Cameron Fung, Le Yi Deng and Stephanie Zaborniak were among a crowded group who carted off some hardware at the Burnaby South Rebels 2018/19 varsity athletic awards event recently, celebrating the past season of athletes and accomplishments.
Fung picked up the Bill Gray Award for Outstanding Grade 12 Male, having competed in five sports -- volleyball, cross country, track and field, ultimate and wrestling as well as a mentor and a coach.
The Diane Murphy Award for Outstanding Grade 12 female was shared by Deng and Zaborniak, who were instrumental contributors in a variety of sports.
Deng, a member of South’s sister school the B.C. School of the Deaf, was relentlessly dedicated in practice and games for cross country, basketball, wrestling and track and field.
Zaborniak enjoyed a standout Grade 12 year as a member of the cross country, basketball and netball teams. Her unmatched work ethic and leadership skills were an inspiration for her teammates and classmates.
Picking up the Bill McKercher Award for Male Sportsmanship was Jouren Wong, who set a tremendous example to his fellow students as a leader and mentor, helping guide the senior boys volleyball team to provincial berth after an 18-year-long drought. The Female Sportsmanship award named for Florence Petersen was presented to Shirley Perera and Reanna Wong, who were major contributors not only on the court, in netball and volleyball, respectively, but also as volunteers off it.
The Don Moore award for Outstanding Grade 11 male went to Anthony Yu, who played, coached and officiated on the volleyball court. On the female side, Laini Glover and Joanne Lee shared the honour for the Sue Mathie Outstanding Grade 11 Female award.
Glover collected her fourth Rebels athletic award, beginning in Grade 8, as a talented leader in senior volleyball, basketball and netball. Lee proved a consummate competitor in badminton, swimming and volleyball. Lee played an instrumental role in leading Burnaby South back to the badminton provincials after a couple of years absence, as well played a prominent role with the swim and volleyball teams.
Selected as the top Grade 10 athletes at the school were Conlin Duong and Kim Kamiya. Duong was a part of the provincial championship junior boys basketball team, as well as soccer, swimming and senior ultimate. As captain of both the junior girls soccer and volleyball teams, Kamiya provided strong leadership and mentoring for her teammates.
The Outstanding Grade 9 athletes were Jimmy Zaborniak and Emma Celio. A four-sport athlete, Zaborniak competed in junior soccer, Grade 9 volleyball, cross country and with the junior boys provincial champion basketball team. Celio took on major roles with both the junior girls soccer and Grade 9 volleyball, as well as with the RAC program.
A trio of boys were named as the Rebels' Outstanding Grade 8 male athletes -- Jesse Chongo, Charley Kutak and Savic Vellios. The Grade 8 Outstanding female athlete was Reanna Gandhi.
As South is one of the busiest schools in the province when it comes to running tournaments as well as league events, those undertakings rely upon a core group of volunteers who put in countless hours of work to make everything run smoothly.
Receiving the Administration of Sports Ernie Fletcher Award was Nickole Villamin, who was a key member of the Rebels Athletic Crew (RAC) leadership team. Villamin and Reanna Wong were chosen to receive the RAC Leadership scholarships.
