Award for varsity grey women’s teams;

Mathis Turgeon-Roy, badminton and ultimate, President’s Award for varsity grey men’s teams;

Kathryn Moreland, track and field, Rookie of the Year for varsity garnet women’s teams;

Tyler Allan, nordic skiing, Rookie of the Year for varsity garnet men’s teams;

Ela Day-Bedard, softball, Rookie of the Year for varsity grey women’s teams;

Felix Labelle, water polo, Rookie of the Year for varsity grey men’s teams;

Ketsia Kamba, rugby, Garnet and Grey Community Engagement Award;

Vinit Kudva, squash, Leadership and Initiative Award;

My-An Auprix, water polo; Reese Handley, cheerleading; Lauren Mackay, hockey; Emma Beaulieu, ultimate; Emilie Beausoleil, ultimate; and Marianne Sullivan, ultimate; True Sports Award.

CARLETON UNIVERSITY

Jessica Joubarne, rugby coach, Volunteer of the Year.