U SPORTS Canada announced the student-athletes selected as Top 8 Academic All-Canadians for the 2019-20 season.
On the men’s side, the nominees are UBC Thunderbirds swimmer Markus Thormeyer, Laurentian Voyeageurs basketball player Kadre Gray, Laval Rouge et Or cross country runner and track sprinter Jean-Simon Desgagnés, and fellow track and field star Matt Coolen of the Dalhousie Tigers.
This year’s female honourees include swimmers Kelsey Wog of the Manitoba Bisons, Marie-Lou Lapointe from the Montreal Carabins and Isabel Sarty representing the Dalhousie Tigers, along with Queen’s Gaels multi-sport star Sophie de Goede, who competes for the school’s women’s rugby and basketball teams.
Instead of a formal ceremony at Rideau Hall, the elite group will participate in a public virtual conversation with Her Excellency the Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, in mid-February, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“We are extremely proud of the Top 8 for their overwhelming academic success during the 2019-20 season,” said Dick White, Interim CEO of U SPORTS. “Faced with immense challenges, this year’s class of Academic All-Canadians adapted remarkably to altered COVID-19 learning environments, demonstrating their leadership in the classroom and in their respective communities.”
The selection of the Top 8 follows last week’s announcement of over 4,900 U SPORTS student-athletes who achieved Academic All-Canadian status in 2019-20, having maintained an average of 80 per cent or better over the academic year while competing for one or more of their university’s U SPORTS varsity teams. Among these outstanding individuals, one female and one male student-athlete from each of the four U SPORTS conferences are selected annually to make up the Top 8.
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