Night of the Dino: the real nominees

By Kevin Rothbauer

The nominees are in, the ballots have been cast, the plaques have been engraved. On April 6, the University of Calgary’s annual athletic awards banquet, also known as Night of the Dino is upon us. Three nominees for each of the rookie-of-the-year awards and five for each of the athlete-of-the-year awards have been named, but only one in each category will come away victorious from the Red and White Club. Below are the nominees and the Gauntlet’s picks for the winners.

(Note: first-year students are ineligible for athlete-of-the-year.)

Rookie of the Year

Female

Carrie Burgoyne, swimming
On an all-rookie Dinos swimming team, Burgoyne set national records, won the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union athlete-of-the-week award and was a big part of the team’s third-place finish at nationals.

Breanne Graham, wrestling
Bringing a wealth of experience to the Dinos in her first year of CIAU competition, Graham went undefeated over the year and helped the team win the national championship.

Amanda Moppett, volleyball
Moppett led the rebuilding Dinos from wire to wire and captured women’s volleyball rookie-of-the-year honours in both the Canada West conference and the CIAU

And the winner is… Moppett; capturing the CIAU rookie-of-the-year award gives her the edge.

Male

Andrew Alley, cross-country
Both an All-Canadian and the CIAU rookie-of-the-year, Alley helped propel the Dinos to a fifth-place finish at the national tournament.

Ron Grimard, hockey
Capturing berths on the Canada West second all-star team and the all-freshman team, Grimard led the Dinos in scoring in his first year of competition.

Trevor Phillips, track and field
An All-Canadian, Phillips set a new CIAU record in winning the pentathlon at the national championships.

And the winner will be… Alley, whose team experienced more success than the others.

 

Athlete of the Year

Female

Leighann Doan, basketball
Capturing CIAU player-of-the-year honours and leading the country in scoring are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Doan’s accomplishments.

Julie Harris, wrestling
The athlete-of-the-meet at the CIAU championship tournament, Harris led the Dinos to a repeat national title.

Carol Scheibel, hockey
A reliable rookie defender, Scheibel was named to the Canada West first all-star team and the CIAU All-Canadian team.

Erica Sharp, wrestling
A repeat nominee, Sharp again dominated CIAU women’s wrestling as the Dinos captured their second national title.

Saskia Winkelmann, track and field
Middle-distance runner Winkelmann won the 600m at the CIAU championships and was named an All-Canadian.

And the winner will be… Doan; with apologies to the other nominees, Doan garnered more media attention than any other U of C athlete and probably deserved it.

Male

Josh Ballem, swimming
One of the most successful swimmers on a talented team that captured second place in the CIAU, Ballem proved himself as an athlete and a leader among the Dinos.

Andy Hutchinson, wrestling
In his last year with the Dinos, Hutchinson again won his weight class at the Canada West and CIAU championships.

D.J. Ledrew, wrestling
Another notable member of the wrestling team that came in second in the CIAU, Ledrew captured the title in his weight class at the national and conference levels.

Jeff Lewis, football
The only Dino football player to capture CIAU All-Canadian honours, fourth-year defensive back Lewis has been tabbed as a CFL prospect.

Jeremy Wilcox, volleyball
The most consistent of a number of talented Dinos volleyball players, Wilcox was named a first-team Canada West all-star and a CIAU All-Canadian.

And the winner will be… Hutchinson, a team leader, the lone graduating athlete on the list, and a nominee in previous years.

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