The Department of Athletics and Recreation celebrated the 2018-19 Warriors season on Friday night at the 59^th annual Athletics Awards Banquet.
"It was another outstanding season for our Warriors including several standout individual and team performances," said director of athletics and recreation, Roly Webster.

"It's always incredibly fun to have 600 student-athletes together in the same room celebrating all that they have accomplished academically and athletically. I am very proud of each and every student-athlete that represented the Warriors with pride and passion this past season."

Top honours on the evening went to fifth year women's volleyball star Claire Mackenzie (Vancouver/) and second year quarterback from football, Tre Ford (Niagara Falls/).

Mackenzie was awarded the Marsden Trophy as female athlete of the year after a standout season with the women's volleyball team. Mackenzie capped off an illustrious five-year career, winning OUA bronze on home court after leading her team to a program's best, 17-2 regular season record.

Mackenzie finished the season sixth in the OUA in kills per set at 3.37 and was named an OUA west first-team all-star for the second straight season.  

Mackenzie completed her fifth and final season with 236 kills in 70 sets of action finishing with the most kills in program history (907). She went on to have a dominating post-season with 42 kills in three matches, leading her Warriors to a thrilling come from behind bronze medal win over Western in front of the home crowd at the PAC. 

Ford was presented the Totzke Trophy as male athlete of the year thanks to one of the most memorable seasons the football program has seen.

In only his second season as quarterback, Ford electrified the crowd on a weekly basis putting up eye-popping numbers, leading the OUA in touchdown passes (27), passing yards (2822), and completion percentage (74.1%, which is a new OUA single-season record). He also threw the fewest interceptions amongst all qualified passers (2), while rushing for 641 yards - good for sixth in the OUA.

Ford also shattered several school records including most passing yards in a single game, doing so twice with games of 463 yards (win over Windsor) and 472 yards (win over Laurier that clinched their first playoff berth since 2003).

Ford followed up his rookie of the year awards in 2017 by winning the 2018 OUA MVP award and was also named a first-team all-star.

Another top award from the evening, the Warrior Shield of Excellence, was presented to three Warriors who enjoyed outstanding careers with the black and gold. This award recognizes outstanding accomplishments by a graduating student-athlete in their sport, academics and community service.

Jörg Ahne of track, Jesse Gibbon (Hamilton/) from football and John Willsey from curling took home the prestigious graduating award.

Ahne, the 2018 Marsden Trophy winner finished his illustrious career with three U SPORTS medals (2 gold, 1 silver) four OUA medals (2 gold, 2 silver) and was a three-time U SPORTS All-Canadian and four time OUA all-star. Ahne holds 12 of the best long jumps in UW history and 16 of the top 20.

Gibbon capped off his four-year career with an All-Canadian nod and was also a 2018 OUA first-team all-star. The offensive lineman also received an invite straight to this year's CFL National Combine where he turned heads and is expected to be drafted within the first three rounds of the 2019 CFL Draft on May 2, 2019. Gibbon also had several national achievements including a gold medal with the National Junior Team in 2016 and competed in the 2018 U SPORTS East-West Bowl.

The third and final recipient of the Shield of Excellence Award was John Willsey of curling. Willsey guided the Warriors to two U SPORTS Championships where they finished fourth overall in 2018. He is also a back-to-back OUA all-star and two-time OUA medallist (2016 – silver, 2018 – bronze). Outside of U SPORTS competition, Willsey was the runner up at the 2018 U-21 Provincial Championship and his men's team is ranked 35^th in the world.

The Federation of Students Rookies of the Year were handed out to Sarah Glynn (Fredericton/) and Lukas Wormald. 

Glynn of women's volleyball won every award you can as a first year student-athlete and was instrumental in Waterloo's historical season and OUA bronze medal result. She was also a nominee for the Marsden Trophy, which speaks volumes to the type of season she had in only her first year in the black and gold.

Glynn was named the U SPORTS rookie of the year and all-rookie, the OUA west rookie of the year as well as a member of the west first-team all-stars and all-rookie team. She was right behind teammate, Claire Mackenzie (Vancouver/) with 3.34 kills per set (7^th in OUA) putting down 234 kills in 70 sets. Glynn was also a threat at the service line with 26 aces on the season.

Wormald of men's swimming took home the rookie of the year honours on the men's side. Wormald took the OUA swim scene by storm winning three medals, including two individual golds at the OUA Championship. For his incredible meet, not only did Wormald win the OUA rookie of the year award, but he took home the Individual Medley Excellence Award, an award all athletes in attendance are eligible to win.

Wormald led men's swimming to their best result in 30 years, an OUA silver medal and went on to impress on the national stage, finishing seventh overall in the 200 IM with a personal best time. 

The Imprint Coach of the Year Award was presented to Richard Eddy, head coach of women's volleyball.

Eddy was named both the OUA and U SPORTS Coach of the Year after leading women's volleyball to an incredible 17-2 regular season record while his squad reached as high as No. 3 in the U SPORTS Top 10. His Warriors then went on to finish 2-1 in the post-season, defeating Western in a thrilling come from behind 5-set victory, to claim OUA bronze.

Along with Richard's Coach of the Year honours, four different Warriors from women's volleyball were named conference major award winners or all-stars/rookies, speaking to the depth of his team.

Lastly, for the second year, the Team of the Year Award was captured by women's volleyball after a historic season that captured the community. Other teams nominated for the award included badminton, football, men's rugby, men's soccer, and swimming.

It was a fantastic night celebrating the outstanding achievements of all the Warriors student-athletes, coaches, and staff.

Other Award Winners

Warrior Campus Service Award – Jason Coolman
J.O Hemphill Award – Tyson Turchanski
Directors Award – Megan Muir
Brian Farrance Award – Callum Spurr/Jesurun Wong