On the evenings of April 1 and 2, Queen’s Athletics and Recreation hosted their annual Colour Awards for both Varsity Clubs and the Varsity Teams.
Varsity Clubs
Festivities kicked off on Tuesday, with Varsity Clubs gathering in a decorated ARC main gym to celebrate their achievements over the 2024-25 season.
The first award of the night was the Varsity Clubs Student-Athlete Leadership Award, awarded to individuals whose contributions to their sport as leaders have stood out over the year.
This year’s award was presented to Artistic Swimming Captain Meghan Vrkoc, ArtSci ’25, and Meet Manager Claire Christie, ConEd ’25, for their work organizing a major provincial competition.
The next award to be presented was the Award of Merit, given to the Varsity Club of the Year celebrating a team’s competitive success, and community outreach while representing Queen’s University.
With an undefeated season, going 12-0 that saw the team bring home their fifth provincial title in program. It was hard to find a more deserving team than Women’s Lacrosse.
The awards would continue for the lacrosse program, both men’s and women’s players taking home the next award, the Alfie Pierce Trophy.
The award pays tribute to Pierce who gave a lifetime of dedication to training and helping Queen’s inter-university teams. It’s given across both Varsity Club and Team sports, celebrating the achievements of the Queen’s Rookies of the Year.
This night celebrated the achievements of Erin Hull, Kin ’28, and Kai Faller, Sci ’28, both standouts for the lacrosse program.
Hull dominated in net, posting an all-time best goals against average of 3.25, including a shutout in the playoffs. Providing the backbone to a dominant team that posted an eye-watering goal differential of +174 across 12 games.
Faller also had an immediate impact, producing 14 goals and five assists on the season from midfield, he was a key player in Queen’s Men’s Lacrosse’s Cinderella run to the 2024 Baggataway Cup Final.
The final awards of the night, the Jack Jarvis Trophy and Marion Ross Trophy are given to the Varsity Club Male and Female Players of the year, respectively.
Named after Marion Ross, in honour of Queen’s first athletic director, and Jack Jarvis, who coached the Queen’s boxing team for 33 years, both trophies celebrate a fourth or fifth year student who demonstrates expectational qualities in academics, leadership, sportsmanship, and contributions to their program.
Jaedyn Smail, Sci ’25, won the Marion Ross Trophy. Recognized as an OUA All-Star, Player of the Week, and the league’s Most Valuable Offensive Player, she was a model of offensive consistency for the undefeated Women’s Lacrosse squad.
“This award is definitely not just for me. I wouldn’t be able to do this without my teammates, and I was very surprised to win it,” Hall said in an interview with The Journal.
On the men’s side, Queen’s Ultimate team captain, Tyler Gunasekera, Kin’25, won the Jack Jarvis trophy. An international competitor, playing for Team Canada, Gunasekera has showcased his talents with the Gaels, winning National bronze, silver, and gold over this time with the school.
“The last four years have been incredible, the teammates I’ve been surrounded by and the coaching staff have been some of the best in the country,” Gunasekera said.
Varsity Teams
The Outstanding Performance of the Year award is awarded to the athlete who brought the most recognition to Queen’s University because of provincial, national, and international success.
This year’s winner was Women’s Rugby player and Olympic Rugby Sevens player Chloe Daniels, Comm ’28. Daniels, who injured her ACL early in the season while playing for the Gaels, won Olympic Silver with the Canada Women’s Sevens team earlier this season at the 2024 Summer Olympic games in Paris, France.
In an interview with The Journal, Daniels maintained a high level of humbleness through receiving high praise from the school and in the face of being an Olympic medalist.
“I was super honoured to receive this award. First of all, there are a ton of athletes in that room that have had great success, and the other nominees are also doing super cool things,” she said.
The Jim Tait Award is an annual award given to the top-performing Varsity Team based on their competitiveness and community involvement.
This year, the Men’s Cross-Country team was more successful than any other Queen’s team, winning a national championship.
The Alfie Pierce Trophy is awarded to the top first-year student-athletes, with one male and one female athlete being voted on to receive the honour.
Ollie Engen, Kin ’28, of the Men’s Basketball team, and Kennedi Stevenson, ArtSci ’28, of Women’s Rugby, were the unanimous victors.
Engen and Stevenson were both selected as U SPORTS Rookies of the Year, cementing them above the other candidates for the Alfie Pierce Trophy.
The Jenkins Trophy is awarded to the top Men’s Sports Athlete of the Year. First handed out in 1930 by Thomas Jenkins, the Trophy goes to a Varsity Team male athlete in their fourth or fifth year.
This year, Jude Wheeler-Dee, ConEd ’26, won the award unanimously. Earlier this year, Wheeler-Dee broke a 47-year-old record for the 1500-metre race, crossing the line in 3:42.53.
Like the Jenkins Trophy, the PHE ’55 Alumnae Award goes to a fourth- or fifth-year Varsity Team female athlete who best displays leadership, dedication, and sportsmanship. Marking another victor from Women’s Rugby, Siobhan Sheerin, ArtSci ’25, won the award.
Sheerin was a major contributor for the Gaels who recorded another undefeated regular season. Without Sheerin, many victories would’ve been losses and their OUA finals defeat to the Guelph Gryphons would’ve been a landslide.
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