Confederation College Recognizes Athletic Achievements

THUNDER BAY, ON, April 12, 2022 – The Student Union of Confederation College Inc. (SUCCI) was excited to go back to in-person delivery of their Thunderhawks Athletic Awards on April 11, 2022. This format offered the perfect venue to recognize the accomplishments of our local and regional athletes and coaches.

Thunderhawks Women's Cross Country Athlete, Jamie Kovacic, was crowned this year's Female Athlete of the Year. Thunder Bay's Kovacic is completing her first year of the Registered Practical Nursing program. Jamie demonstrated her true athletic spirit, enthusiasm and dedication for athletics with her commitment to the Thunderhawks Cross Country Running program. At the OCAA Provincial Championships, Jamie's performance qualified her to compete at the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association's (CCAA) National Championships. She has also received the Thunderhawks Cross Country Running Team MVP award this year.

Thunderhawks Men's Golfer, Matthew Cho-Chu, is the recipient of this year's Male Athlete of the Year award. Cho-Chu is a local golfer, completing his second year of the Mechanical Engineering Technician program. Matthew is also the recipient of this year's Thunderhawks Golf Team MVP award. Matthew qualified, first time in Confederation College history, for the opportunity to compete at CCAA National Golf Championships. Matthew played exceptionally well at these Championships finishing 13th best of college golfers in Canada. An outstanding achievement!

Varsity Athletic & Sport Team MVPs were awarded to:

Matthew Cho-Chu Golf

Ashlee Cooke Women's Indoor Soccer

Devon Hoier Men's Indoor Soccer

Jamie Kovacic Cross Country Running

Jeremy Bertoldo Men's Curling

OCAA (Ontario Colleges Athletic Association) All Academic Awards (achieving honour roll status in the fall semester) were presented to Lorenzo Pasqualino, Aaron Ruknicki & Robin Gathercole.

Niklas Metcalfe, graduating from the Film Production program, was chosen as this year's D.A.R. Bradshaw Athletic Achievement Award recipient. This award is presented to a graduating student, demonstrating the most improvement in and contribution to athletics, and whose quality of spirit and competitive drive contributed to the overall success of the College athletic program. Nik was a formidable player on the field, but also a leader to the squad (Vice Captain). Metcalf's dedication and commitment to being a Thunderhawks athlete is one of the main reasons our team was able to have a strong showing at the OCAA Regional Championships and continues to fight for a playoff spot in the Thunder Bay Men's League.

OCAA Honour Awards awarded to two members of our Men's Curling team:

Jeremy Bertoldo – 1st Team Second All Star

Katrina Slomke – 2nd Team Lead All Star

Appreciation was presented to Tbaytel for their ongoing, generous sponsorship of our Thunderhawks Athletics program.

For more information, please contact Susan Tucker, Administrator, Campus Recreation & Athletics at 807-624-7498.

-Confederation College has been serving the citizens of northwestern Ontario since 1967 meeting the educational needs of students in a catchment area of some 550,000 square kilometres. Along with its main campus in Thunder Bay, Confederation College has seven regional sites located in Dryden, Fort Frances, Greenstone, Kenora, Marathon, Sioux Lookout and Red Lake, as well as a growing Distance Education division.

Confederation College delivers exceptional education and training to an average of 7,000 combined full- and part-time students per year and currently has a total of 600 full- and part-time employees. Confederation's regional economic impact and contribution is valued at $707.3 million annually.