CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Prince Edward Island’s top amateur sporting performances from 2019 will be in the spotlight tonight.
Sport P.E.I. will recognize the accomplishments at its 46th annual awards show at Holland College’s Florence Simmons Performance Hall.
Winners have already been determined in six categories.
The P.E.I. Wave earned silver medals in the under-16 division at the Credit Union Canadian Ringette Championships in Summerside. It was the Island’s first ever medal at the ringette nationals. The accomplishment is being recognized tonight with the CBC P.E.I. team of the year award while the championships, which saw more than 1,000 participants on 45 teams from nine provinces competing in three divisions in Charlottetown and Summerside, has earned the Score! event of the year.
Baseball's Kevin McKenna earned the ADL administrator of the year. He has been a primary driver on minor ball in the Bedeque area dating back to 1993. McKenna is also involved with umpiring and is on the board of directors of the P.E.I. Baseball Umpires Association. He received the Baseball Canada-Major League Baseball volunteer of the year in 2019.
Rob McCormack will receive the P.E.I. Mutual Insurance coach of the year after leading the Summerside 15-and-under AAA baseball team to a provincial championship and the provincial team to a bronze medal at nationals. It was just the third medal for the province at a baseball national championship.
Taekwondo's Mandi Li won the P.E.I. Mutual Insurance official of the year while triathlon's Nancy Ripley will take home the ADL masters athlete award. Li has been officiating since 2007 and has been referee chair since 2009. She has represented P.E.I. at more than 50 international events and was selected as best referee at the last President Cup.
Ripley competed at the World Ironman Championship in Kona, Hawaii, finishing 14th of 29 and was the first Canadian to finish in her age group.
Here’s a look at the finalists:
Cox & Palmer senior athletes of the year
Female finalists
Amy Burk, goalball
Amy Burk was exceptional at the 2019 Para Pan Am Games goalball competition. In a tough semifinal loss to Brazil, Burk scored all three of Canada’s goals. Burk scored three more versus Mexico to help Canada to a 10-0 win in the bronze-medal match and was the top scorer at the event with 22 goals.
Alysha Corrigan, rugby
Alysha Corrigan played four matches across two Can-Am series for the senior women’s national rugby team in 2019. In the November series, Corrigan scored two trys and helped Canada to two victories over USA. Corrigan was named to the tournament all-star team at the Canadian club championships while playing for Charlottetown.
Hannah Taylor, wrestling
Wrestling in her first senior nationals, Hannah Taylor won gold, claiming her sixth championship title. At the senior world championships, Taylor finished 22nd of 32 competitors. Taylor would go on to win bronze at the under-23 world championship, bronze at the Spanish Grand Prix and silver at the senior Pan American championship.
Male finalists
Mark Arendz, para biathlon and cross-country ski
Mark Arendz won six medals (four silver and two bronze) at the Para-Nordic World Championships. Arendz finished the season by winning three more medals, including gold in the short distance classic ski. Arendz finished 2019 third in cross country and fourth in the biathlon world rankings.
Kyle Baillie, rugby
In 2019, Kyle Baillie played in three prestigious international events, the Rugby World Cup, the Pacific Nations Cup and the Americas Rugby Championship. Kyle was a finalist for Rugby Canada’s senior athlete of the year and won the Canadian Shield Award, which was voted on by his peers.
Brett Gallant, curling
Brett Gallant curled with Team Gushue and mixed doubles partner Jocelyn Peterman in 2019. Team Gushue finished the season ranked fourth after the Brier, where Gallant was named a second team all-star. Peterman and Gallant won the Canadian mixed doubles and took home silver at the world mixed doubles championship.
DP Murphy Hotels junior athletes of the year
Female finalists
Kristen Arsenault, archery
Kristen Arsenault started the 2019 archery season strong by winning a silver medal at the Canada Games in Winnipeg. At the Canadian Archery Championship, Arsenault won gold and set a new Canadian record in the cadet women’s compound category. She then competed at the World Archery Youth Championship and finished 17th out of 47.
Vanessa Keefe, wrestling
At the Wrestling Canada under-17 championship, Vanessa Keefe won gold in the 73-kg weight class. After this performance, she was voted the under-17 most outstanding female wrestler. The next day, Keefe competed in the under-18 cadet world team trials and again came away with the top spot.
Jenna Larter, speed skating
Jenna Larter had a record-breaking 2019, becoming the fastest P.E.I. female short track skater in the 500 metre at the Canada Games. Larter finished the year with a 14th-place finish in the 500m at the Canadian junior championships and was invited to skate for Canada at the international invitational.
Male finalists
Jeremy McKenna, hockey
Jeremy McKenna scored 45 goals and had 97 points with the Moncton Wildcats in the 2018-19 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) season. McKenna is back in Moncton this year, chasing a league title in his final season of junior.
Mikey Perry, judo
Mikey Perry began the year by winning a bronze medal in judo at the Canada Games. He finished third in the under-16 bracket at the Canadian open championship. After moving to under-18 and up a weight class, Perry finished first at the Eastern Canadian championship and won bronze at an international event in Montreal.
Jordan Spence, hockey
Jordan Spence won the QMJHL’s rookie of the year award in 2018-19 after recording 43 assists and 49 points with the Wildcats. Spence also played for Team Canada at the under-18 world championship and in the CIBC Canada Russia Series with the QMJHL all-stars. Jordan also was selected to represent Team QMJHL in the Canada/Russia series. He is back chasing a league title this season with McKenna in Moncton.
Synergy Fitness & Nutrition intercollegiate athletes of the year
Female finalists
Emma Jinks, squash
Emma Jinks began her freshman season at the University of Virginia with a spectacular 14-8 record. She advanced to the finals of the College Squash Association Championships in the B division, finishing second and was ranked 21st in the NCAA at the end of the season. Jinks also finished second in the B division at the British junior open.
Bailey Smith, athletics
Bailey Smith won her third consecutive Atlantic University Sport (AUS) 60-metre championship, setting a conference record of 7.58 seconds and was named the conference MVP for the second year in a row. At the U Sports championships, Smith finished second in the finals with a time of 7.49.
Hannah Taylor, wrestling
To start the season, Taylor won gold and silver at the Guelph and Brock opens, respectively. At Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship, Taylor claimed gold and was named the most outstanding wrestler for the event. At the U Sport championship, she took home gold for the second time in a row and helped the Brock Badgers win their eighth consecutive banner.
Male finalists
Kameron Kielly, hockey
Kameron Kameron finished third in AUS scoring and fifth in U Sports in 2018-19 with 15 goals, 28 assists and 43 points. Kielly was named an AUS second team all-star and earned UPEI’s male athlete of the year honours to cap off the academic year.
Cole MacLaren, baseball
Starting every game for the University of Pittsburgh, Cole MacLaren was one of the top defensive catchers in the Atlantic Coast Conference. MacLaren also hit .247 with .403 on-base percentage. The Detroit Tigers signed MacLaren, making him only the fourth P.E.I. player to be affiliated with an MLB team.
Ligrit Sadiku, wrestling
To begin 2019, Ligrit Sadiku moved up to the 57-kg weight class and won gold in five of the six events he entered. Cementing his dominance in the weight class, he won gold at the OUA and U Sport championships. Sadiku also won the Canadian Wrestling Trials.
