Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) has a long tradition of sporting achievements.
And no one embodies the school’s athletic spirit better than the school’s male and female Athletes of the Year, Thorston Jevne, Hannah Tuininga and Lauren Kostiw.
That is what BCHS athletic director and senior girls volleyball coach Kyle Becker said during the school’s annual June 21 athletics award banquet.
Not only did the recipients excel at multiple sports, as individuals they made the people around them better and helped promote athletics in the school, he said.
Noting that the coaching staff uses multiple criteria in selecting the winners, Becker said these criteria include “commitment to your sport and school, and the recognition that the recipients are not only athletes but students who need to do well in the classroom, as well as leadership on and off the court.”
For the female athlete of the year, there were a number of athletes who deserved to be considered, but they decided they couldn’t just give to one student.
“These two girls’ names came up continually. Both were a force on the volleyball court and played a large part in our team’s success,” he said, adding they both excelled at other sports as well.
Kostiw excelled in badminton and at the curling rink, where the BCHS girls finished fourth at provincials.
Tuininga was a standout on the Gryphons’ basketball team as well as track and field, where she won gold and silver in the intermediate triple jump and long jump, respectively.
As for Jevne, being named the school’s male athlete of the year is becoming old-hat, as this is the second straight year he recieved the honour.
“While the decision wasn’t necessarily an easy one, after taking a look at all the facts and the contributions this young man has made as part of the cross-country team and senior volleyball and basketball teams, as well as his participation outside the school in football and baseball, it was clear that there was only one choice,” Becker said.
He also noted that all three student-athletes helped nurture the school’s athletic nature by promoting non-traditional high school sports as part of the unified-partner team such as bocce ball.
Kostiw said she was honoured to have been selected and thanked her parents, coaches, and teammates, noting she couldn’t have achieved what she did without their help and encouragement.
Both Tuininga and Jevne echoed the sentiment.
