The Department of Athletics and Recreation was thrilled to celebrate the 2022-23 Waterloo Warriors varsity season at their year-end Athletics Awards Banquet on Friday night at the St. George Banquet Hall. Over 600 student-athletes, support staff, and VIPs gathered to celebrate an outstanding season by the Warriors, marking the largest banquet gathering in the 61 year history of the celebratory event.

"It is always an incredible night to come together and celebrate as one large group, and for the first time in four years we could do so, without any restrictions," said director of athletics and recreation, Roly Webster.

"We were able to celebrate all the amazing achievements from the 2022-23 season which included many outstanding individual and team performances. We are so proud of all of our student-athletes, coaches, therapists, and support staff as they all represented the Warriors brand with passion and determination throughout the entire year."

As a kickoff to the event, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, Elder Myeengun Henry and Associate Vice President of Indigenous Relations Jean Becker led the graduating student-athletes into the main hall with the Eagle Staff, an important element of the Indigenous relationship to Earth and those that have protected it. The Eagle Staff reflects the wisdom, strength, and honour of those that carry it in representing the Nations across Turtle Island. The Eagle Staff was just recently sworn into the University of Waterloo this past week at a Sunrise Ceremony, marking the Athletics Awards Banquet as one of the first events for it to be present.

The top prize of the evening, the Athletes of the Year Trophies were presented to a pair of track and field stars, Hannah Blair and Immanuel Onyemah.

Blair was named the 2023 Marsden Trophy Winner as the female athlete of the year for the second straight season. Blair was unstoppable on the track and field scene once again, winning her third straight OUA gold medal in the pentathlon, breaking her own point total with 4,014 overall points. She then went on to win two national medals at the U SPORTS Championship, first a bronze in the pentathlon accumulating 3,954 points followed by a silver in the high jump with a leap of 1.73m. Blair was named a U SPORTS second-team all-Canadian as well as a OUA first-team all-star. Overall, she won five gold medals throughout the season at various OUA meets.

Onyemah collected the 2023 Totzke Trophy as the male athlete of the year after he solidified himself as one of the fastest sprinters in Canada. Onyemah repeated as the 60m OUA champion, winning gold in a time of 6.70s. He then went on to win the silver medal at the U SPORTS Championship, besting his OUA time with a clocking of 6.67s for a new lifetime best to earn the national silver medal. Onyemah was also an OUA first-team all-star and U SPORTS second-team all-Canadian and was undefeated in all four of his 60m races at OUA meets this season.

Winning the WUSA Rookie of the Year Awards was Kara Mark from women's hockey and James Arango from men's soccer.

Mark was stellar in her first season as netminder of the women's hockey program earning a spot on both the OUA and U SPORTS All-Rookie teams. After an injury to starting goaltender Mikayla Schnarr, Mark stepped up to be the number one goalie and was remarkable in doing so finishing fourth in OUA goals against average (1.69) and sixth in OUA save percentage (.933).

Arango was just as impressive in his first season with the men's soccer program, earning the OUA west rookie of the year award and was also a nominee for the U SPORTS rookie award. Arango finished second in OUA scoring with eight goals and six assists for 14 points and was a big part in Waterloo's playoff run which saw the black and gold upset the No. 1 York Lions to reach the OUA semifinals.

The Team of the Year Award was presented to women's basketball following their historic season where they went 17-5 to finish first in the OUA west. They then went on to upset the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the OUA quarter-finals with a dominating home court performance, ousting the Gee-Gees by a score of 66-56 to reach their first OUA semifinals since 1986. Following that victory, the Warriors were ranked eighth in the U SPORTS Playoff Power Rankings.

Doubling up on the hardware was women's basketball head coach Jessica Roque who was named the Imprint Coach of the Year. Roque and her staff changed the culture and dynamic of the women's basketball program and the results speak for themselves. Roque and her Warriors are just getting started.

The prestigious Shield of Excellence Award was presented to 10 graduating Warriors who excelled in the black and gold from day one.

Blair and Onyemah from track and field were both recipients of the award after capping off illustrious careers while Janelle Clarke also from track were awarded shields. Also earning the graduating award was Sarah Glynn from women's volleyball, Carley Olivier from women's hockey, Vanessa Hughes and Kaitlyn Overeem from women's basketball, Lukas Wormald from swimming, Jack Hinsperger from football, and Sebastian Guerrieri from men's soccer.

It was an outstanding evening celebrating memorable performances from the 2022-23 Warriors season.

List of all Award Winners

Totzke Trophy – Immanuel Onyemah (Track & Field)
Marsden Trophy – Hannah Blair (Track & Field)
WUSA Male Rookie of the Year – James Arango (Soccer)
WUSA Female Rookie of the Year – Kara Mark (Hockey)
Team of the Year – Women's Basketball
Imprint Coach of the Year – Jessica Roque (Women's Basketball)
Judy McCrae Warrior Impact Award – Daneka Miller (Women's Golf) & Chase Campbell (Men's Hockey)
J.O. Hemphill Award – Noah Mayburry
Director's Award – Boni Li
Brian Farrance Award – Katrina McKinnon & Jalyn Smart
Warrior Campus Service Award – Cheri Bilitz & Shelley Huisken-Coniglio

Warrior Shield of Excellence Winners

Hannah Blair (Track and Field)
Janelle Clarke (Track and Field)
Sarah Glynn (Women's Volleyball)
Sebastian Guerrieri (Men's Soccer)
Jack Hinsperger (Football)
Vanessa Hughes (Women's Basketball)
Carley Olivier (Women's Hockey)
Immanuel Onyemah (Track and Field)
Kaitlyn Overeem (Women's Basketball)
Lukas Wormald (Men's Swimming)