Recipients of the 16th annual Premier’s Athletic Awards and 2020 Team Gushue Awards honouring athletic excellence in Newfoundland and Labrador have been announced.
On Tuesday night, 128 of the province’s top athletes were recognized in a virtual ceremony that included Premier Dwight Ball; Lisa Dempster, Minister Responsible for Sport and Recreation; and 2006 Olympic gold medallists Brad Gushue, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam.
The awards program recognizes athletic excellence and provides financial support to help offset the costs of training and competition. Successful applicants receive awards ranging from $500 to $1,500, based on their accomplishments and level of competition.
The Team Gushue Awards are presented annually to one male athlete and one female athlete who excel in athletics and academics.
This year’s recipients of the Team Gushue Awards are collegiate hockey players Maggie Connors and Alex Newhook of St. John’s, who are stars at the NCAA collegiate level and are both part of Canadian national team programs. They are also the most recent St. John's athletes of the year.
Connors is in her second year at Princeton University where she has been a conference all-star both seasons. In August, she competed for Team Canada in the U22 Summer Series against the United States and was recently named to the pool Hockey Canada’s national women’s developmental team for a third straight year.
Newhook, a 2019 first-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, was named rookie of the year in NCAA Division One men’s hockey after freshman year at Boston College. The 2019 Canadian junior A MVP, Newhook also competed for the national U18 team in 2019 and was recently named to the development-camp roster for Canada’s next men’s world junior championship team.
2020 Premier’s Athletic Awards recipients
Alpine skiing
Andrew Payne, Corner Brook
Artistic Swimming
Mayah Knott, St. John's
Athletics
Camryn Bonia, St. John's
Nicole Chan, St. John's
Eric Knight, St. John's
Evan Knight, St. John's
Badminton
Jessica Willcott, St. Albans
Ball Hockey
Kieran Burke, St. John's
Shae-Lynn Clarke, Bell Island
Alex Doody, Conception Bay South
Nicholas Gosse, Paradise
Adrian Green, Carbonear
Brooke Lannon, Placentia
Riley Mercer, Bay Roberts
Drew Sheppard, Conception Bay South
Alyson Thomas, L’Anse Au Clair
Julia Thomas, Labrador City
Baseball
Madelyn Healey, St. John's
Jaida Lee, St. John’s
Kayla Musseau, St. John’s
Mitchell Noseworthy, St. John’s
Chase Tucker, Mount Pearl
Cole Tucker, Mount Pearl
Basketball
Abby Carpenter, Torbay
Gracie Dalton, Cape Broyle
Jacob Evoy, Massey Drive
Geana George, St. John’s
Matthew Pennell, St. John’s
Caleb Sooley, Mount Pearl
Cameron Stanford, St. John’s
Carly Stevenson, St. John’s
Mark Tobin, Mount Pearl
Brett Warren, St. John’s
Bowling
Amy Harris, Paradise
Brooke King, Paradise
Evan Squires, Paradise
Jack Walsh, Goulds
Boxing
Seamus O’Brien, St. John’s
Cross-country skiing
Jillian Coates, Clarenville
Daley Merrigan, Corner Brook
Noah Piercey, St. John’s
Chloe Reid, Massey Drive
Curling
Daniel Bruce, Corner Brook
Sarah Chaytor, St. John’s
Katie Follett, Paradise
Nathan Young, Torbay
Cycling
Ethan Piercey, Gander
Diving
Jacob Billard, Logy Bay
Golf
Andrew Bruce, Corner Brook
Taylor Cormier, Corner Brook
Gymnastics
Michael Drover, St. John's
Gleb Evstigneev, Paradise
Sarah Pace, St. John’s
Megan Skinner, St. John’s
Handball
Rahul Asokan, St. John's
Alex Carew, St. John's
Michael Gaulton, St. John's
Austin Short, Outer Cove
Nicholas Yetman, St. John’s
Hockey
Matthew Butler, St. John’s
Maggie Connors, St. John’s
Liam Marshall, Mount Pearl
Abby Newhook, St. John’s
Alex Newhook, St. John’s
Desiree Snook, Paradise
Judo
Emma Mullett, St. John’s
Karate
Ryan Crocker, Torbay
Alexander Hollett, Logy Bay
Lucas Menard, Flatrock
Emily Reglar, Flatrock
Alex Ryan, Middle Cove
Noah Ryan. Middle Cove
Parasport-Athletics
Jeremy Jones, St. John’s
Gavin Noble, Middle Arm
Parasport-Boccia
Lois Martin, St. John’s
Stephen Westcott, Conception Bay South
Parasport-Swimming
Nathan Luscombe, Grand Falls-Windsor
Rowing
Alana Gale, St. John’s
Alexander Kingsley, St. John’s
Gabriella Mate, St. John’s
Mark Power, Conception Bay South
Rugby
Michael McCarthy, St. John’s
Madeline Pickard, St. John’s
Sophie Pickard, St. John’s
Tony Pomroy, Conception Bay South
Sailing
Livi Allen, St. John’s
Skating
Savannah Burden, Steady Brook
Sarah Burry, Middle Cove
Mark Butt, Bloomfield
Dayton Fifield, Torbay
Abby Pace, St. John’s
Katie Slaney, Paradise
Rachael Tuff, Witless Bay
Soccer
Chantel Armstrong, Tors Cove
Stacey Hanlon, Portugal Cove- St. Phillips
Morgan Harris, Mount Pearl
Kate Hickey, Outer Cove
Erin McKinnon, St. John’s
Lauren Rowe, Conception Bay South
Zoe Rowe, Conception Bay South
Owen Sheppard, St. John’s
Nicole Torraville, St. John’s
Sydney Walsh, St. John’s
Softball
Jenna Connolly, Goulds
Calista Corbett, Holyrood
Jordan Pomeroy, Placentia
Liam Shea, Dunville
Squash
Sophia Tulk, Conception Bay South
Swimming
Megan Holden, Mount Pearl
Dylan Morawski, Gander
Abby Simms, St. John’s
Aliceyn Warren, Paradise
Table Tennis
Karlee Warren, Roberts Arm
Sarah Warren, Roberts Arm
Taekwondo
Alexandra Green, Torbay
Keegan Laundry, Conception Bay South
Target Shooting
Kelsey Power, Bay Bulls
Tennis
Aiden Drover-Mattinen, Portugal Cove-St. Philips
Liam Drover-Mattinen, Portugal Cove-St. Philips
Jasmine Rahman, St. John's
Declan Walsh, St. John’s
Ultimate
Luke Dyer, Logy Bay
Shae LeDevehat, Mount Pearl
Volleyball
Sarah Dawe, Mount Pearl
Margaret Henley, St. John’s
Christopher Leroy, Corner Brook
Catherine Smith, Mount Pearl
Claire Whiffen, St. John’sWeightlifting
Liam Abbott, Paradise
Wrestling
Owen Warren, Chapel Arm
