Gee-Gees best
Sacobie / Tousaw selected athletes of the year
Fifth-year quarterback Josh Sacobie and second-year hurdler / long sprinter Julia Tousaw were named male and female athlete of the year at uOttawa's annual varsity awards banquet Thursday night.
Sacobie, 25, who graduated in December, 2008, earned the uOttawa male athlete of the year award for a second straight season and for a third time since joining the Gee-Gees in 2004.
"This is probably more important to me than any Hec Crighton award," Sacobie said in February after earning a Gee-Gees football team-record fifth consecutive team MVP award.
'I'm more thankful than anybody."
Tousaw, 19, turned in a gold medal performance at the 2009 CIS track and field championships with a 1:31.23 in the 600 metres to earn uOttawa's first female track gold medal since 1999.
"It feels awesome," said Tousaw, moments after the March 14 race. "This is what I have been training for all year."
The Gee-Gees women's track team last CIS champion was in 1999 - Isabelle Gervais in the 600-metre - before the uOttawa track program shut down until 2007-08.
Sacobie, who passed for 2,171 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, finished his career with a Gee-Gees record 9,885 passing yards and 79 career touchdown passes. His career touchdowns are the second highest total in Canada and Sacobie is third all-time in career yardage.
A Maliseet from the St. Mary's First nation near Fredericton, Sacobie played for the Yates Cup Ontario championship twice and earned the 2007 Ontario University Athletics MVP award.
Tousaw, who also runs with the Ottawa Lions, will be leaving Ottawa in September for a year-long academic exchange to Switzerland.
University of Ottawa President's awards (academics, athletics and community service) were also presented at the Salo San Marco Banquet Hall to fifth-year men's basketball forward Dax Dessureault and fourth-year women's hockey defender Christine Allen.
Dessureault, 22, a four-time CIS Academic all-Canadian, earned the Ontario conference Ken Shields award after speaking to school groups about goal setting and values with a number of team-mates in addition to a field placement with Operation Go Home, a drop-in centre for Ottawa street youth, as part of Criminology studies.
"It's an honour - definitely good for my resume," said Dessureault. "It's nice to be recognized for what I do outside of basketball as well."
Allen, who turns 24 April 16, attended the CIS tournament for three straight seasons as a Gee-Gees women's hockey assistant captain. The fourth-year defender from Gatineau, Que., is a uOttawa Master's student (physiotherapy) who has assisted in the Gee-Gees Running and Reading program in addition to volunteering for Operation Red Nose.
Thursday's presentations brought to a close a 2008-09 varsity season in which 23 uOttawa student-athletes were selected all-stars between Ontario and Quebec conferences and six Gee-Gees teams qualified for a Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship.
2009 uOttawa Varsity Awards
Athlete of the Year (Female)
Track (W) - Julia Tousaw (Hurdler / long sprinter, Yr: 2, Goderich, Ont.)
Basketball (W) - Katie Laurie (Post, Yr: 5, Ottawa)
Soccer (W) - Katie Lugg (Defender, Yr: 4, Ottawa)
Hockey (W) - Jessika Audet (Goaltender, Yr: 5, Val Bélair, Que.)
Athlete of the Year (Male)
Football (M) - Josh Sacobie (Quarterback, Yr: 5, St. Mary's First Nation, New Brunswick)
Hockey (M) - Dan McDonald (Centre, Yr: 4, New Liskeard, Ont.)
Basketball (M) - Dax Dessureault (Post, Yr: 5, Embrun, Ont.)
President's Award (Female)
Hockey (W) - Christine Allen (Defender, Yr: 4, Gatineau, Que.)
Soccer (W) - Katie Lugg (Defender, Yr: 4, Ottawa)
President's Award (Male)
Basketball (M) - Dax Dessureault (Post, Yr: 5, Embrun, Ont.)
Football - Cyril Adjeitey (Receiver, Yr: 3, Ottawa)
Team MVPs
Rugby (W) - Karen Snell (Flyhalf, Yr: 3, Ottawa)
Soccer (W) - Katie Lugg (Defender, Yr: 4, Ottawa)
Basketball (M) - Dax Dessureault (Post, Yr: 5, Embrun, Ont.)
Volleyball (W) - Karine Gagnon (leftside, Yr: 5, Granby, Que.)
Hockey (W) - Jessika Audet (Goaltender, Yr: 5, Val Bélair, Que.)
Hockey (M) - Dan McDonald (Centre, Yr: 4, New Liskeard, Ont.)
Basketball (W) - Émilie Morasse (Guard, Yr: 2, Quebec City, Que.)
Football (M) - Josh Sacobie (Quarterback, Yr: 5, St. Mary's First Nation, New Brunswick)
Swimming (W) - Kara Demers (Freestylist/ Individual Medley, Yr: 2, Ottawa)
Swimming (M) - Hans Fracke (Freestylist / Backstroker, Yr: 4, Uxbridge, Ont.)
Track (W) - Julie Tousaw (Hurdler / long sprinter, Yr: 2, Goderich, Ont.)
Track (M) - Tyler Fawcett (Sprints / Hurdles, Yr: 2, Russell, Ont.)
Cross Country (W) - Carly Teckles (Yr: 4, Ottawa)
Cross Country (M) - Matt Vierula (Yr: 1, Ottawa)
Director's Award
Hockey (W) - Danika Smith (Defender, Yr: 5, Munster Hamlet, Ont.)
Track (F) - Julia Tousaw (Hurdler / long sprinter, Yr: 2, Goderich, Ont.)
Hockey (M) - Dan McDonald (Centre, Yr: 4, New Liskeard, Ont.)
Therapist of the Year
Christina McNeil - Women's Basketball
