MHSAA 2024 Awards and Scholarship Recipients Announced

High School Athletes of the Year at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame

MHSAA is thrilled to announce the 2023-2024 High School Athletes of the Year at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.⁠

The Association has four competition categories A, AA, AAA, and AAAA which are based on school populations. A male and female Athlete of the Year was selected from each category, along with the overall High School Male and Female Athlete of the Year.⁠

“A” Girls: Sydney Burak of Arborg Collegiate

“AA” Girls: Maria Gundrum of Prairie Mountain High School

“AAA” Girls: Ivy Bestland of Sanford Collegiate

“AAAA” Girls: Danika Nell of Institut collégial Vincent Massey Collegiate

“A” Boys: Sam Gurke of Alonsa School

“AA” Boys: Lachlan Cuthbert of Lac du Bonnet Senior School⁠

“AAA” Boys: Elijah Falade of St. Boniface Diocesan High School

”AAAA” Boys: Elijah Falade of St. Boniface Diocesan High School

⁠The 2024 overall High School Male and Female Athletes of the Year are:⁠

Owen Weekes of Institut collégial Vincent Massey Collegiate

Danika Nell of Institut collégial Vincent Massey Collegiate

Congratulations to you all!

The Nick Laping Leadership Award was presented to Jeff Paradis of R.D. Parker Collegiate (Thompson).

The Frank L. McKinnon Award was presented to Brent Blaine of Vincent Massey High School (Brandon).

Each year the MHSAA selects the Female and Male High School Coaches of the Year. A $1,000 award is presented to each individual courtesy of the 1990 Grey Cup Legacy Fund.

The 2024 Grey Cup Legacy Male High School Coach of the Year was awarded to Marshall Jones of Institut collégial Vincent Massey Collegiate (Winnipeg).

The 2024 Grey Cup Legacy Female High School Coach of the Year was awarded to Kelli Sinnock of Sanford Collegiate.

Congratulations to all of the coaches recognized and thank you for your dedication to High School sports in Manitoba!

The Nick Laping Leadership Award

The Nick Laping Leadership Award is in honour of a great friend of high school sport, Nick Laping. Nick started his teaching career at John Taylor Collegiate and coached the John Taylor Pipers and St. Paul’s Crusaders in Basketball. Nick left teaching and went into the business community working for Jr. Achievement and later on as Vice President of Human Resources at the Birchwood Group. His was a real leader in sport and always cared about his high school sport roots.

FRANK L. MCKINNON AWARD

The Frank L. McKinnon Award is presented to an outstanding contributor to high school atheltics. The award is named in honour of long time Principal of Carman Collegiate, Frank McKinnon who was a past Board member and President of the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association.

Male and Female High School Coach of the Year 

The 1990 Grey Cup was held in Winnipeg for the first time and as a result, a profit was generated. Part of the profit was directed to a legacy for high school coaching. Each year the MHSAA selects its Male and Female High School Coach of the Year and a $1,000 prize is awarded to both individuals courtesy of the Grey Cup Legacy Fund.

The Manitoba’s Credit Unions Scholar Athlete Award 

The Manitoba’s Credit Unions Scholar Athlete Award is presented to four students annually who maintain a minimum of 85% average and participate in at least two interscholastic high school athletic activities. Manitoba’s Credit Unions awards each Scholar Athlete a $2,000 scholarship.

Dale Iwanoczko Memorial Scholarship

Dale Iwanoczko was an outstanding student and athlete who began his volleyball career playing for Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School. He advanced to the University of Manitoba where he was named a five time All Canadian and C.I.S. Most Valuable Player in 1991. He was also a member of Volleyball Manitoba’s Provincial Team & Canada Games programs. Dale was Valedictorian, Governor General Medal Award Winner, and Athlete of the Year at Selkirk in Grades 11 & 12. He proceeded to obtain his medical degree from the University of Manitoba. Dale Iwanoczko left the sports world at the age of 30, after succumbing to Hodgkin’s Disease, a battle he had fought for fourteen months. Friends and colleagues of Dale have come together to create $1,000 scholarships in his name to be presented to rural and urban high school volleyball players.