2001 Awards

Year 4 – Wednesday June 12, 2002

Bingeman Park Ballroom, Kitchener

2001 ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Jennifer Fratesi – Swimming

Waterloo

Jennifer is a great example of showing passion for her sport and excellent time management skills. She trains four to five hours a day, six days a week and still maintains a 94% average at Bluevale Collegiate.

Among her accomplishments are a 4^th place finish in the 200m Backstroke at the World Championships in Japan. She is currently ranked fourth in the world in that discipline. Jennifer placed 1^st at the Sydney South Olympic Festival and her best time in 2001 would have had her place 4^th in the Olympic Games. She also broke the Canadian Record for the 200m Backstroke for the short course while taking home the Gold at he World Cup in Edmonton.

Jennifer also laid claim to the Canadian Record for the long course in August 2001. Her academic high standing will come in handy as she plans on attending Stanford University. Her coach says the commitment Jennifer shows and her willingness to go the extra mile has put her at the top of his list of swimmers trained in the past 25 years.

Nominees:

Dana Ellis – Track & Field/Pole Vault

Kitchener

Dana is in her 1^st year at the University of Waterloo (U of W), where she competes in Pole Vault. This past season, Dana went undefeated in Canadian University competition, setting an O.U.A. record of 3.85 metres and establishing a C.I.A.U. record of 4.04 metres.

She placed second at the Canadian Senior Nationals (4.1m), 5^th at the Francophone Games and 12^th at the World University Games (3.90m) in Beijing, China.

Dana took up pole vaulting in 1998 after injury forced her out of gymnastics when she was a member of the Women’s National Team for seven years.

Away from the track, Dana makes herself available as a motivational speaker for Sport Ontario’s “Dream Team”. She also volunteers at the Waterloo Sports Medicine Clinic helping injured athletes get back to health. Giving back to her community also extends beyond sport, as Dana was instrumental in the literacy of a young Somalian boy and volunteers as a tutor in a writing centre.

Not just a gifted athlete, Dana has been nominated as Valedictorian for her graduating class at U of W.

Donna Mancuso – Boxing

Ayr

As a second time nominee, Donna improved her resume this past year as a member of Canada’s National Boxing Team. She was ranked third in the world in two different weight classes, the World Lightweight and World Welterweight Divisions.

Her 2001 record of 30 wins and six losses gained her the National Championship along with Bronze Medals in the Feenix Cup and World Championships.

Outside the ring, Donna is a Police Officer with the Waterloo Regional Police Service and a coach at the Waterloo Regional Boxing Academy.

When she’s not training, Donna is a part of PRIDE Youth Services, which is a support network for youth of K-W which stages boxing clinics like “Punch out Violence”. In Toronto, she’s involved in the “Future is Female” program where she speaks about her experiences and is a positive role model for young women.

Donna is also the athletes’ representative for Boxing Canada as a member of the Athletes’ Council for the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Alex Singer – Sailing

Waterloo

It was a very busy and successful year on the water for Alex.  After being invited to be a member of the 2001 Canadian Youth Squad, he went on to dominate the Canadian and International sailing circuit in the Byte Class. Among the list of credentials is a Gold Medal while representing Ontario at the Canada Summer Games. He was 2^nd in the Byte Worlds in New Jersey, 1^st in the Canadian Yachting Association Sail East Regatta in Nova Scotia and 5^th in the Canadian Youth Championships in .P.E.I.

To cap off an amazing season, Alex was named the Ontario Youth Sailor of the year.

Of the water, Alex has other accomplishments as well, completing his Grade 9 Royal Conservatory of Music in piano, being an honour student at Waterloo Collegiate and a volunteer with the Special Olympics.

Next year, Alex will sail off to Tufts University in Boston, which is one of the best sailing programs available on the continent.

Kelly VanderBeek – Alpine Skiing

Kitchener

Given Kelly’s drive, dedication and absolute commitment to achieve her lofty goals, it is no wonder that she returns as a nominee for her third year. She continues to exhibit all the qualities of a champion.

At the Canadian Nationals in Quebec, Kelly had a top five finish in all four disciplines – Downhill, Super “G”, Giant Slalom and Slalom. She is also the top ranked 18-year-old skier in Canada in all four disciplines and is ranked 13^th and 15^th in the world for the Downhill and Super “G”.

This is Kelly’s OAC year at Grand River Collegiate and she is maintaining an average in the 90s. At Grand River, she was part of the soccer team that went to the provincials.

Kelly also gives back to her community as she enjoys motivating young athletes and young people in general through her motivational speaking engagements and assist with the ski program at Chicopee Ski Club.

Award of Excellence:

INDIVIDUAL:

Brent McFarlane – Track & Field

Waterloo

Brent McFarlane is a coach for Canada’s elite track and field athletes. He got his start at Waterloo as a varsity runner in 1968 competing on two Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship teams. As a graduate of the kinesiology program, McFarlane (BSc ’73) used his knowledge of human strength and speed to support some of our country’s fastest runners and hurdlers.

Brent is regarded as a highly scientific coach who works with athletes on every detail of their mechanics and training. He was inducted into the University of Waterloo Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 1996, he coached the University of Waterloo’s nationally unranked women’s cross country team to surprise victories at the Ontario Women’s Interuniversity Athletic Association (OWIAA) and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) championships, achieving Waterloo’s first national title in twenty years. That same year, he was named University OWIAA and CIAU Cross Country Coach of the Year, upon which he retired from coaching cross country. In 1991 and 1997 he was named the University of Waterloo Coach of the Year and in 1997, 1998 and 2000, McFarlane was named OWIAA Women’s Track and Field Coach of the Year.

Brent has coached multiple national teams, including Canadian Olympic teams, serving as head coach for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

He has written more than 500 articles on biomechanics, speed, and strength. His book, “The Science of Hurdling and Speed”, sold more than 12,000 copies, and in 2002 he published the second edition of “The Science of SAC (Speed-Agility-Conditioning)”.

Brent has also served as a volunteer coach locally with the Kitchener-Waterloo Track and Field Association. Athletes from his training group produced numerous Canadian and provincial records and multiple national champions.