Curtis Lazar captained gold-medal winning Team B.C. while breaking Canada Winter Games hockey records set by Steven Stamkos and Sidney Crosby.
Preston Tucker was named the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year after an extraordinary year as captain and setter with the UBC Okanagan Heat.
Vasek Pospisil won his first main-draw singles match at a Grand Slam tournament at the U.S. Open in New York and was a clutch marathon man for Canada in Davis Cup matches.
All three Vernon athletes are nominated for the 46th annual Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards, presented by TELUS. The awards ceremony and gala dinner, goes March 8, at the River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond,
“We received a number of very strong nominations this year from our Provincial Sport Organizations,” said Sport BC’s Event Manager, Carey Summerfelt. “Sport BC’s Athlete of the Year Awards provides a great opportunity to give these talented athletes, coaches and officials the recognition they deserve.”
Lazar, a 16-year-old rookie centre with the Western League’s Edmonton Oil Kings, is nominated for Junior Male Athlete of the Year, presented by Triple O’s. The slick centre, who has 11 goals and 20 points through 36 games, is up against Pitt Meadows golfer Kevin Kwon and tennis star Filip Peliwo of North Vancouver.
Tucker is up for the College Athlete of the Year against badminton whiz Li (Melody) Liang of Burnaby (Douglas College Royals) and volleyball standout William Quiring of Abbotsford (Columbia Bible College Concords).
“Preston has impressive stats for a setter,” said Leigh Goldie, CCAA men’s volleyball convenor, last season. “He’s the best player on the top-ranked team.”
Now in his fourth year with the Heat, Tucker has twice been named a CCAA All-Canadian and BCCAA All-Star. One of the nation’s best setters, the Seaton Sonic grad can score points from both the service line and at the net.
Pospisil is nominated for the Senior Male Athlete of the Year along with Kamloops shot putter Dylan Armstrong and Victoria swimmer Ryan Cochrane
The 21-year-old, who still calls Vernon home despite moving to Vancouver as a pre-teen, cruised into the second round at the U.S. Open after dismissing Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in just an hour and 22 minutes.
He then played well versus his idol – superstar Roger Federer – in the second round, losing in straight sets, but becoming an instant Canadian tennis celebrity.
Pospisil is currently ranked World No. 124 in singles and No. 115 in doubles, both career highs. As Canada’s No. 2 in singles and No. 3 in doubles, he is an important member of the Canada Davis Cup team.
Terry Mosdell of Surrey, who helped the Vernon Tigers win national senior B lacrosse titles in the late 1970s, is up for Official of the Year, presented by MyBackCheck.com.
Each finalist was nominated by their provincial sport organization, high school or university, and voted for by a selection committee of B.C. sportswriters, broadcasters, athletes and amateur sport experts.
