Men's hockey player
Tristan Frei capped off the
45th Annual Athletics Awards Night presented by SaskTel by being named the recipient of the President's Award, given annually to the University of Regina student-athlete who best exhibits the combination of commitment to academics, community service, and athletic accomplishments.
It was anything but an ordinary Awards Night, which is normally held on the final day of classes in the winter semester but was restricted to a social media reval this year for obvious reasons.
Frei's accomplishments are also anything but ordinary. The captain has been the mark of offensive consistency over his time at the U of R and will head into his final U SPORTS season with 31 goals, 24 assists, and 55 points in 109 games played.
But as much of an impact as Frei has made on the ice for the Cougars, it's been in the classroom and in the community where he's truly made his mark. Frei carries a grade-point average in excess of 91% in his Faculty of Education classes and is well on his way to his fourth consecutive Academic All-Canadian nomination. He has also been a tireless advocate for reading and literacy in schools, going to numerous elementary schools around Regina to read children's books to classrooms. He has also presented on behalf of the Canadian Red Cross Respect Education program, working with three elementary schools on bullying and harassment prevention as well as with local Hockey Regina teams on the same topic. Frei, a member of the University of Regina Student-Athlete Leadership Council, has also organized breakfast program fundraisers and has significant experience as a youth hockey coach.
The other two finalists for the coveted President's Award were women's basketball player Michaela Kleisinger and women's hockey player Tamara McVannel.
Todd Johnson (men's hockey) was named the University of Regina Coach of the Year, while Athlete of the Year honours went to Joely Welburn (women's track & field) and Carter Millar (men's basketball). Paige Hubbard (women's hockey) and Ron MacLean (men's cross country and track & field) earned University of Regina Rookie of the Year awards.
The most valuable player for each team was unveiled on Wednesday. Those included Greishe Clerjuste (men's basketball), Kleisinger (women's basketball), Eric Wicijowski (Rams football),
Brandon Holtby (men's hockey), Jaycee Magwood (women's hockey), Lauren Petras (women's soccer), Brian Palaschuk (men's swimming), Bree Crookshanks (women's swimming), Scott Joseph (men's track & field), Welburn (women's track & field), and Elizabeth Tooth (women's volleyball).
