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Cook and Campbell win big at 2017 Trojan Awards

On the evening of June 15, the R.D. Parker Collegiate athletics department handed out their Trojan Awards for the 2016–17 school year.

On the evening of June 15, the R.D. Parker Collegiate athletics department handed out their Trojan Awards for the 2016–17 school year.

The ceremony took place at the Letkemann Theatre, which was full of RDPC students who made their mark in a variety of sports, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, curling, track and field, badminton and lacrosse.

The biggest winners of the night were Dale Cook and Alyssa Campbell, who brought home the senior male and female athlete of the year awards, respectively.

While his team fell short of success at provincials, Cook was recognized for his skill on the basketball court. Cook’s talent even managed to attract the attention of Basketball Manitoba, since he was invited to participate in their graduating all-star game in April.

Campbell herself is no stranger to athletic accolades, having won the junior female athlete of the year award in 2015 for her participation in volleyball, basketball and badminton. Campbell continued to excel in these sports in the intervening years and managed to mature into a team leader at the same time.

During the ceremony, RDPC physical education teacher Jeff Paradis spoke about just how difficult it is to succeed as a senior high school athlete, especially after transferring from elementary school.

“You realize that it’s a lot more work, it’s a lot more time, commitment, losing’s harder, winning is more fun but it doesn’t happen all the time, so a lot of athletes fizzle out after junior varsity,” he said. “So for these guys to make it to senior varsity, and not just make it here but excel at senior varsity, it’s really quite a feat.”

The June 15 award show also highlighted a number of talented up-and-coming athletes.

The junior male athlete of the year award went to volleyball and track star Sheldin Howard, while Ashley Williams picked up the female equivalent of this award for her role in helping the junior girls' basketball team become provincial champions for the second time.

The junior girls' basketball team was presented the Ultimate Award because of their runaway success.

“At the beginning of the year … I sat them down at the very first practice and I said ‘you can be provincial champions.’ And they took it and just ran with it,” said coach Christine Sim. “They never lost, they won every tournament, they dug out of 80 centimetres of snow to get to the provincials. But they did it and they are number one in the province.”

The last piece of high-profile hardware of the night was the Spirit of Sport award, which is given out to an individual who, according to soccer and track coach Alex Burton, embodies “what we look for in an athlete, not just for performance but for the enjoyment they get out of playing sports.”

This year’s award went to track athlete Eric Olson, whose hard work and positive attitude over the last four years made a distinct impression on the coaching staff.

“Whenever we go out to the field and do anything he’s always the one working the hardest,” said Burton. “He even came to the phys-ed office at the end of the year and asked if he could borrow a shot put ball to take home so he could train all summer. I don’t know if anyone’s ever asked to take home a shot put ball before, so I think we were glad to let him have that.”

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