Chilliwackians Sarah Wierks and Aaron Pauls were named the University of the Fraser Valley’s athletes of the year on Tuesday evening, as the Cascades athletic department held its annual awards banquet.
Wierks, graduating after finishing her fifth year as a dominating centre with the women’s basketball team, was honoured for a historic season.
She was the first player in team history to earn Canada West first team all-star honours, and became just the second Cascades athlete across all sports to earn a CIS All-Canadian nod.
Wierks not only led Canada West in scoring at 19.2 points per game (good for fourth in the nation), she also put together the greatest rebounding season in conference history.
The Chilliwack secondary school alum set single-season Canada West records for total rebounds (307) and rebounding average (15.4), and tied the record for double-doubles (18). She also established single-game marks for offensive rebounds (12), defensive rebounds (20) and total rebounds (31). She led the nation in rebounding by a huge margin, finishing 4.1 boards per game ahead of her nearest competitor.
The male athlete of the year was Pauls, who made history of his own in 2014-15.
He became the first UFV athlete in any sport to be selected to participate in the World University Games, finishing 17th in the men’s golf event in Crans-Montana, Switzerland last June.
Thanks in part to his efforts, Team Canada finished fifth, its best-ever result.
Pauls also captained the Cascades men’s golf team to its third straight PacWest title and a bronze medal at CCAA nationals.
— The honours continued to roll in for Chilliwack’s Aaron Pauls Tuesday as he earned Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Academic All-Canadian honours for the 2014-15 season.
At the same time, he was also named a PacWest conference all-star.
“What I have come to realize is that the focus it takes to excel in golf is the same as the focus needed to succeed academically,” Pauls said. “If you can thrive under the stress of taking five classes, you have tapped into a key ingredient that will make you a better golfer. It’s something I have tried to pass on to the young players in our program.”
For more info, see ufvcascades.ca