Jones, Pingue-Giles named Ryerson Athletes of the Year

TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams celebrated one of the most successful seasons in school history at the 67th Annual Athletic Awards Celebration on Thursday night at the Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel. Basketball players Keneca Pingue-Giles (Winnipeg, Man.) and Jahmal Jones (Mississauga, Ont.) took home the top prize as athletes of the year.

Pingue-Giles was named the H.H. Kerr Female Athlete of the Year after leading the women’s basketball team to new heights this season. The fourth year guard finished fourth in OUA scoring with 17.5 points per game to also put her in the top ten in the country. Pingue-Giles was strong defensively as well, finishing with 62 steals to rank third in the OUA and fourth in the CIS. She was named an OUA First-Team All-Star and led the Rams to a program-best season where they set a record with 16 wins, captured the OUA silver medal, and made their first appearance at the national championship. Figure skater Lisa Makeeva (Toronto) and volleyball player Veronica Livingston (Kelowna, B.C.) were the other finalists for the award.

Fifth year point guard Jahmal Jones took home the Ryersonian Male Athlete of the Year award for the second time in his career following one of his best seasons as a Ram. Jones led the team with 17.2 points per game and racked up over 100 assists. Under Jones’ leadership the Rams went back to the OUA Final Four and went on to win the program’s first medal on the national stage, winning bronze at the CIS Final 8. Named an OUA All-Star for the fifth time, Jones also earned national recognition this season as a CIS Second-Team All-Canadian. Also nominated for this award this season was Lucas Coleman (Brooklin, Ont.) of the volleyball team and Martin Dabrowski (Barrie, Ont.) from the soccer team.

The women’s basketball team took home a second major award on the night when Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.) was named the RSU Female Rookie of the Year. In her first season, Paska finished second in team scoring with 201 points for an average of 10.6 per game while also collecting 104 rebounds during the regular season. She upped her game on the biggest stage, averaging 16.3 points per game at the CIS Final 8. Her contributions landed her on the OUA All-Rookie Team. Also nominated for the award this season was Kayla Karbonik (St. Andrews, Man.) from the hockey team, Alex Rodkin (Whitby, Ont.) from the soccer team and Theanna Vernon (Scarborough, Ont.) from the volleyball team.

This year’s Eyeopener Male Rookie of the Year award went to Raheem Rose (Etobicoke, Ont.), a first year midfielder with the soccer team. Rose was named the OUA East Rookie of the Year after an impressive rookie campaign. Rose found the back of the net on four occasions during his first season which tied him for second most on the team. The first year used his speed effectively at both ends of the pitch, causing havoc for opponents’ defenders while having the ability to recover and play solid defence himself. Also a finalist for the award this season was hockey player Alex Basso (Toronto).

Women’s hockey captain Jessica Hartwick (Brampton, Ont.) won this year’s G.L. Dobson Outstanding Contribution to Interuniversity Sport, Campus and Community Life Award. Hartwick was a leading Rising Rams mentor where she shares her experiences and leadership skills with elementary school students. The fourth-year defenceman was also at the forefront of the women’s hockey team’s Do It For Daron (DIFD) event which saw the team open the conversation about youth mental health and raise nearly $2,000. Also nominated for this award this year was figure skater Lisa Jensen (Toronto) and soccer player Rebecca Petrocelli (Woodbridge, Ont.).

Hockey player Mark Corbett (Burlington, Ont.) took home this year’s D.H. Craighead Outstanding Contribution to Interuniversity Sport, Campus and Community Life Award. Corbett spearheaded the men’s hockey team’s Movember campaign which raised $1,385 at a single-night fundraiser. He was also a consistent presence in the Rising Rams program while also creating a new initiative called ‘Rams Rookies’. The program gives young kids the opportunity to skate out with the hockey team during the opening ceremonies of home games. Corbett visited the Rams Rookies at their schools and provided tickets to games for their families. Also nominated for this award this year was Kyle Stewart (Kingston, Jamaica) from the soccer team.

See below for a full list of this year’s award winners.

H.H. Kerr Female Athlete of the Year
Keneca Pingue-Giles

Ryersonian Male Athlete of the Year
Jahmal Jones

RSU Female Rookie of the Year
Sofia Paska

Eyeopener Male Rookie of the Year
Raheem Rose

G.L. Dobson Female Outstanding Contribution
Jessica Hartwick

D.H. Craighead Male Outstanding Contribution
Mark Corbett

Gold ‘R’ Recipients
Viktor Anastasov (Men’s Soccer)
Jahmal Jones (Men’s Basketball)
Lisa Makeeva (Figure Skating)
Keneca Pingue-Giles (Women’s Basketball)

Claude LaJeunesse Award (Academics)
Bjorn Michaelsen (Men’s Basketball)

Jim Peffers Award (Staff)
Keith Baulk (Global Spectrum)

Student Excellence in Leadership (Student Staff)
Victoria Nguyen
Jacob O’Connor

CIS President’s Team Award
Women’s Basketball

OUA President’s Team Award
Figure Skating

Team MVPs
Badminton: Alex Fown & Vivian Kwok
Women’s Basketball: Keneca Pingue-Giles
Men’s Basketball: Jahmal Jones
Fencing: Arseni Tikhomirov & Danielle Stepanian
Figure Skating: Christina Pulla
Women’s Hockey: Jessica Hartwick
Men’s Hockey: Michael Fine
Women’s Soccer: Sarah Slattery
Men’s Soccer: Josh Kohn
Women’s Volleyball: Chelsea Briscoe
Men’s Volleyball: Marc Reardon

Athletic Therapy Awards
Men’s Basketball: Rayhan Malik
Women’s Basketball: Sabrina Brathwaite
Men’s Hockey: Joshua Katz
Women’s Hockey: Vanessa Berube
Women’s Soccer/Volleyball: Jessica Armstrong
Men’s Soccer/Volleyball: Shawn Barbisan