The University of Manitoba Bisons handed out their year-end awards on Saturday, April 9 at the annual Brown and Gold Banquet, held at the Fort Garry campus and hosted by Kevin Olszewski, radio announcer for the Winnipeg ICE.
Brock Gowanlock and Kelsey Wog were named as Athletes of the Year for the 2021-22 season. Football head coach Brian Dobie was selected as the Coach of the Year, Daxx Turner from track and field was the Male Rookie of the Year, and Bianca Cavalcanti from women's soccer and Katreena Bentley from women's volleyball were co-winners of the Female Rookie of the Year award.
In addition, the ninth annual Pat Gill Legacy Award was presented to football assistant coach Rich Urbanovich. Swimming assistant coach Craig McCormick was named the Assistant Coach of the Year. Quarterback Des Catellier was named the Teammate of the Year.
Finally, the Leadership and Community Development Awards, recognizing leadership, community involvement, athletics and academics, went to Deidre Bartlett of women's basketball and Keaton Jameson of men's hockey.
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In the 62-year history of the Bisons Male Athlete of the Year award, Gowanlock's selection is the 13th for Bisons football and the first since David Onyemata in 2015-16.
Returning to the Bisons after being a CFL Draft pick in 2020 and enduring a pandemic year, fifth-year defensive lineman Brock Gowanlock re-established himself as one of the most feared players at his position in Canada West.
The 6'3" former Langley Ram was a dual threat on defence and special teams, capping a Bisons career where he totalled 128 tackles — 14th in program history — 7.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss and a program record five forced fumbles.
During the 2021 season, as the Bisons marched all the way to a Hardy Cup appearance, Gowanlock tallied 24 tackles (19 solo) in the regular season, while stuffing the rest of the defensive stat sheet for 2.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries (tied for the most in Canada West) and 1.5 sacks. In the Hardy Cup semi-final against Alberta, Gowanlock added a fumble recovery of 20 yards while tallying four tackles and 1.5 sacks.
After the season, Gowanlock was recognized as the Canada West Outstanding Lineman, a conference All-Star and a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian.
In the 60-year history of the Bisons Female Athlete of the Year award, Wog becomes the first to receive the award three consecutive years (2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22).
Wog had a sensational finish to her Bisons career, fresh off an appearance at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021.
Her fall campaign was highlighted by four gold medals at the Canada West Swimming Championships, defending the events where she holds each conference record — the 50-metre breaststroke, 100-metre breaststroke, 200-metre breaststroke and 200-metre individual medley. She also led Manitoba to three podium finishes in the relays, earning three bronze and seven medals in total.
After the turn of the calendar, Wog only improved in the pool. At the 2022 U SPORTS Swimming Championships, hosted by Laval, the fifth-year Winnipeg native once again won four gold medals in the same events. This time, she broke two U SPORTS short course records in the 50-metre breaststroke and the 100-metre breaststroke. By the end of the meet, Wog had five U SPORTS records in her name.
Thanks to her performances, Wog was selected a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian and Canada West First Team All-Star.
She was the U SPORTS Athlete of the Year across all sports in 2019-20, just the second female in Bisons history to earn the recognition.
Along with the Athletes of the Year, Brian Dobie was selected for the third time (2007-08, 2014-15) as the Bisons Coach of the Year in the 20-year history of the award.
Dobie's highlights included coaching the football team to a Hardy Cup appearance through serious adversity, as the team lost fifth-year starting quarterback Des Catellier to a season-ending injury in the first game of the season. Dobie coached the Herd to a regular season record of 4-2 before an eye-popping 43-17 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears at IG Field in the Hardy Cup semis.
Coaching in his 26th season with Manitoba, Dobie now has a career record of 99-95-1 in the regular season and 13-13 in the playoffs. He is a five-time Canada West Coach of the Year, most recently in 2006, and was the U SPORTS Coach of the Year in 2001.
The Female Rookie of the Year Award had co-winners in 2021-22, as women's soccer forward Bianca Cavalcanti and women's volleyball setter Katreena Bentley shared the award.
Cavalcanti burst onto the scene in 2021, making a long-awaited debut after being recruited from her native Recife, Brazil and working through the lost pandemic season. She was Manitoba's top scoring threat, scoring nine goals in 12 matches (third in Canada West) while totalling 27 shots. She scored four game-winning goals for the Bisons in six wins, a top season in Canada West history in terms of impact.
After the dust settled, she was named to the U SPORTS All-Rookie Team as well as the Canada West All-Rookie team and Second Team All-Stars.
Bentley, meanwhile, had a historic season of her own, debuting with the women's volleyball team at the high-demand setter position. The former Collège Jeanne-Sauvé Olympien led U SPORTS in assists per set with 10.53 and became one of four players in the nation to average double digits in that category. The mark was eighth all-time in Canada West history, since assists began to be recorded in 2002-03 and the most for a Bisons player in that time.
Bentley also had 125 digs, 20 blocks and 19 kills, and was named to both the U SPORTS and Canada West All-Rookie teams.
The Male Rookie of the Year was Daxx Turner from men's track and field.
Turner wasted no time becoming one of the country's best athletes in the triple jump, winning Canada West gold in the event as well as a U SPORTS bronze. Turner also medalled in the high jump at nationals, hosted by the University of New Brunswick, finishing off his first season in brown and gold in style.
Turner's hardware haul also included Male Rookie of the Year honours from Canada West, as well as a First Team All-Star selection for his gold medal win.
The Student-Athlete Leadership and Community Development Awards were distributed for the 15th time to one male and two female recipients, highlighting their leadership skills, community involvement, and academics.
Graduating Bisons Deidre Bartlett from women's basketball and Keaton Jameson from men's hockey were named the 2021-22 recipients.
Their coaches and teammates outlined their contributions in the community in videos presented at the Brown and Gold banquet. Watch Bartlett's and Jameson's on the @umbisons Instagram page.
The ninth-year of the Pat Gill Legacy Award was given to Bisons football assistant coach Rich Urbanovich. The award is presented in the spirit of Pat Gill, a dedicated, long-serving staff member and volunteer who served as the Bison Football Team Manager for over 40 years before his passing in December 2011.
In its fourth year, the Bison Sports Assistant Coach of the Year award went to Bisons swimming's Craig McCormick. His many contributions include coaching the team through a pandemic season and assisting with head coaching duties while Vlastik Cerny and Kelsey Wog travelled to international competition.
Finally, in its second iteration and the first in-person, the Bisons Teammate of the Year was awarded to football quarterback Des Catellier. Nominated by his teammate and defensive back Stephen Adamopoulos, Catellier was lauded for sticking with his teammates after his season-ending injury, continuing to show strong leadership behind the scenes and helping guide the team to their Hardy Cup appearance.
Along with the major awards, Bison Sports recognized an MVP from each team for the season.
Men's Golf — Cameron McIntyre
Women's Golf — Marissa Naylor
Men's Cross Country — Michael Wood
Women's Cross Country — Hailee Morisseau
Men's Track and Field — Max Speiser
Women's Track and Field — Anna McConnell
Men's Swimming — Carson Beggs
Women's Swimming — Kelsey Wog
Football — Brock Gowanlock
Women's Soccer — Bianca Cavalcanti
Men's Hockey — Brett Davis
Women's Hockey — Lauren Warkentin
Men's Basketball — James Wagner
Women's Basketball — Lauren Bartlett
Men's Volleyball — Jack Mandryk
Women's Volleyball — Simone Crevier
