The Brock Badgers celebrated a year of record-breaking performances and historic moments at the Varsity Awards Gala.

The gala, which took place at the Parkway Conference Centre in St. Catharines on Wednesday, March 25, recognized the exceptional achievements of Brock student-athletes and coaches.

This season, the Badgers brought home one national championship, four provincial titles and 69 medals, including 39 gold, 16 silver and 14 bronze.

Among the impressive accolades were 11 major award winners, six Coach of the Year award winners, 23 All-Canadians and 70 provincial all-stars.

Madalyn Weinert from the women's basketball team and Yazdan Farokhizad from the men's wrestling team were named the Brock Badgers Female and Male Athletes of the Year. 

Weinert capped off her illustrious five-year career with the Badgers by being awarded the Nan Copp Trophy, which is given to the U SPORTS Player of the Year. 

Along with this major award, the fifth-year guard/forward was also selected as a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian and recognized as the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Player of the Year and First Team All-Star for the third consecutive season. 

The Medical Sciences student once again led the country and province in total points (530), points per game (24.1) and field goals made (196), doing so for the third straight year. She also was a force on the glass, finishing first in U SPORTS and the OUA in rebounds (317) and rebounds per game (14.4). 

Weinert leaves Brock University as the program leader in numerous categories, including total points (2,269), rebounds (1,223), field goals made (833), free throws made (514) and total blocks (196), among others. 

The local St. Catharines product is the first women's basketball player to win this award since Jodie Ebeling in 2005 and is the 12th player in program history to accomplish the feat. 

Farokhizad continued his dominance on the mats, capturing gold medals in the 90-kilogram division at the U SPORTS Championships and OUA Championships for the second consecutive year. His performances earned him status as a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian and OUA First Team All-Star. 

Originally from Iran, Farokhizad helped lead the Badgers to their 23rd national title as well as the program's 10th straight and 27th overall provincial banner. 

Over the two championships, he allowed just two points while going undefeated in university competition for the second consecutive year, securing a total of seven gold medals. 

The 23rd men's wrestler in school history to earn this honour, Farokhizad is the first since 2020 when Clayton Pye received the award.

Seven student-athletes were recognized with the newest award, the Badger of Distinction, which recognizes graduating student-athletes who have demonstrated outstanding excellence, commitment and impact throughout their varsity careers. Recipients are celebrated for exceptional athletic performance, meaningful contributions to their teams and a lasting mark on their programs through leadership, integrity and dedication to the values of Brock Sports and Recreation. 

This inaugural list of recipients included Gabriel Blanchette (men's wrestling), Isabella Durcak (women's rowing), Zoe Durcak (women's rowing), Emily Foest (women's volleyball), Brianna Fraser (women's wrestling), Stephen Harris (men's rowing) and Madalyn Weinert (women's basketball).

Over his five-year career, Blanchette captured five individual medals at the OUA Championships, including two gold, and four U SPORTS medals as he helped his team win five provincial championships and three national titles. 

The Durcak sisters made the podium in four straight OUA and Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC), finishing their careers with 14 medals together, while Zoe also added one national gold in 2021. 

Foest's five-year career with the Badgers was highlighted by the program's first national medal, a bronze, along with four provincial titles. She has received three OUA All-Star selections, which included one First-Team nod, and leaves Brock as the all-time program leader in points (1,234) and kills (1,057). 

In four U SPORTS Championships appearances, Fraser has collected three gold medals and a silver while leading the Badgers to two national titles. On the provincial side, Fraser helped the Badgers secure four banners with three individual golds and one silver. 

Harris, a two-time Brock University Male Athlete of the Year, was also named the Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC) Male Athlete of the Year three times. He led the Badgers to three national silver-medal finishes and two bronze-medal showings while finishing his career with 11 CURC medals. He also played a large role in the Badgers winning five consecutive OUA titles, securing 10 medals and one Men's Rower of the Year award.  

Over five years on the basketball court, Weinert's list of accolades include one U SPORTS Player of the Year and three OUA Player of the Year awards, three U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian and OUA First Team All-Star selections, one OUA Second Team All-Star nod and a spot on the OUA All-Rookie Team. Her impact and leadership helped the Badgers reach the playoffs every season of her career, including a national championship berth in 2021-22. 

The Coach of the Year awards were awarded to Steve Delaney of the women's volleyball team and Marty Calder of the men's wrestling team. 

Delaney and the Badgers made program history, winning a national medal for the first time as they finished third with a 3-2 victory (25-17, 24-26, 24-26, 25-18, 15-11) over the Trinity Western Spartans in the bronze medal match in Langley, B.C., on March 15. 

Brock finished on top of the conference with 17 regular season wins and won their fourth Quigley Cup by defeating the McMaster Marauders 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 25-18) on March 6. 

Earning their 23rd national title, the men's wrestling team finished the weekend in Thunder Bay, Ont., with eight medals (three gold, four silver, one bronze), while Calder secured the U SPORTS Men's Coach of the Year honours for the 14th time in his coaching career. 

At the OUA Championships in London, Ont., the Badgers continued their championship streak as they won their 10th consecutive and 27th overall banner with five gold medals and two silvers, with Calder also capturing the Coach of the Year award at this event for the 14th time.

In addition to the Coach of the Year awards, those respective teams were named Women's and Men's Team of the Year. 

The women's volleyball team's record-setting season was highlighted by a U SPORTS Championship All-Star selection for Mackenna Knox and the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award given to Isabella Samadzadeh. The Badgers also earned three OUA all-star designations, with Knox selected to the First Team, while Foest and Emma Baruchelli were named to the Second and Third Teams, respectively.

Along with winning historic national and provincial banners, the men's wrestling team earned the OUA Men's Rookie of the Year for the sixth time in program history as Javier Tonita-Charriez was honoured at the end of the event.

Weinert and Ethan Miskolczi from the men's soccer team, were recognized with the David Atkinson Surgite Award and R.M. Davis Surgite Award, respectively. These awards are awarded annually to the female and male student-athletes who have demonstrated academic superiority at Brock as well as achieving outstanding athletic performance during the season. 

For the second year in a row, Weinert has been honoured with the David Atkinson Surgite Award. This past season, she made history as the first female student-athlete in school history to be named a U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian, an honour reserved for four female student-athletes nationwide, and is a four-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian and Brock Badgers Academic Excellence Award recipient.

Miskolczi has been a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian and Brock Badgers Academic Excellence Award honouree since he joined the Badgers in 2021. The fifth-year defender was selected as an OUA First Team All-Star as he helped lead the Badgers' defence to the third fewest goals allowed in the OUA. 

Three Badgers were awarded the David S. Howes Spirit of Brock Award, which is named after Howes for his commitment to Brock University and the community of Niagara. This award is awarded to student-athletes who best exemplify the spirit of Sir Isaac Brock and have demonstrated any one or more of the following qualities; leadership, courage, innovation, inspiration and community involvement. 

This year's recipients were Ryan Bossy (men's swimming), Brookelyn Keltos (women's basketball) and Michael Okeke (men's basketball). 

Bossy led multiple fundraising initiatives on behalf of the men's swimming team, including the Run for the Cure, Relay for Life and Movember, and he is a volunteer coach for the Olympic Way program, mentoring young swimmers.  

Creating and launching the Badger Buddy Pen Pal program, Keltos helped connect both men's and women's basketball teams with a local classroom, encouraging reading and writing development through letters and engaging students in Physical Education sessions.

Okeke was named the 2025-26 OUA Champion of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for his work with the All for Change Campaign, including playing a large role in helping launch the initiative in 2023 and taking part in the Open Letter Series this past February as he shared about his experiences as a Black student-athlete. 

Brock Sports Medicine (BSM) awarded both Ethan Kelly and Tia Pucci with the Joseph P. Kenny Student Therapist Award of Excellence. 

Kelly spent the last two seasons with the men's basketball team while Pucci served for three years with the men's lacrosse team and one year each with the men's hockey team and the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Both have taken on additional roles with BSM as Kelly is a Return to Play Intern, while Pucci is a Student Coordinator and Administrative Assistant for the Brock Sports Medicine Clinic.
 

 The Brock Sports Performance (BSP) Awards were presented to Oscar St. James Kush, who was named the BSP Student Intern of the Year and Ryan Gelbart, who received the BSP Impact Award. 

St. James Kush took on a key role as the lead assistant strength and conditioning coach with the men's volleyball team this past season, while leading community programming and assisting with varsity training over the summer. Likewise, Gelbart served as the lead assistant strength and conditioning coach with the men's hockey team, supporting the Return to Play program and BSP community initiatives, while also working as the strength and conditioning coach for the track and field program.

Fencing coaches Kathy and Kirk Girard were recognized with the Marilou Isui Memorial Service Award. 

The Girards have coached and mentoring more than 500 student-athletes over the past 50 years. Both Brock graduates and fencing alumni, these two individuals led the Badgers to earn four team titles, three vice-championships and six bronze team medals, while helping the Badgers capture a total of 27 individual medals. 

Together, they have been honoured as two-time OUA Coaches of the Year and were also named Brock University Coaches of the Year. 

Kathy made history in 1985 as the first Brock female coach to win a provincial title and just the second women's team at the time to do so. She later served as head coach for Team Ontario at the 2003 Canada Games in Bathurst-Campbelton, N.B. In recognition of her extraordinary contributions to Brock and the sport of fencing, she was named the Brock University Alumni Association's 2025 David S. Betzner Award recipient. 

Making a lasting impact beyond Brock, Kirk served as president of the Ontario Fencing Association, providing leadership and vision to the sport at the provincial level. 

Together, they have fostered and developed the next generation of coaches, mentoring 11 of their student-athletes into coaching roles, including three who have gone on to become head coaches and five who now serve as assistant coaches in the OUA. 

Longtime advocates for gender equity in sport, they have helped shape many of the standards and opportunities within fencing and OUA competition that are seen today. 

The full list of major and team award winners is included below.   
  
2025-26 BROCK SPORTS AND RECREATION MAJOR AWARD WINNERS  

Female Athlete of the Year: Madalyn Weinert (Women's Basketball) 
Male Athlete of the Year: Yazdan Farokhizad (Men's Wrestling) 
Badger of Distinction Award: Gabriel Blanchette (Men's Wrestling), Isabella Durcak (Women's Rowing), Zoe Durcak (Women's Rowing), Stephen Harris (Men's Rowing), Brianna Fraser (Women's Wrestling), Madalyn Weinert (Women's Basketball), Emily Foest (Women's Volleyball) 
Women's Team Coach of the Year: Steve Delaney (Women's Volleyball) 
Men's Team Coach of the Year: Marty Calder (Men's Wrestling) 
Women's Team of the Year: Women's Volleyball 
Men's Team of the Year: Men's Wrestling 
David S. Howes Spirit of Brock Award: Ryan Bossy (Men's Swimming), Brookelyn Keltos (Women's Basketball), Michael Okeke (Men's Basketball) 
David Atkinson Surgite Award: Madalyn Weinert (Women's Basketball)  
R.M. Davis Surgite Award: Ethan Miskolczi (Men's Soccer) 
Joseph P. Kenny Student Therapist Award: Ethan Kelly, Tia Pucci 
BSP Student Intern of the Year: Ryan Gelbart 
BSP Impact Award: Oscar St. James-Kush 
Marilou Iusi Memorial Service Award: Kathy Girard and Kirk Girard (Fencing) 
 
2025-26 TEAM AWARDS 

Baseball  
Most Valuable Badger - Reid Lunney 
Emerging Badger - Jaden Leeder 
  
Men's Basketball  
Most Valuable Badger - Andrew McKenna 
Emerging Badger - Birch Pockar 
 
Women's Basketball  
T.J. Kearney Most Valuable Badger - Madalyn Weinert 
Emerging Badger - Jamie Addy 

Men's Cross Country  
Most Valuable Badger - Isaac Iannarelli   
Emerging Badger - PJ Morgan 
  
Women's Cross Country  
Most Valuable Badger - Lauren Macsai 
Emerging Badger - Alyson Laird 
  
Men's Curling  
Most Valuable Badger - Patrick Sipura 
Emerging Badger - Gavin Mediratta  
  
Women's Curling  
Most Valuable Badger - Rhiannon Beckstead 
Emerging Badger - Lacey Ricetto 
  
Women's Fencing  
Ken Douglas Most Valuable Badger - Bryn Thomas 
Co-Emerging Badger - Morgan Manalo and Claire Ventoso  

Men's Fencing  
Ken Douglas Most Valuable Badger - Andre Montrichard 
Emerging Badger - Matthew Iannizzi 
  
Figure Skating  
Most Valuable Badger - Isabella Ranalli   
Emerging Badger - Chiara Porco 

Men's Golf  
Most Valuable Badger - Liam McKeiver 
Emerging Badger - Will Burleigh 

Women's Golf  
Most Valuable Badger - Ella Hertner 
Emerging Badger - Paige Allen  
 
Men's Hockey  
Ed Davis Most Valuable Badger - Ryan Stepien 
Denholm Emerging Badger - Ryan Johnstone  
 
Women's Hockey  
Most Valuable Badger - Allison Stevenson 
Co-Emerging Badger - Ava Fisher and Moi Moi Luu  
 
Men's Lacrosse  
Most Valuable Badger - Jaden Patterson 
Emerging Badger - Cody Rudderham 
  
Women's Lacrosse  
Most Valuable Badger - Mackenzie Aikin 
Co-Emerging Badger - Kylie Mortimore and Leighton Therrien 
  
Men's Rowing  
Most Valuable Badger - Riley Watson 
Emerging Badger - Shawn Nesbitt  
  
Women's Rowing  
Co-Most Valuable Badger - Isabella Durcak and Zoe Durcak 
Emerging Badger - Haley Knott 
 
Men's Rugby  
Most Valuable Badger - Grant Meadows 
Emerging Badger - Sam Morreale 
  
Women's Rugby  
Most Valuable Badger - Brooke Rempel 
Emerging Badger - Lily Vandenhoek 

Men's Soccer  
Most Valuable Badger - Ethan Miskolczi 
Emerging Badger - Nikola Neskovic 
 
Women's Soccer  
Most Valuable Badger - Tia Schaffer 
Emerging Badger - Lexie Foster  
 
Softball  
Most Valuable Badger - Emma Young 
Emerging Badger - Delaney Johnston 
  
Men's Squash  
Most Valuable Badger - Aidan Parris 
Emerging Badger - Charles Easingwood  
 
Women's Squash  
Most Valuable Badger - Emma Shea 
Emerging Badger - Alexa Abbruscato 
 
Men's Swimming  
Joe Kerkhoven Most Valuable Badger - Camren Courchene-Carter 
Herb deBray Progressive Emerging Badger - Noah Chang  
  
Women's Swimming  
Joe Kerkhoven Most Valuable Badger - Tatum O'Connor 
Herb deBray Progressive Emerging Badger - Claire Wright 
 
Men's Tennis  
Most Valuable Badger - Tanner Bedard 
Co-Emerging Badger - Federico Ruggeri and Ilya Ziborov 
 
Women's Tennis  
Most Valuable Badger - Fiona Barkovic 
Emerging Badger - Ava Choma   
  
Men's Track and Field  
Most Valuable Badger - Michael Ivanov 
Emerging Badger - PJ Morgan 
  
Women's Track and Field  
Most Valuable Badger - Chloe Zaraska 
Emerging Badger - Patrycja Zwolinski  
 
Women's Volleyball  
Most Valuable Badger - Daryan Chadwick 
Emerging Badger - Kaiya Greydanus 
 
Men's Volleyball  
Most Valuable Badger - Devin Cooney 
Most Valuable Teammate - Kylar Code 
 
Men's Wrestling  
Co-Most Valuable Badger - Mason Mastroianni and Yazdan Farokhizad 
Emerging Badger - Javier Tonita-Charriez 
  
Women's Wrestling  
Most Valuable Badger - Mia Friesen 
Emerging Badger - Emma Chartres