The Department of Athletics and Recreation was thrilled to celebrate the 2023-24 Waterloo Warriors varsity season at their year-end Athletics Awards Banquet on Wednesday night on the Carl Totzke court in the Physical Activities Complex. Over 800 student-athletes, support staff, and VIPs gathered to celebrate an outstanding season by the Warriors, marking the largest banquet gathering in the 62-year history of the celebratory event.

 As a kickoff to the event, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, Elder Myeengun Henry led the graduating student-athletes into the gym 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. Last year, the Eagle Staff was sworn into the University of Waterloo, making this year's Athletics Awards Banquet the second year for it to be present. 

 The top prize of the evening, the Athletes of the Year Trophies, was presented to Track and field star Celia Markovinovic and Tyson Hergott from men's football.

 Celia put on a performance of a lifetime at the U SPORTS Championships, clearing two personal bests (1.69 M & 1.75 M) to claim the U SPORTS silver medal in the high jump and second-team All-Canadian. At the OUA Championship, Celia collected a gold medal in the high jump and was named first-team all-star. Outside of the high jump, Celia excelled in the 60m Hurdles and was an integral member of the 4x200m team. Celia was the fastest woman on the Warriors 4x200m team this season, running a personal best time of 25.00. On top of athletic achievements, Celia won the OUA and U SPORTS Female Community Service Awards.

 Tyson Hergott had one of the best seasons by a Warrior defensive end in recent U SPORTS history. He emerged as a dominant force this season, bagging the J.P. Metras Award as OUA's lineman of the year and adding OUA First Team All-Star and U SPORTS All-Canadian to his growing resume. Hergott finished the year with 11 sacks, the second-highest in the OUA, and 14 tackles for a combined loss of 103 yards. He made 38 total tackles, out of which 30 were solo tackles. His season was made even better by three forced fumbles, an interception and two pass breakups he recorded. 

 Faith Mitchell from women's hockey and Kevin Zhang from men's swimming won the WUSA Rookie of the Year Awards.

 Faith Mitchell had a great first season as part of the Women's hockey team. She scored three goals, made 6 assists in the regular season, and added 2 more assists during the postseason. Her performance helped her team win the OUA Championship, a ticket to the National Championship, and she was named to the OUA All-Rookie Team.

Kevin had an outstanding rookie season as a swimmer. He managed to secure three podium finishes in the season. At the OUA Championship, Kevin won the gold medal in the 200 M Butterfly with a time of 1:58.90 and added a silver medal to his collection with a time of 54.29 in the 100 M Butterfly event. At the U SPORTS Championship, he won his final medal of the season by taking the second spot in the 200 M Butterfly with a time of 2:01.54. Kevin also represented Canada on the international stage at the World Junior Championships and Pan-American Games.

 The Team of the Year Award was presented to women's hockey. The biggest moment in the 22-year history of the Warriors women's hockey program happened when Carly Orth's feed and Paige Rynne's finish gave the Warriors a 2-1 overtime win and their first-ever OUA Championship. This season also marked the first national championship berth in the program's history. At the U SPORTS Championship, the Warriors finished 4th in the national to wrap up an incredible season.

Add to her hardware this season was men's golf head coach Tara Savoie, who was named Imprint Coach of the Year. Savoie did a tremendous job stepping into the head coach role this past year. For the first time since 2016 and the 12th time in program history, Men's Golf took home the OUA Championship Banner. Two Warriors took home the individual gold and silver medals, while four athletes were named OUA All-Stars. Tara also took home the OUA Coach of the Year award. 

The prestigious Shield of Excellence Award was presented to 8 graduating Warriors who excelled in the black and gold from day one. 

 Hergott and Markovinovic were both recipients of the award after capping off illustrious careers, while James Basalyga, also from football, was awarded shields. Also earning the graduating award were Khaaliqa Nimji from women's squash, Alexa Cimermancic from women's soccer, Evan Morrison from men's baseball, Harry Soo and Kevin Wang from men's badminton. It was an outstanding evening celebrating memorable 2023-24 Warriors season performances. 
 

 List of all Award Winners

 Totzke Trophy – Tyson Hergott (Football)

 Marsden Trophy – Celia Markovinovic (Track & Field)

 WUSA Male Rookie of the Year – Kevin Zhang (Swimming)

 WUSA Female Rookie of the Year – Faith Mitchell (Hockey)

 Team of the Year – Women's Hockey

 Imprint Coach of the Year – Tara Savoie

 Judy McCrae Warrior Impact Award – Alexa Cimermancic (Women's Soccer) & Celia Markovinovic (Track & Field)

 J.O. Hemphill Award – Adam Schneider

Director's Award – Avery Kelly

 Brian Farrance Award – Ethan Lawerance & Kelsey Fisher 

 Warrior Campus Service Award – Adam McGuire 

 Warrior Shield of Excellence Winners

 Tyson Hergott (Football)

 Celia Markovinovic (Track & Field)

 James Basalyga (Football)

 Khaaliqa Nimji (Women's Squash)

 Alexa Cimermancic (Women's Soccer)

 Evan Morrison (Baseball)

 Harry Soo (Men's Badminton)

 Kevin Wang (Badminton)