The student athletes of Fort Frances High School may not have played through to the end of their seasons, but they will still get the recognition they deserve at the annual Athletics Banquet, even if it comes in a new format.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related shutdowns, including schools and many event spaces in the province, the school was unable to hold a traditional banquet for its athletes this year. But in an effort to recognize their achievements in spite of these restrictions, organizers decided that the banquet would move online.
The new 2020 Athletics Banquet came in the form of an online video this year, hosted virtually by FFHS student athletes Jamie Spencer and Jacob Albright. The video was released last night and features words of congratulations from a number of administrators, teachers and coaches, including vice-principal Corey Smith, who acknowledged the difficult year athletes face, as well as their accomplishments during that time.
“I’m recording live from home because of this unconventional school year, but that doesn’t diminish all the athletic performances that we saw this year,” Smith said.
“We had a very interesting school year, but it started off with a wonderful performance from our cross-country athletes sending a handful of athletes to OFSAA down south, as well as our football team winning their first championship in decades. We had some other OFSAA performances by the Senior Girls volleyball team and some NorWASSA championships from some of the Junior teams as well.”
The video then presented the list of awards and winners, interspersed with video from coaches and teachers highlighting each recipient. The athletics banquet presentation ended with a slideshow of photos and achievements of the various high school sports team from the past year.
The 2020 Athletics Award Banquet video is available to watch on YouTube.
Golf
• MVP Caleb Fernandez
Cross Country
• MVP Trent Wilson
Football Overall
• MVP Brady Meeks & Sean Huziak
Jr Boys Volleyball
• MVP Andros Bruyere
Sr Boys Volleyball
• MVP - Horban Award Caleb Allan & Mike Vanderaa
Jr Girls Basketball
• Outstanding Contribution Ayiana Gagne
• MVP Heaven States
Sr Girls Basketball
• Outstanding Contribution Alina Eldridge
• MVP - Patti-Jo Reid Award Grace Petsnick
Jr Boys Basketball
• MVP & Outstanding Contribution -
Tim Callaghan Memorial Trophy
Brennan Jourdain
Sr Boys Basketball
• MVP Wyatt Richards,
Sean Huziak, Mike Vanderaa
Jr Girls Volleyball
• MVP - Horban Award Cierra Ogden
Sr Girls Volleyball
• MVP - Patti-Jo Reid Award Jamie Spencer
• PHD (Persistence, Hustle, Determination) Aurora Hutton
Figure Skating Club
• MVP & Outstanding
Contribution Hallee Nugent,
Erica Lemelin
Taekwondo
• Northwest Taekwondo Most Valuable Contribution of a FFHS Student Anna Johnson
Girls Curling
• MVP Jillian Cousineau
Mixed Curling
• MVP Braydon Sabbe
Boys Curling
• MVP Owen Richies
Curling
• Outstanding Contribution Ashley Payne
Boys Hockey
• Dan Johnson Memorial Trophy
Peyton Avis
• Bert Egan Memorial Award
Connor Nelson
• Rod Cain Memorial Trophy
Brady Bodnarchuk
• Randy Roach Memorial Trophy
Jace Jackson
• Al Freeman Memorial Award
Mikel Ward
• Rookie of the Year Jacob Albright
• MVP - Barnie Maher Award Reed Bodnar
Girls Hockey
• Most Improved Player Abbie Kenny
• Most Sportsmanlike Player Katrina Koomans
• Most Dedicated Player Issy Taylor
• Rookie of the Year Piper Cross
• Coaches Award Marti Woods
• Scott Clendenning Award
Kamryn Sandelovich
• MVP Jill Calder
Nordic Skiing
• Most Improved Kayli Machura
• MVP Emma Toriseva
