It’s always nice to end a year of participation in sports with some accolades – whether that occurs at a post-season gathering or at the final event of the campaign, one last chance to raise some hardware.

Examples of both often abound in Sudbury and this particular early April is no different.

Thursday night at Collège Boréal, the entire entourage of Vipères were on hand – varsity athletes, extramural participants, coaches and support staff – as the French-language post-secondary institution celebrated in grand style.

For as much as the school draws from a variety of pockets across Ontario as well as enjoying a strong international presence, it was the home grown heroes that were regularly front and centre at the 2024 Athletic Banquet.

Coming off an OFSAA bronze-medal performance with the Horizon Aigles in his final year of high-school volleyball, setter Simon Lemieux transitioned nicely to the same role at the OCAA level, recognizing very quickly the alterations he needed to make.

“In high-school, I could get away with just pushing the ball outside to the left side,” noted the 18 year-old Fish & Wildlife Technician program student who was named Male Athlete of the Year in his freshman season with the Vipères. “At this level, you can’t. You have to set everyone.”

“Every single team that we play here is good competition,” added Lemieux. “It’s always a difficult game.”

Also a local product of both SDSSAA play (with the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes) as well as club volleyball background with the Northern Chill, 21 year old >b>Katia Legros made a return to the sport following a couple of years away as she focused on school.

“Surprisingly, everything came back pretty quickly,” noted the talented right-side hitter who was honoured as the 2024 Female Athlete of the Year at Boréal. “It came back better than I thought it would. Defense is the hardest thing to get back into.”

Making her way out at the beginning of the season at the urging of a fellow teammate and classmate in the Ultrasound program, Legros quickly remembered why she so enjoyed her years in sports growing up.

“Just being part of a team; I think I missed that the most in the years I wasn’t playing,” she said. “We feed off each other’s energy and I missed that aspect and the competitive aspect of volleyball as well.”

For 21 year old goaltender Jonah Rousselle, the pathway that would lead to the long-time Copper Cliff Redmen being selected as MVP of the extramural hockey team likely has as much to do with a feeling of duty as anything else. That can happen when you are apparently the only goalie at the school.

“I didn’t even know there was a hockey team – but I didn’t even have to try out and I was on the team already,” said the Business major with a laugh. Of course, there is a flipside to holding such a unique distinction at Boréal.

“The tournaments we had were only one day tournaments – a bunch of games in a few hours, and all of the other teams had two goalies,” he noted. “I was definitely tired at the end of it. But I liked it; I like facing a lot of shots.”

There is at least some chance that the shots were going to be tracked by former volleyball setter (2011-2014) Ryan Lapointe-Green, the Elliot Lake native awarded the Alumni Award in recognition of his contributions to community sports and his advocacy for an active lifestyle in his community.

The on-line scorer for the Greater Sudbury Cubs of the NOJHL and a regular at many of the Vipères home volleyball games, Lapointe-Green still recalls the feelings of those special moments that varsity sport can bring.

“There’s no better feeling, especially as a setter, than seeing that smile when you set up your hitters,” he said. “It’s that camaraderie with all of your teammates when you score a big point that you remember. And everybody in the school was always there to help you out.”

Also claiming top prize honours were Rookies of the Year Maryssa Mercier (badminton) and Liam Patterson (volleyball), while the Dennis Dionne Fair Play Award was presented to Nadia Assetou Kabore (badminton).

Following is a complete breakdown of the team by team awards that were doled out this week:

Varsity Sports
Women's Badminton
Most Improved Player - Marie-Ange Tagulwanguma Bora Uzima
Rookie of the Year - Maryssa Mercier
Best Performing Player - Kristen Vane

Men's Badminton
Fair Play Award - Arsene Mboutue
Rookie of the Year - Ellis Emblin

Women's Volleyball
Most Improved Player - Kiersten Trottier
Fair Play Award - Isabelle Wallace
Rookie of the Year - Amy Vis
Best Performing Player - Sarah Ethier
Most Valuable Player - Katia Legros

Men's Volleyball
Most Improved Player - Joshia Montpellier
Fair Play Award - Tyler Roussel
Rookie of the Year - Liam Patterson
Best Performing Player - Kalan Payzant
Most Valuable Player - Simon Lemieux

Extramural Sports
Mixed Hockey
Fair Play Award - Nicolas Gignac
Best Performing Player - Jacob Gaudet
Most Valuable Player - Jonah Rousselle

Men's Basketball
Fair Play Award - Hamza Cisse
Best Performing Player - Gloire Ngoy Adidi
Most Valuable Player - Magueye Badiane Khoto

Mixed Soccer
Fair Play Award - Mouhamadou Mansour Sy Diagne
Best Performing Player - Mamadou Gueye
Most Valuable Player - Exaucée Kubuana Nkenko

The Student Life Award was doled out to Ivann Poin (Stunning Pictures) for his exceptional dedication and continuous support of Boreal's athletic endeavours.