ORILLIA SECONDARY SCHOOL
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On Thursday June 11, the Orillia Secondary School (OSS) Nighthawks held their first ever virtual athletic banquet to celebrate their athletic achievements for the 2019-2020 season.
The event was prepared by recording short video presentations, created by the coaches, of all the awards. These recordings were then edited together into an hour-long show that was broadcast live on Nighthawks TV.
The effort and determination of coaches to find an alternative format that would recognize and honour the athletic achievements of the past year, made the virtual banquet a resounding success.
The video clips showed incredible variety and creativity, and included great photos, memorable moments, and heartfelt words. All those involved are to be commended for the time spent in putting this together, and OSS Athletes are to be congratulated for all their accomplishments this past year.
Even with the athletic year cut short there was still a great deal to be proud of, including two Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA) silver medals - one for the senior girls basketball team, and another for Audrey Rieckenberg in the senior girls high school Nordic skiing race.
Awards were handed out for 22 different teams from the fall and winter seasons, and although OSS did not run its own wrestling program this year, several athletes did compete under the OSS banner with wrestlers from Twin Lakes Secondary School.
Two of these athletes, not recognized at the virtual banquet, were Rhiannon Monague who won GBSSA gold, and Matthew Thompson with a GBSSA silver medal. Both went on to compete at the OFSAA wrestling championship in March.
The OSS Major athletic awards were the highlight of the broadcast. These awards recognize outstanding athletic performance, character, leadership, and grit. The award winners included:
- Samantha Ingleton, Bayze Murray - OSS Athletic Performance Award
- Krystal Priddle, Calvin Kudar - OSS Athletic Character Award
- Mason Jacobs - OSS True Grit Award
- Jessie Buck, Anna Glass, Liam Holmes, Allison Smith, Mattea Wafelbakker - Future Legends of OSS Award
- Jessica Goodwin, Caleb Near - Legends of OSS Award
The highest honour of the major awards was the Legends of OSS, awarded this year to both Jessica Goodwin and Caleb Near. Both have represented Orillia Secondary School at multiple OFSAA events, Goodwin in track and field and Near in swimming.
Goodwin has won multiple GBSSA gold medals in sprinting, hurdles, and pole vault. She currently holds seven different OSS records in track and field.
Near has won gold in every individual GBSSA event in swimming during his high school career. His OFSAA achievements include a silver medal in 2019 in the 100m backstroke, and leading his team to a fifth place finish out of 50 teams in the 4X100 relay this year.
They have both displayed incredible athletic ability, leadership, and character throughout their high school careers, and are very deserving recipients of this prestigious award.
Thanks again to all OSS staff and students for another outstanding year of sports, and to all those involved in putting together the first ever virtual athletic banquet.
The broadcast is still available for viewing here.
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