KELOWNA, B.C. – The UBC Okanagan Department of Athletics and Recreation celebrated student-athlete excellence on Wednesday morning as they hosted their annual Academic All-Canadian reception on the UBCO campus.

In total, 90 student-athletes were recognized for achieving an 80 percent average in their academic studies during what was a challenging year for all students who transitioned to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the 90 student-athletes honoured, 84 were recognized as U SPORTS Academic All-Canadians while the remaining six, from UBCO's golf programs, were celebrated as Heat Scholars as the sport of golf doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of U SPORTS.

The total number represents 59 percent of the student-athlete population at UBC Okanagan last year, demonstrating a strong commitment to academic excellence across the varsity program offerings.

"Every Academic All-Canadian and Heat Scholar recipient has something to be extremely proud of, and to have three out of every five Heat student-athletes reach that distinction last season is something that we as an institution are extremely proud of," said Tom Huisman, UBCO's Director of Athletics and Recreation. "Couple that with how well so many of our teams are doing this year in competition, while clearly maintaining such a high academic standard, is a testament to the environment of excellence our coaches and our staff are continuing to build upon here at UBCO."

The reception was hosted by Huisman with representation from departments and faculties across campus, including Dr. Lesley Cormack, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UBC Okanagan, who presented each student-athlete in attendance with their Academic All-Canadian certificate.

Others in attendance included Dr. Marie Tarrant, Director of the School of Nursing, Tanya Forneris, Associate Director & Associate Professor of Teaching with the School of Health and Exercise Sciences and Dale Mullings, Assistant Vice-President, Students.

2020-21 Academic All-Canadians/Heat Scholars By Sport

Basketball (M)
Gavin Ashworth, Gus Goerzen, Philip Okanlawon, Keaton Souster

Basketball (W)
Sadie Beers, Alessia Brutto, Tessa Burton, Melaina Corrado, Kelsey Falk, Brianna Falk, Lauren Foullong, Rachel Hare, Jaeli Ibbetson, Emily Instant, Kelsey Watts, Mira Witt

Cross Country (M)
Dayton Bath, Jacob Harris, Owen Harris, Joshua Milliken, Alexandre Santos, Austin White, Gareth Williams, Turner Woodroff, Trevone Zoysa

Cross Country (W)
Gina Cinelli, Juliette Davis, Camille Galloway, Emma Kearns, Kate Milne, Jessica Roodzant, Julia Van Vliet

Golf (M)
Marcus Apchin, Justin Towill

Golf (W)
Samantha Copeland, Kendra Jones-Munk, Rebecca Reitsma, Kayleigh Trowman

Soccer (M)
Wyatt Gilbert, Zack MacInnes, Sam McDonald, Aaron Mulama, Nicholas Reitsma, Alexander Sol, Jacob Sol, Owen Spicker, Jimmy Steel, Pacen Vandermeer

Soccer (W)
Jessica Ambrosio, Maya Bandy, Sophie Campbell, Aurora Gardiner, Alexandra Green, Erica Lampert, Maddy Laranjo, Catriona McFadden, Lauryn Padmoroff, Mackenzie Pfoh, Sophia Pol, Lusia Rodriguez, Sonia Sarai, Holly Tarves, Amanda White, Hailey Wright, Stefanie Young

Volleyball (M)
Téo Ardanaz, Ty Baskin, Kyle Butchart, Jacob Dewolff, Maxwell Heppell, Cade Hudson, Ben Magel, Christopher Mitchell, Morgan Nichols

Volleyball (W)
Jade Bussard, Nathalie Demers, Abigail Dueck, Natalie Funk, Thea Gremmen, Sydney Grills, Parres Holliday, Tessa Ivans, Natalie Livingston, Sara McCreary, Amaya Perry, Rayn Perry, Courtney Steele, Sadie Taylor-Parks, Stephanie Temme, Mackenzie Wallace