Kodiaks crown 2020 KODI Award winners

The Lethbridge College Kodiaks celebrated an abbreviated athletics season with the annual KODI Awards on Wednesday evening. Major award winners were announced by college and Kodiaks staff during a ceremony released on the Kodiaks social media channels.

The awards capped an incredible season for Kodiaks Athletics that included one national championship, three ACAC championships and more than 60 ACAC and CCAA honours – totals that could have been even higher had the COVID-19 pandemic not cancelled the futsal and indoor track conference championships.

“I couldn’t be prouder to be a Kodiak,” says Todd Caughlin, manager of Kodiaks Athletics. “Across the board, our teams and student-athletes achieved extraordinary results this year. We thought it was important that they still get recognized with some sort of awards ceremony, and we want them all to know how proud we are of them.”

Newly sponsored by long-time Kodiaks boosters Val and Flora Matteotti, the Kodiaks Team of the Year award went to the national champion women’s cross country team. Led by ACAC champion and CCAA bronze medalist Sophia Nowicki, the team won every grand prix it entered this season, including the ACAC and CCAA championships. The national title was the program’s first since 1996, while the team also earned the Kodiaks Team GPA Award for the fall semester.

Veteran soccer player Christine Moser and rookie basketball player Brock Dewsbery earned the Tim Tollestrup Leadership Student-Athlete of the Year awards. In her third season, Moser, who is from Whitehorse, earned the female award. She was named ACAC women’s soccer south division player of the year, as well as being named an all-Canadian, while also competing for the Kodiaks indoor track and futsal teams.

Dewsbery, a men’s basketball rookie from Raymond, earned the men’s honour. He led the Kodiaks and finished fourth in the ACAC in scoring, while being named both the ACAC player and rookie of the year. He was also named an all-Canadian. Both Dewsbery and Moser are on pace to be recognized as CCAA Academic All-Canadians.

Sean Carey earned the Electrical Solutions Inc. Kodiaks Coach of the Year award for the second straight season. Carey has made a habit of collecting hardware, as he was named ACAC soccer coach of the year in both the men’s and women’s conferences. He also earned CCAA men’s soccer coach of the year honours, while leading the men’s soccer team to the first ACAC championship in program history.

Soccer player Brooklin Bellavance and basketball player Jackson Kasko were named inaugural winners of the Calgary Flames Foundation Leadership Scholarships, recognizing student-athletes who excel in leadership, community involvement and academics – the “unsung heroes” of Kodiaks Athletics.

The Three Pillars of Kodiaks Athletics – academic accountability, athletic excellence and the student-athlete experience – steer the voting on all awards. Awards are selected by members of the Kodiaks Athletics administration team and factor in the results of a public vote that had more than 425 participants.

The full list of KODI award winners is below. The KODI Awards ceremony can be viewed on gokodiaks.ca.