OSHAWA, Ont. – Ajahmo Clarke (Ajax, Ont.) of the men's basketball team and Kauri LaFontaine (Whitby, Ont.) of the women's basketball team were named the Durham College athletes of the year as the athletic department held the 44th annual Athletic Banquet Thursday night at the General W. Sikorski Polish Veterans Association Hall in Oshawa.

Clarke, a recreation and leisure studies major, had a phenomenal season leading the men's basketball team to a final four appearance at the OCAA Championship. His championship performance was highlighted with a 48-point effort against the nationally ranked Mohawk Mountaineers in the bronze medal semi-finals. During the regular season, Clarke averaged an outstanding 24 points per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field. He finished the season second in the OCAA for total points (481), third in steals (54), fifth in assists (71) and ninth in blocks (17). Following the season, Clarke was named an OCAA First Team All-Star as well as the OCAA All-Star game east region MVP. Clarke also was named the men's basketball MVP at the banquet.

Other male MVP's included volleyball player Riley McAllister (Whitby, Ont.), golfer Brent Clements (Pickering, Ont.), baseball player Aaron McQuillen (Ajax, Ont.), men's soccer player Kashiff DeJonge (Ajax, Ont.), and indoor soccer player Nicholas Axhorn (Pickering, Ont.).

LaFontaine, a project management major, was the leading scorer of the women's basketball team this season. The Lords guard averaged 15.1 points per game, while shooting 40 percent from the field. LaFontaine also ranked second in the league in assists (81) and ninth in defensive rebounds (110). LaFontaine played a big role in leading the women's basketball team to the OCAA Championship for the first time in seven years as they match a program high in overall wins with 25. Her stellar performance this season earned her a spot on the first team OCAA All-Star squad. LaFontaine was also named the women's basketball MVP.

Other female MVP's included soccer & indoor soccer player Brittney Sero (Newcastle, Ont.), fastball player Laura Arbour (Whitby, Ont.) and volleyball player Jessica Broad (Courtice, Ont.)

Other big winners on the night included Charmaine Bosse (Whitby Ont.) of the women's soccer team and Petrus Kuypers (Haydon, Ont.) of the men's volleyball team, who took home the freshman athlete of the year awards. Both players were named OCAA league all-stars in their freshman seasons with the green and gold.

The Bonnie Ginter-Brown Leadership Award is annually presented to the overall male and female athletes who best exemplify outstanding leadership in the pursuit of excellence. This year's honour went to Alicia Del Fuoco (Whitby, Ont.), a two-sport athlete in soccer and basketball and Jeremy Hoekstra (Cobourg, Ont.) of the men's volleyball team.

After starting the season at 1-6, the men's basketball team rallied to qualify for the postseason, advanced to the OCAA championship and reached the final four. For their turnaround performance this season, they were named the Durham College team of the year.

44th 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 Athletes of the Year
Kauri LaFontaine – Women's Basketball (Whitby, Ont. - Project Management)

Female Freshman Athlete of the Year
Charmaine Bosse – Women's Soccer (Whitby, Ont. - Environmental Technology)

Male Freshman Athlete of the Year
Petrus Kuypers – Men's Volleyball (Haydon, Ont. - Paramedics)

Team of the Year
Men's Basketball

Bonnie Ginter-Brown Leadership Awards
Alicia Del Fuoco - Women's Basketball & Soccer (Whitby, Ont. - Sport Management)
Jeremy Hoekstra - Men's Volleyball (Cobourg, Ont. - Fitness & Health Promotion)

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Four-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)
Paul Rapos – Men's Volleyball (Oshawa, Ont. – Accounting)
Chelsey Rogatinsky – Women's Soccer (Bowmanville, Ont. - Foundations in Art & Design)
Meghan Renwick – Women's Volleyball (Brooklin, Ont. - Practical Nursing)
Michael Cyr – Baseball (Kitchener, Ont. - Sport Management)
Allison Doris – Women's Volleyball (Ajax, Ont. - Developmental Service Worker)

Five-Year Award
Alicia Del Fuoco – Women's Basketball & Women's Soccer (Whitby, Ont. - Sport Management)
Kelsey Hare – Women's Basketball (Whitby, Ont. - Web Design)
Natasha Jakovljevic – Women's Volleyball (Oshawa, Ont. - BSc Nursing)

Student Trainers of the Year
Keith Kling (Courtice, Ont. - Kinesiology) Men's Soccer & Indoor Soccer

TEAM-BY-TEAM AWARDS

Baseball
Lionel "Boom Baker" MVP –Aaron McQuillen  (Ajax, Ont. - Law Enforcement & Investigation Studies)
Rookie of the Year – Ilija Bozinovski (Ajax, Ont. - Human Resources)
Leadership – Michael Cyr (Kitchener, Ont. - Sport Management)
Top Pitcher – AJ Clark (Fonthill, Ont. - Sport Management)

Women's Fastball
MVP – Laura Arbour (Whitby, Ont. - Fire Fighting)
Rookie of the Year – Ashley Black (Waterloo, Ont. - Police Foundations)
Leadership – Kayla Worotniak (Lloydminster, Alta. - Water Quality Technology)
Top Pitcher – Lydia Kalbfleisch (Moorefield, Ont. - Sport Management) & Ashley Black (Waterloo, Ont. - Police Foundations)

Golf
Gerry Pettit MVP – Brent Clements (Pickering, Ont. - Sport Management)
Rookie of the Year – Matthew Perras (Omemee, Ont. - Golf & Facility Management)
Leadership – Ron Draycott (Markham, Ont. - Golf and Facility Management)

Women's Soccer
MVP – Brittney Sero (Newcastle, Ont. - Fitness & Health Promotion)
Rookie of the Year – Charmaine Bosse (Whitby, Ont. - Environmental Technology)
Gord Oliver Leadership Award – Chelsey Rogatinsky (Bowmanville, Ont. - Foundation in Art and Design)

Men's Soccer
Vaso Vujanovic MVP – Kashiff DeJonge (Ajax, Ont. - Trades Fundamentals)
Rookie of the Year – Kyle Woods (Whitby, Ont. - Power Engineering Technology)
Gord Oliver Leadership Award – Duncan Mitchell (Pickering, Ont. - Sport Management)

Indoor Soccer
Men's MVP – Nicholas Axhorn (Pickering, Ont. - Emergency Services Fundamentals)
Women's MVP – Brittney Sero (Newcastle, Ont. - Fitness & Health Promotion)

Women's Basketball
Bonnie Slaughter MVP – Kauri LaFontaine (Whitby, Ont. - Project Management)
Rookie of the Year – Hellen Dumbuya (Whitby, Ont. - Early Childhood Education)
Leadership - Alicia Del Fuoco (Whitby, Ont. - Sport Management)

Men's Basketball
MVP – Ajahmo Clarke (Ajax, Ont. - Recreation & Leisure Studies) & Eric Smith (Ajax, Ont. - Recreation & Leisure Studies)
Rookie of the Year – Aron Naim (Paris, Ont. - Project Management)
Leadership – Saliym Cadogan (Toronto, Ont. - Recreation & Leisure Studies)

Women's Volleyball
Stan Marchut MVP – Jessica Broad (Courtice, Ont. - Marketing)
Rookie of the Year – Natalie Manicotto (Winnipeg, Man. - Fitness & Health Promotion)
Leadership – Natasha Jakovljevic (Oshawa, Ont. - BSc Nursing)

Men's Volleyball
MVP – Riley McAllister (Whitby, Ont. - Mechanical Technician)
Rookie of the Year – Petrus Kuypers (Haydon, Ont. - Paramedic)
Leadership Award – Jeremy Hoekstra (Cobourg, Ont. - Fitness & Health Promotion)