For the second year in a row, Co-Female Athletes of the Year headlined the Niagara College Athletic Banquet.
This year Julia Markle (St. George, ON) and Tessa Vahrmeyer (St. Catharines, ON) were honoured with the top award. They were joined by Gerrit Oldejans (Dundas, ON), as Male Athlete of the Year to round out the top athletic awards for the 2025-2026 season.
Student athletes and staff celebrated this year’s accomplishments recently with 167 awards being handed out, at the Stone Mill Ballroom in Merritton.
Markle, a second year skip, led the Knights women’s curling team to a gold medal at the OCAA Curling Championships, winning her second OCAA curling medal in as many years. She is on track to receive multiple academic awards for the 2026 winter term and was named OCAA Curling Championship MVP. She spearheaded her team’s run at the CCAA Curling National Championships in Regina, Saskatchewan, where the team would finish tied for 4th place and ultimately miss out on the playoffs in a tiebreaker.
Vahrmeyer, a second year forward with the Knights women’s soccer team, had an incredible season that culminated with a notch in the record books as she now takes over the regular season scoring record for the Knights with 14 goals. She started in all 12 of her team’s games this season and had five multi-goal games. Finishing tied for 1 st in the OCAA West Division, she caps off her season with a CCAA All-Canadian award, a CCAA Academic All-Canadian award, an OCAA West Division 1 st Team All-Star award, an OCAA All-Academic award, and an OCAA West Division Scoring Champion title.
Oldejans is a fifth year forward who has spent his last two seasons with the Niagara Knights. An individual who consistently demonstrates outstanding dedication, leadership, and perseverance, Oldejans always pushed his limits, supported his teammates, and represented the Knights with pride and sportsmanship. This year, he brought home the OCAA West Division Scoring Champion title, as well as being recognized as an OCAA 1 st Team All-Star, an OCAA All-Academic award winner, and a CCAA Academic All-Canadian. Setting himself apart through his hard work and passion for sport and academic excellence, Oldejans has set the standard for what it means to be a well-rounded student-athlete.
The following is a rundown of the Team-by-Team Leadership Award winners – in recognition of outstanding commitment, dedication, and leadership on and off the court/ice/field of play:
Men’s Basketball Noah Li
Women’s Basketball Aisja Strachan
Golf Luke Townsley
Men’s Soccer Noah Vogel
Women’s Soccer Aneisha Gobbels
Men’s Volleyball RJ Martin
Women Volleyball Samantha Cormier
Curling Cassandra Barnard
Team-by-Team Scholastic Award winner – in recognition of the top academic GPA for a Niagara College student athlete.
Men’s Basketball Noah Li
Women’s Basketball Alia Omar-Bujak
Men’s Golf Hazel Templeman
Men’s Soccer Noah Vogel
Women’s Soccer Sarah Haist and Grace Gray
Men’s Volleyball Sam Guzak
Women’s Volleyball Charlize Trudell
Curling Emma Riches
Team-by-Team Rookie Athlete of the Year award winners:
Men’s Basketball Joseph Buckley
Women’s Basketball Emma Venditelli
Golf Spencer Main
Men’s Soccer Anthony Hendriks
Women’s Soccer Savannah Speck
Men’s Volleyball Sam Guzak
Women’s Volleyball Amy Barlow
Curling Gavin Gaston
Team-by-Team Most Valuable Players:
Men’s Basketball Joseph Buckley
Women’s Basketball Lyric Shallow
Golf Aidan McVey
Men’s Soccer Gerrit Oldejans and Ferdinand Lokole
Women’s Soccer Tessa Vahrmeyer
Men’s Volleyball Jack Drummond
Women’s Volleyball Abbey Gooder
Curling Julia Markle
The Knights Athletic Awards Banquet is held to recognize top student athletes for their performance on the court, ice and field of play, and more importantly in the classroom. The night was also an opportunity to highlight the teams’ success and recognize individual accomplishments from the 2025-2026 season.
For more information on Niagara College Athletics visit goknights.ca
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
