CALGARY – Track and field star Rachel Machin and fifth-year swimming captain Jason Block were named the 2012-13 University of Calgary athletes of the year Tuesday night.

The Dr. Dennis Kadatz awards presented to Machin and Block highlighted the 46th Annual Night of the Dino awards gala Tuesday night at the Red and White Club as the Dinos celebrated another successful season, which included a national championship in women's track and field along with conference titles in football, men's swimming, and women's track and field.

Taking home top freshman honours Tuesday were swimmer Tianna Rissling along with football wide receiver Brett Blaszko 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 Andrew Buckley (football), Cory Meeuwisse (volleyball), Carolina Romeo (football), and Hayley Wickenheiser (hockey).

Chancellor Jim Dinning presented the Senate Service Award to Janell Lautermilch from the field hockey team, marking the second year of that honour after its inauguration in 2012, while track and field coach Doug Lamont was presented with the first-ever Charlesglen Toyota Scion Coach of the Year award.

The Margaret Southern Award for female contribution to the Dinos went to longtime Faculty of Kinesiology student adviser Sylvia Johnston, while the Dr. Lou Goodwin Award recognized Jim Engman, who was the volunteer meet manager for the 2013 CIS swimming championships hosted by the Dinos. Matt Dodds and Kristen Barton were honoured with the Murray Fraser Awards as the students providing outstanding service to the department of athletics.

The Gauntlet Extra Effort Awards, selected and presented by the University of Calgary's student newspaper, went to Bradley Crocker of men's swimming along with Jenna Westaway of women's track and field, while the MedWest Athletic Therapy Scholarships were awarded to Maddie Thomas (clinic) and Alie Briere (field).

Dr. Dennis Kadatz Athletes of the Year
Rachel Machin and Jason Block

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.

Multidisciplinary track and field star Rachel Machin is the first women's track and field athlete to take home the women's athlete of the year award since Dinos legend Jessica Zelinka, a two-time winner, earned the honour in 2003 and 2007.

Machin medaled in all four events she competed in at the CIS championships in Edmonton, scoring 34 points for the Dinos – who needed every one of them as they edged the Toronto Varsity Blues by just 3.5 points to capture the program's fourth CIS women's track and field title.

The third-year science student from Calgary won individual gold in the high jump and long jump at the national meet, adding a silver medal in the pentathlon and another in the 60-metre hurdles. She set new personal bests in the long jump and hurdles and tied her PB in the high jump and was named the outstanding athlete of the meet at the CIS championships with 36 of the Dinos' 115 team points.

She was also named the Canada West outstanding field events performer after she helped lead the Dinos to their sixth conference team title in nine years.

Machin beat out wrestler Holly Ellsworth-Clark, basketball's Tamara Jarrett, and hockey players Stephanie Ramsay and Hayley Wickenheiser.

On the men's side, fifth-year breaststroke specialist Jason Block was named the male athlete of the year after wrapping up his CIS career in style as the Dinos hosted the 2013 national championship meet.

For the third time in his Dinos career, Block swept the breaststroke events with gold medals at 50, 100, and 200 metres. He set a new CIS record in the 50-metre event, and he took home the CIS Grand Slam after winning the 100-metre breaststroke for the fourth consecutive season. He added a silver medal swimming the breaststroke leg of the Dinos' 4x100-metre medley relay to wrap up an impressive varsity career at the University of Calgary.

The captain of the men's swimming team Block led the Dinos to their 20th Canada West men's swimming title, their first since 2010. And at the national championships, the Dinos were part of an unprecedented three-horse race for the title, eventually finishing third in the closest team race in history.

A student in the Haskayne School of Business, Block joins the likes of Tom Ponting, Mark Tewksbury, and Curtis Myden as Dinos swimmers who have won the Dr. Dennis Kadatz award, He is the first male swimmer since Chad Murray in 2004 to be named the Dinos' athlete of the year.

Block was up against footballers Mike Edem and Kirby Fabien, hockey forward Brock Nixon, and basketball point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson.

Bill Popplewell Rookies of the Year
Tianna Rissling and Brett Blaszko

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 as one of the athletic department's longest-standing corporate partners.

Tianna Rissling is the second swimmer in as many years to take home the award, following Amanda Reason in 2012. Named the Canada West and CIS rookie of the year, Rissling won two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal at her first CIS championship. A first-year kinesiology student from Redcliff, Alta., Rissling set a new CIS record in the 400-metre individual medley, adding another individual title in the 50-metre breaststroke. Her performance very nearly earned her CIS swimmer of the year honours.

Track star Jenna Westaway and wrestler Josée Tremblay were the other nominees for top women's rookie honours.

Brett Blaszko, a first-year receiver on the Dinos football team, is the 2013 male rookie of the year. Joining the Dinos from his native Burlington, Ont., Blaszko became the fifth Dino in seven years to earn the Canada West rookie of the year award after finishing as the fifth-leading receiver in the conference with 23 catches for 389 yards and five touchdowns – all despite only appearing in six games. His first CIS catch went for a 65-yard major in Week 1, and he added a 75-yard score later in the season. A student in the Faculty of Arts, Blaszko averaged 16.9 yards per catch in his rookie campaign.

Men's basketball freshman Dallas Karch along with Russell Wood, the Canada West men's swimming rookie of the year, were also up for the men's honour.

Calgary Booster Club Scholar-Athlete Awards
Andrew Buckley, Cory Meeuwisse, Carolina Romeo, 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.

In his second year with the football team, Andrew Buckley helped the Dinos to a fifth consecutive Canada West Hardy Cup title while continuing to excel in the classroom. The Kinesiology major, a graduate of Calgary's Rundle College, posted a 3.93 GPA over 27 credits – 50 per cent more than the minimum requirement. On the field, Buckley completed 46 of 61 passes for 550 yards and four touchdowns on the season, good enough for an impressive 159.7 quarterback rating.

Second-year Kinesiology student Cory Meeuwisse took over as the starting libero for the Dinos men's volleyball team this season, leading the squad in digs per set with 2.38. The graduate of Sir Winston Churchill High School in Calgary completed 27 credits in the Faculty of Kinesiology, recording a GPA of 3.82.

Carolina Romeo made history in 2008 when she became the youngest female student-athlete in CIS history, joining the Dinos field hockey team at the age of 15. Five years later, she leaves the Dinos as a first team CIS All-Canadian and is preparing to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Schulich School of Engineering. The former Chancellor's Club scholar posted a GPA of 3.81 over 30 credits in the past academic year.

Named the top female academic student-athlete in Canada West for two consecutive years, women's hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser continues to impress on the ice and in the classroom for the Dinos. In addition to her countless awards – to which she added first team All-Canadian status and Canada West MVP honours this season – the Canadian hockey legend put up a perfect 4.00 GPA over the last academic year as she works toward her kinesiology degree with the goal of attending medical school.

Charlesglen Toyota Scion Coach of the Year
Doug Lamont, track and field

The newest award in the Dinos' trophy case was handed out for the first time Tuesday night as Doug Lamont became the inaugural winner of the Charlesglen Toyota Scion Coach of the Year.

Lamont, who competed for the Dinos as a University of Calgary student, just wrapped up his 12th season as head coach of the Dinos cross country and track and field teams. During that time, he has led the program to a CIS women's cross country title in 2003 along with women's track and field national championships in 2007 and 2013. Lamont's teams have captured 15 Canada West championships in his tenure, including six of the last nine conference banners in women's track and field.

Doug was named the Canada West and CIS coach of the year in women's track and field in 2013, his second such honour at the national level and the fifth time he has received the award from his conference colleagues.

Senate Service Award
Janell Lautermilch, field hockey

Janell Lautermilch of the Dinos field hockey team was honoured with the 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.”

Lautermilch, a third-year kinesiology student, boasts an impressive resume of community involvement that made her the first-ever female recipient of the award after track and field's Evan Kimick won the inaugural award in 2012.

Lautermilch has made an impact in many communities by volunteering, coaching and leading the Dinos field hockey team. In 2010, she began her coaching career with the St. Francis High School junior field hockey team and would later go on to coach the Alberta U-16 Disney Showcase Team. On top of her coaching duties, Lautermilch was the recipient of the International Studentship Award when she studied abroad in Australia, where she played for the Adelaide University Hockey Club Premier League squad.

Since 2011, Lautermilch has also volunteered at the Carewest Continuing Care Services working alongside the physiotherapy department staff on a weekly basis, assisting the rehabilitation of residents. This includes assistance through rehabilitation in the facility's gym, clinic, during swimming sessions and personal one-on-one visits.

The Kinesiology student regularly volunteers at the Scotiabank Saddledome to help raise funds for the Dinos field hockey team and has also been the recipient of a number of scholarships. She has been named an Academic All-Canadian the past two years.

Margaret Southern Award
Sylvia Johnson

Named in honour of Margaret Southern of Spruce Meadows fame and the first female instructor in the Faculty of Physical Education at the University of Calgary, this award honours a woman who has contributed exceptional service and support to the department of athletics.

Sylvia Johnson is retiring after a 35-year career with the University of Calgary, all of which was spent in the Faculty of Kinesiology as a student advisor, helping students – including hundreds of Dinos student-athletes – navigate through their degree programs. Joining the university in 1977, Johnson worked with every dean in the faculty's history – and it was her passion to work with students, trying to impress on them the importance of independent and spirited thought as she helped them work through course requirements as they built their degrees.

Dr. Lou Goodwin Award
Jim Engman

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.

Jim Engman performed outstanding volunteer service for the Dinos this year as the meet manager of the 2013 CIS swimming championships in February. In this multi-faceted role, Jim oversaw virtually every technical aspect of the tournament from officials and timers to the timing, results, and scoring system.

Murray Fraser Awards
Kristen Barton and Matt Dodds

The Murray Fraser Awards, named after the late president of the University of Calgary, honour one male and one female student for their exceptional service to Dinos Athletics.

The women's award goes to Kristen Barton. The goalkeeper for the Dinos women's soccer team, Barton served as co-chair of the Dinos' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), a group which brings together representatives from each Dinos program to serve as a collective voice for student-athletes and organize department-wide activities for student-athletes. A PhD student in kinesiology, Barton is an Academic All-Canadian who just wrapped up her five-year varsity career with the Dinos.

The men's Murray Fraser Award was presented to Matt Dodds. A student-athlete on the Dinos golf team studying in the Haskayne School of Business, Matt just completed his third season as the Dinos' mascot, Rex. Widely considered one of the best mascot performers the Dinos have ever had, Matt makes hundreds of appearances as Rex each year at various university, community, and city events, engaging with students, fans, and the public and representing Dinos Athletics and the University of Calgary.

Gauntlet Extra Effort Awards
Bradley Crocker and Jenna Westaway

Each year the Gauntlet, the University of Calgary's student newspaper, recognizes two student-athletes who go above and beyond to contribute to their teams – and the 2012-13 recipients are Bradley Crocker from swimming and Jenna Westaway from track and field.

Crocker showed dramatic improvement throughout the season, winning a bronze medal in the 200m backstroke during the Canada West championship. During the CIS championships, Crocker placed in the top 10 and has shaved at least eight seconds off of his initial 200-metre time from the beginning of the season.

Westway was named the Canada West rookie of the year and was also named outstanding female track performer. She earned rookie of the year honours at the CIS championships, won a silver medal in the 600 metres, a silver in the 1000 metres and was also a member of the silver-medal-winning 4x400-metre team.

Medwest Athletic Therapy Scholarships
Maddie Thomas (clinical) and Alie Briere (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. Maddie Thomas is the recipient of the clinical award after working with the Dinos football, while Alie Briere, who worked with the Dinos basketball teams, received the field award.

46th Annual Night of the Dino
AWARD WINNERS

Dr. Dennis Kadatz Athletes of the Year
Rachel Machin, track and field
Jason Block, swimming

Bill Popplewell Rookies of the Year
Tianna Rissling, swimming
Brett Blaszko, football

Calgary Booster Club Scholar-Athlete Awards
Andrew Buckley, football
Cory Meeuwisse, volleyball
Carolina Romeo, field hockey
Hayley Wickenheiser, hockey

Charlesglen Toyota Scion Coach of the Year
Doug Lamont, track and field

Awards of Merit
Jason Block, swimming
Mike Edem, football
Holly Ellsworth-Clark, wrestling
Kirby Fabien, football
Tamara Jarrett, basketball
Rachel Machin, track and field
Brock Nixon, hockey
Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, basketball
Stephanie Ramsay, hockey
Hayley Wickenheiser, hockey

Freshman Awards of Merit
Brett Blaszko, football
Dallas Karch, basketball
Tianna Rissling, swimming
Josée Tremblay, wrestling
Jenna Westaway, track and field
Russell Wood, swimming

Senate Service Award
Janell Lautermilch, field hockey

Murray Fraser Awards
Kristen Barton
Matt Dodds

Dr. Lou Goodwin Award
Jim Engman

Marg Southern Award
Sylvia Johnston

Medwest Athletic Therapy Awards
Alie Briere (field)
Maddie Thomas (clinic)

Gauntlet Extra Effort Awards
Bradley Crocker, swimming
Jenna Westaway, track and field

-UC-