Photo Caption: Rustlers athletics director Al Rogan and athletics supervisor Aaron Rawlake present Neil Bratrud with the male athlete of the year and Brianne Collette with the female athlete of the year, Tuesday night at Lakeland College. - Robb Fenton Photos
With the season behind them, the Lakeland Rustlers athletic department was able to celebrate all the achievement and accomplishments of this past season.
Tuesday night, they handed out awards to all the teams that take part in the ACAC and had a chance to say thank you to the athletes for all their hard work and dedication.
“It’s always great to celebrate our success. We’re proud of what our student-athletes do throughout the year, how they represent Lakeland College so it’s a small token for us to give them one night of celebration to say thank you for what you do and good luck in the future,” athletic supervisor Aaron Rawlake said.
There were a lot of up and downs during the season for all the teams, but one thing Rawlake noted was how dedicated the players were to their teams.
“This year especially, we saw teams battle adversity and that was huge. They had a lot of injuries this year, so we’re very proud of what they all accomplished and the work ethic they put in and showed,” he said. “We never had complaints. I didn’t have any kids complaining about coaches or teammates, they just put their heads down and worked.”
The big award winners on the night were Brianne Collette, the veteran volleyball star for the women’s team and Neil Bratrud, one of the best curlers to hit the ice in ACAC history.
Collette collected the female athlete of year and Bratrud was awarded the male athlete of the year, awards Rawlake said made perfect sense.
“The male and female athletes of the year, I’ll be honest, they were no-brainers,” he said. “Brianne showed right from the start her leadership skills and her volleyball skills. She was just head and shoulders above and really deserved that award.
“I said to Neil on the stage, it was an absolute no-brainer. The resume he has put forward, two-time male curler of the year in the ACAC, back-to-back gold medals in the mixed division, he’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s a great representative. He’s very deserving of the award,” Rawlake added.
Both Collette and Bratrud were humble in accepting their awards and were honoured they were chosen.
“It’s always nice to receive recognition for all the hard work you put in, so it’s just feels really good to be recognized,” Collette said.
“It’s a definite honour. It’s a great evening, everyone is dressed up, looking good and everyone is being recognized for all their achievements throughout the year. It’s just a great night,” Bratrud added.
For Bratrud, in his final year at Lakeland, it was a perfect way to go out.
“It’s a nice way to go out on top. It’s been a heck of a run here and there have been some good times and this is a nice award,” he said.
Collette said one of the best parts about the evening was just being able to see her fellow athletes and talk about the season that just finished.
“We don’t all live together, so obviously getting together and having time to talk is really good. Everyone gets busy with school so having time to sit back, relax and just be able to hang out is really nice, especially when the season is done,” she said.