Pictured: 2011-12 Dinos male athlete of the year Sam Hurl with Dr. Dennis Kadatz

--

CALGARY – Hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser and football standout Sam Hurl were named the 2011-12 University of Calgary athletes of the year Tuesday night.

The Dr. Dennis Kadatz awards presented to Wickenheiser and Hurl highlighted the 45th Annual Night of the Dino awards gala Tuesday night in the Jack Simpson Gym as the Dinos celebrated another successful season, which included a first-ever national championship in women's hockey along with conference titles in football, men's track and field, and women's hockey

Taking home top freshman honours Tuesday were swimmer Amanda Reason, who just booked her ticket to London for the Olympics last week, along with men's hockey defenceman Teigan Zahn as winners of the Bill Popplewell Rookie of the Year awards. The other major honours of the night, the Calgary Booster Club Scholar-Athlete Awards recognizing outstanding athletic and academic achievement, went to Evan Kimick (track and field), Tessa Miller (soccer), Brock Nixo (hockey), and Wickenheiser.

The Dinos unveiled a brand new award Tuesday night, with Chancellor Jim Dinning in attendance to present the Senate Service Award to Kimick. Brand new in 2012, the Senate Service Award recognizes a student-athlete who shows strong community engagement by demonstrating direct community involvement. Representing the University of Calgary Senate's vision of “Senate engaging community,” the recipient is a student-athlete in good academic standing with a significant commitment and involvement in engaging with and improving their community.

The Margaret Southern Award for female contribution to the Dinos went to women's hockey statistician Natalie Beekhuizen, while the Dr. Lou Goodwin Award recognized Harry Andersen, the outgoing president of the Dinos Football 5th Quarter alumni association. Ramona Mueller and Mike Majcher were honoured with the Murray Fraser Awards for volunteerism after providing outstanding service as the Dinos hosted a pair of national championships.

The Gauntlet Extra Effort Awards, selected and presented by the University of Calgary's student newspaper, went to Boris Bakovic of men's basketball along with Elana Lovell of the women's hockey team, while the Medwest Athletic Therapy Scholarships were awarded to Courtney Kapustianyk (clinic) and Jessica Lade (field).

Dr. Dennis Kadatz Athletes of the Year
Hayley Wickenheiser and Sam Hurl

Named for the first athletic director and football coach at the University of Calgary, the Dr. Dennis Kadatz Athlete of the Year awards recognize excellence on the playing field during the varsity season. The winners become the Dinos' nominees for the BLG Awards, handed out to the CIS athletes of the year across all sports.

The dominant player on the Dinos' most dominant team, Hayley Wickenheiser becomes the first women's hockey player to ever win the Dr. Dennis Kadatz Athlete of the Year award.

A first team all-star in Canada West, Wickenheiser led the conference with 17 goals and led the nation with seven game-winners. She played 16 games and scored 32 points, then added another nine in four games during the playoffs as the Dinos captured their first-ever Canada West title.

At the CIS championship, the All-Canadian scored twice and added two assists in the national final as the Dinos were crowned CIS champions – the first national title in program history – and Wickenheiser was honoured on the all-tournament team.

Wickenheiser beat out Jenna Kaye (basketball), Kaitlyn Longworth (field hockey), Rachael McIntosh (track and field), and wrestler Erica Wiebe for the award. She was unable to attend the Night of the Dino as she prepares to represent Canada at the IIHF World Women's Hockey Championship - for the 11th time in her illustrious career - later this month in Vermont.

On the men's side, linebacker Sam Hurl beat out a teammate and a former winner to reclaim the Dr. Dennis Kadatz award for the football team.

Hurl was a huge part of the Dinos' fourth straight Hardy Cup victory, the first team to accomplish that feat since 1938. Named a first team All-Canadian, Sam was the Canada West defensive player of the year for the second straight season. He led all playoff-bound players in the conference with 52 tackles on the season, including 32 solos, averaging more than 6.5 tackles per game. He was named to the Canada West All-Star team at linebacker, also for the second year in a row.

Hurl is widely expected to be a selection in the CFL Canadian Draft on Thursday, May 3.

He was up against basketball star Tyler Fidler, teammate and running back Steven Lumbala, swimmer Gleb Suvorov, and 2011 winner Graham Vigrass from men's volleyball.

Bill Popplewell Rookies of the Year
Amanda Reason and Teigan Zahn

The Rookie of the Year awards were created in 2000 and named after Bill Popplewell, a tireless supporter of the Dinos for over two decades during his time with one of the department's longest-standing corporate partners, Husky Energy.

Amanda Reason, a former world record holder, had a sensational freshman year with the Dinos. She returned from her first CIS championship with three gold and two silver medals, including the individual title in the 50-metre freestyle. She helped the Dinos to gold in the 4x100 and 4x200-metre freestyle relays, and she added CIS silver medals in the individual 100- and 200-metre events. Last week in Montreal, Reason capped off a dream season by qualifying to represent Canada at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where she will swim in the 4x200-metre freestyle relay.

Basketballer Erika Romanow and hockey player Stephanie Zvonkovic were the other nominees for the award.

Teigan Zahn became the first University of Calgary player to be awarded the conference's men's hockey rookie of the year award since Eric Schneider in 1999. A five-year veteran of the Saskatoon Blades, Zahn joined the Dinos this season after attending the Los Angeles Kings' rookie camp. Brimming with confidence, Zahn became a stalwart on the blue line for the Dinos early in the season and played consistent hockey all year, recording three goals and 12 assists in 23 games with the team in his freshman year. Zahn was also named a first team All-Star on defence and was honoured on the CIS all-rookie team.

Canada West swimming rookie of the year Andrew Makosiej along with football offensive lineman Sean McEwen were also up for the award.

Calgary Booster Club Scholar-Athlete Awards
Evan Kimick, Tessa Miller, Brock Nixon, Hayley Wickenheiser

The Scholar-Athlete awards recognize outstanding achievement in academics and athletics, and each year four student-athletes – two male and two female – are presented with $1,000 scholarships by the Calgary Booster Club.

Schulich School of Engineering student Evan Kimick excelled on the track and in the classroom for the Dinos again in 2011-12. The winner of the Canada West and CIS Student-Athlete community service awards in track and field, Kimick recorded a GPA of 3.90 in his chemical engineering studies while minoring in petroleum engineering. He was part of two medal-winning relays for the Dinos at the Canada West championships in Saskatoon, helping the squad bring back the Canada West title for the first time since 1999.

In her fourth season with the Dinos, Tessa Miller was again the team's offensive leader with six goals and eight points on the season – marking the fourth consecutive season she has led the Dinos in scoring. Off the field, Miller earned a GPA of 3.96 in the Faculty of Kinesiology's pedagogy program over 24 credit hours. A native of Calgary, Miller trained with the Elbow Valley Villains soccer club and graduated from St. Paul's Academy.

Forward Brock Nixon joins Miller as a back-to-back winner of the Calgary Booster Club Scholar-Athlete Award. He finished the regular season with 19 points in 28 games, second-best on the team, and led the Dinos to the Canada West final with six points in their first five playoff games.. After a five-year career in the Western Hockey League that started with the Kamloops Blazers and wrapped up with the Calgary Hitmen, Nixon joined the Dinos and has excelled on the ice and in the lecture theatre. Working toward his Kinesiology and Education degrees, Nixon led his team with a 3.56 GPA and hopes to become a high school P.E. teacher.

Hayley Wickenheiser was named one of Canadian Interuniversity Sport's Top 8 Academic All-Canadians in 2010-11, becoming the first University of Calgary athlete to win the top academic award since Kelly Matheson in 2000. Wick continued her success on the ice and in the classroom in 2011-12. Playing 16 games for the Dinos, she racked up 32 points and was named a second team All-Canadian, helping lead the Dinos to their first-ever national championship – all while maintaining a 3.96 GPA in the Faculty of Kinesiology, taking pre-med courses.

Senate Service Award
Evan Kimick, track and field

Evan Kimick of the Dinos track and field team was honoured with the inaugural Senate Service Award, presented by Chancellor Jim Dinning.

The Senate Service Award will annually recognize a student-athlete who shows strong community engagement by demonstrating direct community involvement, representing the University of Calgary Senate's vision of “Senate engaging community.”

Kimick, a chemical engineering student with a minor in petroleum engineering, stepped up as a leader both on and off the track for the Dinos in 2011-12 and was named the CIS track and field student-athlete community service award winner for the second time in his career.

Kimick has volunteered with LinkAges (formerly Friends of Seniors) for the last six years, until his senior passed away in 2011. During this time, Evan had the opportunity to provide a listening ear to a lonely elderly citizen while gaining wisdom and insight from his senior's life experiences.

A 2010-11 Academic All-Canadian on pace for the same honour in 2011-12, Kimick volunteers on a monthly basis, serving lunch at the Calgary Drop-in Centre (1.5 hours per visit). In fact, while on his engineering internship (concluding in 2011), he organized a team of students as well as a team within his department to volunteer serving lunch at the Drop-in Centre on a monthly basis. Also, while on internship, he was the president of the Student Social Network Committee at ConocoPhillips Canada, which provided over 40 students and interns the opportunity to network with the Senior Leadership Team and other employees, participate in monthly Lunch n' Learns, and give back to the community through a variety of volunteer events.

Margaret Southern Award
Natalie Beekhuizen

The Margaret Southern Award is presented annually to the woman who has provided exceptional service and support to the Dinos and is named after Mrs. Southern, who was the first female instructor in the physical education faculty at the University of Calgary.

The 2012 Margaret Southern Award was presented to Natalie Beekhuizen. For the past three seasons, Natalie has served as the in-game statistician for the Dinos women's hockey team with the assistance of her father Rob. Natalie, who is legally blind, is one of the most passionate fans of the Dinos women's hockey team and made the trip to Edmonton with her family to watch the Dinos win the national championship at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Lou Goodwin Award
Harry Andersen

Named after the first Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education, the 'Dr. Lou' award recognizes outstanding contribution to men's athletics at the University of Calgary.

Harry Andersen was an offensive lineman with the Dinos on the 1995 Vanier Cup championship team, and for the last several years has served as President of the Dinos Football 5th Quarter Association. The 5th Quarter provides significant operating and scholarship funding to the Dinos football program, with its annual fundraising dinner routinely raising more than $300,000 for the program. A key figure in bringing Blake Nill to be the team's head coach in 2006, Andersen has overseen significant growth in the 5th Quarter's role in helping ensure the Dinos football team is financially viable for years to come, with millions of dollars injected into the program in his time.

Murray Fraser Awards
Ramona Mueller and Mike Majcher

The Murray Fraser Award for volunteerism is named after the late President of the University of Calgary, who believed strongly in volunteering.

The two winners in 2011-12 were integral parts of the organizing committees for the two CIS championships hosted by the University of Calgary. Mueller, a leader of the Dinos Women's Field Hockey Alumni Association, served as co-chair of the 2011 CIS field hockey championship that the Dinos hosted at Hawkings Field in early November. Her tireless efforts helped the championship overcome significant weather challenges, and the host Dinos finished with the program's best-ever finish – a CIS silver medal.

Majcher was part of the organizing committee for the 2012 CIS women's basketball Final 8, providing outstanding service in the area of sponsorship and fundraising. The tournament was a financial success, thanks in large part to Majcher's efforts which led to higher-than-budgeted sponsorship revenue – all of which helped the championship become one of the best-ever, leading to many memories for the participating teams.

Gauntlet Extra Effort Awards
Elana Lovell and Boris Bakovic

Each year the Gauntlet, the University of Calgary's student newspaper, recognizes two student-athletes who have overcome adversity to contribute to their teams. The 2012 awards go to Elana Lovell of the Dinos women's hockey team and Boris Bakovic from men's basketball.

Elana Lovell was one of the leading scorers for the Dinos women's hockey team through 16 games of the season before suffering a knee injury that required surgery. She picked up 18 points in 16 games during the regular season before sitting out the final eight conference games and all four playoff contests. Lovell was able to make a comeback, however, rejoining the team for the CIS championship in Edmonton, where she scored three goals and one assist in three games to help the Dinos capture their first-ever CIS championship.

Boris Bakovic transferred to the Dinos for his final season, but he certainly didn't have the start he had hoped for. At the training camp for Team Canada prior to October's Pan American Games, Bakovic tore his ACL and was sidelined for the remainder of the fall term. He made his debut in January and helped spark a big run at the end of the season that took the Dinos from a 4-10 record into the playoffs, scoring 17.9 points per game. And on Jan. 27, a step-back three-pointer against the University of Alberta made him, unofficially, the all-time leading scorer in Canadian university men's basketball history.

Medwest Athletic Therapy Scholarships
Courtney Kapustianyk (clinical) and Jessica Lade (field)

The Medwest scholarships reward two Athletic Therapy majors for their work each season – one for clinical and one for field. Each recipient receives a $1,250 scholarship. Courtney Kapustianyk is the recipient of the clinical award after working with the Dinos basketball teams, while Jessica Lade, who worked with the Dinos men's hockey team, received the field award.

45th Annual Night of the Dino
AWARD WINNERS

Dr. Dennis Kadatz Athletes of the Year
Hayley Wickenheiser, hockey
Sam Hurl, football

Bill Popplewell Rookies of the Year
Amanda Reason, swimming
Teigan Zahn, hockey

Calgary Booster Club Scholar-Athlete Awards
Evan Kimick, track and field
Tessa Miller, soccer
Brock Nixon, hockey
Hayley Wickenheiser, hockey

Awards of Merit
Tyler Fidler, basketball
Sam Hurl, football
Jenna Kaye, basketball
Kaitlyn Longworth, field hockey
Steven Lumbala, football
Rachael McIntosh, track and field
Gleb Suvorov, swimming
Graham Vigrass, volleyball
Hayley Wickenheiser, hockey
Erica Wiebe, wrestling

Freshman Awards of Merit
Andrew Makosiej, swimming
Sean McEwen, football
Amanda Reason, swimming
Erika Romanow, basketball
Teigan Zahn, hockey
Stephanie Zvonkovic, hockey

Senate Service Awards
Evan Kimick, track and field

Murray Fraser Volunteer Awards
Ramona Mueller
Mike Majcher

Dr. Lou Goodwin Award
Harry Andersen

Marg Southern Award
Natalie Beekhuizen

Medwest Athletic Therapy Awards
Jessica Lade (field)
Courtney Kapustianyk (clinic)

Gauntlet Extra Effort Awards
Elana Lovell, hockey
Boris Bakovic, basketball

-UC-