With three Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) medals and multiple league awards for both student-athletes and coaches, Niagara College Athletics and Recreation had plenty to celebrate at the 52nd edition of the annual Knights Awards Banquet.
The celebration, which returned to an in-person format on April 8, recognized the achievements of NC’s student-athletes and coaches, who brought their ‘A-game’ to the 2021-22 varsity season after a year hiatus.
“It never ceases to amaze me how resilient our student-athletes, coaches and staff members are,” said Michele O’Keefe, NC Athletic Director. “After having such a challenging, yet successful season, to top it off with such an amazing athletic banquet leaves us ready to get started planning for next year!”
Knights 2021-22 Female Athlete of the Year Natasha Desjardins
The Knights’ banner year included OCAA medals in women’s curling (silver), men’s curling (bronze) and women’s basketball (bronze), OCAA Coach of the Year awards for women’s soccer Head Coach Rob Lalama and women’s basketball Head Coach Chris Rao, and two Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Canadian nods for two-sport athlete Natasha Desjardins (fourth year, Educational Assistant, Welland), who played for both the women’s soccer and volleyball teams, and women’s soccer player Sydney Sica (fourth year, Practical Nursing, Niagara Falls).
Desjardins and Sica were also among the student-athletes recognized at the end-of-the-year banquet, which saw a total of 66 individual awards handed out. With both athletes having outstanding individual seasons, Desjardins and Sica were both named the Knights Female Athletes of the Year.
The Knights Male Athlete of Year award went to men’s soccer co-captain Joseph Nagnonhou (second year, Renewable Energies Technician, Douala, Cameroon), who also earned the men’s soccer MVP.
Knights 2021-22 Female Athlete of the Year Sydney Sica
Taking home this year’s top Female and Male Leadership awards were men’s basketball’s team captain, Rahim Bardi (third year, General Arts, St. Catharines) and women’s curler, Emma Hill (first year, Recreational Therapy, Dundalk).
Top Female Rookie of the Year went to McKenna Jackson (first year, Customs and Border Security, Sarnia), who played for both the Knights women’s soccer and basketball teams, while men’s basketball guard Reggie Williams (first year, Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film, Toronto) picked up Knights Male Rookie of the Year with his incredible freshman season.
Bringing home the Knights Male Tournament Sport Player of the Year hardware was men’s curler Kyle Henry (first year, Hospitality – Hotel/Restaurant Management, Elmira), while Alexa DeRochers (first year, PSI Customs and Border Security, Welland) earned the Female Tournament Player of the Year award.
The Knights also recognized 11 CCAA Academic All-Canadians – the most prestigious student-athlete award that epitomizes the CCAA mandate of recognizing excellence in academics and athletics. To achieve this honour, a student-athlete must be named to his or her respective member conference All-star teams in a CCAA sport and achieve honours (80% or higher) at their respective institution.
For more on NC’s 2021-22 student-athlete award recipients and a full list of winners, visit the Knights website.
With files from Lindsay English, NC Athletics and Recreation
