OSHAWA, Ont. – Ajahmo Clarke (Ajax, Ont.) of the men's basketball team and Lindsay Panchan (Ajax, Ont.) of the women's basketball team were named the Durham College athletes of the year at the athletic department's 45^th Annual Athletic Banquet Thursday night at the General W. Sikorski Polish Hall in Oshawa.
 
Clarke, a recreation and leisure studies major, won his second straight William Avery memorial male athlete of the year award. He led the Lords in scoring with 22.3 per game, which was fourth overall in the OCAA and ninth in the CCAA. With 98 assists, 5.4 per game, he also finished third in the conference. His offensive leadership helped lead Durham College to a final four appearance at the OCAA championship for a second straight season. This year they would win bronze at home as host of the championship, the first medal for the men's basketball program since 1997. At the banquet Clarke was also named the men's basketball MVP.
 
Other male MVPs included volleyball player Erik Janssen (Hampton, Ont.), golfer Brent Clements (Pickering, Ont.), baseball player Aaron McQuillen (Ajax, Ont.), men's soccer player Sasa Vukoje (Etobicoke, Ont.) and indoor soccer players Duncan Mitchell (Oshawa, Ont.) and Tevin Noel-Peterson (Whitby, Ont.).
 
Panchan, a sport management major, was dominant in her first season in the OCAA. She finished the season as the leading scorer in the OCAA and CCAA with 25.0 points per game. Her scoring output was the second highest by a player in OCAA history. Panchan also averaged an astonishing 38.9 minutes per game, which was the highest in the league. She finished the season sixth in rebounds per game with 8.8 and seventh in assists per game with 4.2. Panchan was also named the women's basketball MVP earlier in the banquet.
 
Other female MVPs included volleyball player Jessica Broad (Courtice, Ont.), women's soccer player Kayla Hellam (Oshawa, Ont.), indoor soccer player Rachel Armstrong (Bowmanville, Ont.) and softball player Katrina Gammie (Guelph, Ont.).
 
Gammie was also named the female freshman athlete of the year, while Isiah Passley (Pickering, Ont.) of the men's soccer team was named the male freshman athlete of the year. Passley was named the OCAA rookie of the year for his successful season with the Lords, while Gammie was named an OCAA and national championship all-star.
 
After starting the regular season 1-3 under first-year head coach Tony Clarke, the Lords women's volleyball team went on an eight-game win streak to move into the top three in the OCAA east division. After a pair of losses Durham finished the regular season with four straight 3-0 victories to sit in a four-way tie for second in the east. Their win streak didn't end there as they defeated St. Clair 3-2 in Windsor to advance to the championship, where they defeated Georgian and Cambrian 3-0 to advance to the final against the Humber Hawks. With the Lords losing to the Hawks they brought home silver. For their successful season they were named the Durham College team of the year.
 
45th DURHAM COLLEGE ATHLETIC BANQUET AWARD WINNERS
 
Overall Male Athlete of the Year *William Avery Memorial Award
Ajahmo Clarke – Men's Basketball (Ajax, Ont. - Recreation & Leisure Studies)
 
Overall Female Athlete of the Year
Lindsay Panchan – Women's Basketball (Ajax, Ont. - Sport Management)
 
Female Freshman Athlete of the Year
Katrina Gammie – Women's Fastball (Guelph, Ont. - Community Services Support Worker)
 
Male Freshman Athlete of the Year
Isiah Passley – Men's Soccer (Pickering, Ont. - Trade Fundamentals)
 
Team of the Year
Women's Volleyball
 
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
 
Four-Year Award
Duncan Mitchell – Men's Soccer (Oshawa, Ont. – Sport Management)
Melissa Semeniuk – Women's Volleyball (Pickering, Ont. - Occupational Therapy)
 
Five-Year Award
Eric Smith – Men's Basketball (Ajax, Ont. - Recreation & Leisure Studies)
Luke Kilbourn – Men's Volleyball (Ingersoll, Ont. - Golf Facility Management)
Jeremy Hoekstra – Men's Volleyball (Cobourg, Ont. - Fitness & Health Promotion)
 
Student Trainers of the Year
Keshia King - Men's Basketball
 
TEAM-BY-TEAM AWARDS
 
Baseball
Lionel "Boom Baker" MVP – Aaron McQuillen (Ajax, Ont. - Victimology)
Rookie of the Year – Michael Chilvers (Sutton West, Ont. – Sport Management)
Leadership – Spencer Green (Mallorytown, Ont. - Practical Nursing)
Top Pitcher – Ilija Bozinovski (Ajax, Ont. - Human Resources)
 
Women's Fastball
MVP – Katrina Gammie (Guelph, Ont. - Community Services Support Worker)
Rookie of the Year – Caleigh Coels (Duncan, BC. - ECE)
Leadership – Katie Jackson (Navan, Ont. - Community Services Support Worker)
Top Pitcher – Ashley Black (Waterloo, Ont. - Police Foundations)
 
Golf
Gerry Pettit MVP – Brent Clements (Pickering, Ont. - Sport Management)
Rookie of the Year – Ben Reid (Ajax, Ont. - Business)
Leadership – Craig Conroy (Bowmanville, Ont. - Marketing)
 
Women's Soccer
MVP – Kayla Hellam (Oshawa, Ont. - Fitness & Health Promotion)
Rookie of the Year – Ashley Weissbach (Oshawa, Ont. - Environmental Technician) & Samantha Anderson (Ajax, Ont. - Fitness & Health Promotion)
Gord Oliver Leadership Award – Jade Kurhan (Oshawa, Ont. - OTP/PTA)
 
Men's Soccer
Vaso Vujanovic MVP – Sasa Vukoje (Etobicoke, Ont. – Sport Management)
Rookie of the Year – Isiah Passley (Pickering, Ont. - Trade Fundamentals)
Gord Oliver Leadership Award – Daniel Sukovski (Whitby, Ont. - Sport Management)
 
Indoor Soccer
Men's MVP – Duncan Mitchell (Oshawa, Ont. – Sport Management) & Tevin Noel-Peterson (Whitby, Ont. – Business- Accounting Administration)
Women's MVP – Rachel Armstrong
 
Women's Basketball
Bonnie Slaughter MVP – Lindsay Panchan (Ajax, Ont. - Sport Management)
Rookie of the Year – Alyxandrea Francisco (Whitby, Ont. – Practical Nursing)
Leadership – Kayla Marshall (Ottawa, Ont. - Sport Management)
 
Men's Basketball
MVP – Ajahmo Clarke (Ajax, Ont. - Recreation & Leisure Studies)
Rookie of the Year – Aaron Hayles (Pickering, Ont. - General Arts & Sciences)
Leadership – Dylan Pelissero (Ottawa, Ont. - Protection & Security)
 
Women's Volleyball
Stan Marchut MVP – Jessica Broad (Courtice, Ont. - Marketing)
Rookie of the Year – Emily Hacker (Cobourg, Ont. – Police Foundations)
Leadership – Melissa Semeniuk (Pickering, Ont. – Occupational Therapy)
 
Men's Volleyball
MVP – Erik Janssen (Hampton, Ont. - Biomedical Engineering Technology)
Rookie of the Year – Braydon Rodgers (Leaskdale, Ont. – Advertising & Marketing Communications)
Leadership Award – Jeremy Hoekstra (Cobourg, Ont. - Fitness & Health Promotion)