BY SARA KEDDY
Kings County Register
With four provincial titles under their belts, Central Kings’ athletes are satisfied with the 2008/ 2009 season.
The student government organized and hosted the year-end awards ceremony June 10 for athletes and students involved in school life, passing out awards in front of the entire school with lots of hoots and cheers from students in the crowd as others went up to be recognized.
“These awards recognize students who have participated in many ways in our school, so I’d encourage our younger students in grades 7, 8 and 9 to get involved as they go along,” principal Janice Foote said. “You can also give back to the school by being kind, and involved in school life.”
Provincial titles came from the boys’ hockey team, senior boys’ and girls’ soccer teams and the senior boys’ basketball team. The junior girls’ soccer team won regionals, and athletics department teacher Lloyd Boutillier reported, with regret, just missing a provincial track and field team title by 14 points and another when the intermediate boys were disqualified after passing the relay baton outside the zone.
“We had a good year with our first football team - we had some trouble fielding 26 kids, but we’re looking at 48 next year, and just waiting for over a dozen coming out of the Valley Bantam league - which won provincials last year - to join us,” Boutillier said.
After hearing the multiple names listed as nominees for senior female and male athletes of the year, he also said there is talent coming along to replace graduates.
“The level of talent we’ve had in the senior high athletes the last couple of years has been huge, and we’re looking at our Grade 10s - there’s a lot there.”
This was likely Robbyn MacNeill’s year, though. The Grade 12 student won one of two school Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation’s Celebration of School Sport awards. She also won a senior girls’ soccer coaches’ award, a senior badminton MVP award, a cross-country coaches’ award, a senior girls’ basketball MVP award, a women’s hockey MVP award and a sportsmanship and dedication award in track and field. Her final award, senior female athlete of the year, then, was obvious.
Also nominated for senior female athlete of the year were Trissa Dunham, Alana Fairfax, Lauren Morse and Marissa Walter, who walked to the podium for other awards with a limp: she pulled a hamstring June 5 in the provincial track and field 100 metres. If she’d won that, it would have been her fourth consecutive title.
Senior male athlete of the year was Dustin Poirier, chosen from a wide field of Tyler Doherty, Ricky Sawler, Chris Alguire, James Nunn, Matt Nunn, Jeremy Shepherd, Shandel Sampson and Connor Simmons. Poirier, a member of the provincial title winning basketball team, also won an MVP award from that team’s coaches.
Junior female athlete of the year was Mikayla Webster; nominated were Jennifer Poirier and Jessica Monette. Webster also won an MVP award for basketball.
There were two nominees for junior male athlete of the year: Drew Wanamaker and Luke Doucet. Wanamaker won.
The last big award of the year is the Wally Humphreys Award for a Grade 12 student that shows leadership, excellence and athletic ability in all aspects of athletics. Nominees included Ricky Sawler, James Nunn, Matt Nunn, Jeremy Shepherd, Robbyn MacNeill and Marissa Walter. Shepherd ( the student government’s minister of sport and recreation) won, also picking up coaches’ awards for football and basketball. Shepherd won C.K.’s second NSSAF Celebration of School Sport Award.
Coaches Greg Milne and Joanne Fairfax won NSSAF coaching awards, and Mike Landry earned a certificate for five years of coaching.
The NSSAF Ron Flaherty scholar/ athlete awards went to juniors Jennifer Poirier and Luke Doucet and seniors Marissa Walter and Ricky Sawler.
Awards
Golf: junior MVP - Morgan Roberton-Ennis, coaches’ award - Becca Schoonhoven; senior MVP - Charles Grant, coaches’ award - Cale Woodworth
Football: MVP - Tyler Doherty, coaches’ award - Jeremy Shepherd; NSSAF league Tier 2 all-stars - Shandel Sampson, Jacob Meisner, Tyler Doherty, Drake Lowthers
Cross-country: coaches’ awards - Robbyn MacNeill, Alex McCarthy
Soccer: junior girls’ MVP - Jennifer Poirier, coaches’ award - Brittany Gee; junior boys’ MVP - Luke Doucet, coaches’ award - Bryan Wadden; senior girls’ coaches’ awards - Lauren Landry, Robbyn MacNeill, Trissa Dunham; senior boys’ MVP - Matt Nunn, coaches’ award Matthew Laffin
Volleyball: junior girls’ MVP Vanessa Roberston, coaches’ award Sidney McKenzie; senior girls’ coaches awards - Kennedy Bennicke, Silvana Bitar; senior boys’ MVP - Evan Farris, coaches’ award - Rickey Sawler
Basketball: junior girls’ MVP - Mikayla Webster, coaches’ award - Carly Hamilton; junior boys’ MVP - Nigel Simmons, coaches’ award - Devon Reid; senior girls’ MVP - Robbyn MacNeill, coaches’ award - Brittany Buchan; senior boys’ MVP - Dustin Poirier, coaches’ award - Jeremy Shepherd
Snowboarding: coaches’ award - Michael Foote
Curling: coaches’ award - Lee Millett
Hockey: women’s MVP - Robbyn MacNeill, coaches’ award - Brittany Foote; men’s MVPs - Mitchell Woodworth, Chris Alguire
Badminton: MVPs - Morgan Ennis (jr), Robbyn MacNeill (sr); most improved - Morgan Shepherd (jr), Kelsey Turnbull (sr)
Softball: senior girls’ coaches’ awards - Emily Martin, Sarah Brown; senior boys’ coaches’ award - Brad Cote, MVP - Brad Durling
Rugby: women’s coaches’ award - Sonoma Levy, MVP - Maddison Parkin, most improved - Alicia Bond; men’s coaches’ award - Jacob Meisner, sportsmanship & dedication - Brenton Arnold
Track and field: MVPs - Marissa Walter (sr), Mitch Best (int); most improved - Heath Ayling (int), Jacob Shepherd (jr); sportsmanship & dedication - Robbyn MacNeill, coaches’ award - Andrew Jennings Lindsay.
