January 15, 2015
Congratulations to Samantha Ryan on being selected as one of the 3 finalists in the Youth
Female Category for the 2015 Saskatchewan Sport Awards.
Very well deserved and Good Luck Sam.
2015 Athlete of the Year Award Finalists Announced
Sask Sport Inc. is pleased to announce the 2015 Athlete of the Year finalists for the
Saskatchewan Sport Awards. Every year, up to three finalists are selected for each of the six
Athlete of the Year Awards: Youth Male, Youth Female, Male, Female, Team and Master
categories. The award recipients are then chosen by Sask Sport Inc’s active and affiliate
members through an online voting process which will take place from January 18-22, 2016.
The finalists for the 2015 Athlete of the Year Awards are:
2015 YOUTH-MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS:
Graeme Fish, 18, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Amateur Speed Skating Association
Kayden Johnson, 19, Kerrobert, Saskatchewan Athletics
Carson Perkins, 17, Bienfait, Saskatchewan Baseball Association
2015 YOUTH-FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS:
Kendell Massier, 17, Regina, Saskatchewan Rowing Association
Samantha Ryan, 16, Saskatoon, Swim Saskatchewan Inc.
Gabrielle Senft, 18, Regina, Saskatchewan Rugby Union Inc.
2015 MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS:
Devon McCullough, 25, Saskatoon, Softball Saskatchewan
Lucas Morin, 20, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Amateur Speed Skating Association
Kelly Wiebe, 26, Swift Current, Saskatchewan Athletics
2015 FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS:
Brittany Hudak, 22, Prince Albert, SASKI Skiing for Disabled
Becky Richter, 32, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Wheelchair Sports Association
Brianne Theisen-Eaton, 26, Humboldt, Saskatchewan Athletics
2015 TEAM OF THE YEAR FINALISTS:
Max Kirkpatrick Canadian Mixed Curling Team, Swift Current, CURLSASK
Team Sask 16U Boys, Regina, Water Polo Saskatchewan
Saskatoon Hilltops, Saskatoon, Football Saskatchewan
2015 MASTER ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS:
Muriel Gieni, 57, Saskatoon, nominated by Saskatchewan Athletics
Mike Vincent, 50, Regina, Canoe Kayak Saskatchewan
The 2015 Athlete of the Year award recipients and the 2015 Volunteer, Coach of the Year, Male
Dedication Coach, Female Dedication Coach, Male Official and Female Official Award recipients
will be announced by Sask Sport Inc. on Monday, February 1st. A Saskatchewan Sport Awards
Presentation Event will be held in March to publicly honor and recognize the award recipients.
“Saskatchewan is fortunate to be home to many talented athletes who excel at the regional,
national and international levels” said Todd Fuchs, Sask Sport Inc. President. “The
Saskatchewan Sport Awards are an opportunity to recognize them for their hard-work, dedication
and achievements in 2015 and to thank them for serving as role models and inspiring others.
Our athletes are supported by a vast network of coaches, officials, volunteers, and organizations
at the provincial and community level, and we thank them for their outstanding contributions to
our amateur sport system in Saskatchewan.”
2015 YOUTH-FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS:
Kendell Massier, Regina, Rowing
Nominated by the Saskatchewan Rowing Association
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Member of the Canadian team that placed sixth at the World Rowing Junior
Championships, which was the best-ever Canadian result.
Won gold medals at both the Rowing Canada Aviron U19 June Selection (Women’s
Single Sculls) and at the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association
Championship Regatta (Senior Women’s Singles).
Despite her young age, finished 14th out of 49 competitors in Women’s Single Sculls at
the 2015 National Rowing Championships.
Won a gold medal at the Western Canada Summer Games as a member of the
Saskatchewan Women’s Quadruple Sculls team, first gold medals for WCSG women’s
rowing since 1995.
Samantha Ryan, Saskatoon, Swimming
Nominated by Swim Saskatchewan Inc.
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Won silver in the 100m butterfly S10 (breaking the Canadian record) and 200m individual
medley S10 at the Trials competition for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
World Championships and Parapan Am Games in March 2015.
Broke both the Canadian record and meet record in the 100 metre butterfly S10 at the
Parapan American Games in the preliminaries and then went on to win the silver medal
in the finals at this event, after her record was surpassed in the final.
At the 2015 IPC World Championships, broke her own Canadian record in the 100m
butterfly S10, finishing in fifth place.
Won gold medals in the 100m and 200m butterfly; won gold in 400m individual medley;
won silver medals in the 200m individual medley, 200m backstroke and a bronze medal
in the 50m free, all in the S10 classification at the Can Am Para-Swimming
Championships.
Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Rugby
Nominated by Saskatchewan Rugby
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Selected for the National U20 Women’s Team. Earned her first cap with the National
Senior Women’s team on their international tour to England in fall 2015, and competed
against the US in the Can-Am Cup.
Won a Canada West Championship with the University of Victoria’s Vikes women’s
rugby team as a starting freshman. She was named both the Canada West and
Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Rookie of the Year.
Selected for the U20 Prairie Wolfpack team, served as captain, and finished second at
the U20 Canadian Rugby Championships.
For more information on the other 2015 Athlete of the Year Award finalists, visit:
http://www.sasksport.sk.ca/SportAwards
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saskatchewan-Sport-Awards/303074246406166
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sasksportawards
Saskatchewan Lotteries, administered by Sask Sport Inc., is the main fundraiser for amateur
sport in Saskatchewan supporting over 300,000 registered participants.