The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack will again be well represented when the Kamloops Sports Council hands out its 2019 awards later this summer.
Five athletes and one team are up for honors in three separate categories. The Sports Council announced its finalists on Tuesday (June 23).
Swimmer Ryley McRae (Kamloops BC) is one of the three finalists for Male Athlete of the year. McRae had a breakout season on the U SPORTS and international scene in 2019. This included being the first WolfPack swimmer ever to compete at the university nationals and being a part of the Canadian Junior National open-water swim team. He competed at events in Spain and in Quebec.
McRae’s competition for male athlete of the year are: track and field athletes Bazil Spencer and Kian Babini.
The WolfPack Team Black cheer squad is one of three finalists for the 2019 Kamloops Sports Council team of the year. Team Black won a competition in Edmonton, Alberta which qualified them for a berth at the ESPN World Championships held in Orlando, Florida. It’s the first time a local cheer squad has competed at this event. Team Black finished fifth out of six teams. Their competition for the Sports Council award are: the South Kamloops Secondary Girls basketball team and the Kamloops Blaze 2008 boys soccer team.
Team Black is also one of the finalists for the International Excellence Award where one of the other finalists is former TRU basketball player Greg Stewart (Kamloops, BC). Stewart had a break out 2019 in the sport of Paralympic shot putting. The other finalist is Sunette Lessing of Track and field.
The finalists for the Sports Council University athlete of the year are all WolfPack athletes: soccer player Jan Pirrates Glasmacher (Barcelona, Spain), along with volleyball players Tim Dobbert ( Germany) and Olga Savenchuk (Donetsk, Ukraine).
Glasmacher was one of four team captains on the WolfPack. He was named a Canada West first team all-star and was the first TRU player ever to be selected in the Canadian Pro Soccer League draft. He was chosen third overall by Pacific F.C.. Their season has been put on hold due to COVID-19.
Dobbert finished his university career by being named a USPORTS First Team All-Canadian. He was also a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian.
Savenchuk’s first season in USPORTS was one to remember as she was named a Canada West first team all-star and led the team to the playoffs.
Due to COVID-19, the awards and the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame inductions will be a virtual presentation. They were originally to have been held on May 23rd.
