De Grasse, Wiggins in running for 2015 Syl Apps Ontario Athlete of the Year
Yorkregion.com
Feb.8, 2016
By Michael Hayakawa
Two York Region residents are in the running to be the recipient of the 2015 Syl Apps Ontario Athlete of the Year award.
Markham resident Andre De Grasse, 21, and Vaughan resident Andrew Wiggins, 20, were among eight candidates selected.
A Milliken Mills High School graduate, De Grasse made his presence felt on the track and field scene after capturing the men’s 100 metres and 200m at the National Collegiate Athletic Association championships during his first year in attending the University of Southern California.
Also running for Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games, De Grasse won gold in the men’s 100m and 200m.
At the IAAF World Championships, he ran off with a bronze medal in the 100m and helped Canada win a bronze in the men’s 4 x 100m relay.
Shortly after the world championships, De Grasse signed a lucrative deal to turn professional with Puma valued at around $11.25 million U.S.
A former student at Vaughan Secondary School and the University of Kansas, the six-foot, eight-inch Wiggins was the first overall draft pick in the 2015 National Basketball Association draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers before he was dealt during that offseason to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While with Minnesota, Wiggins averaged 16.9 points a game and was awarded the league’s Rookie of the Year honours.
The son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and Canadian track athlete Marita Payne, Wiggins is currently in his second season with Minnesota.
Other nominees included: Kadeisha Buchanan, a member of Canada’s women’s team, Kia Nurse, a point guard with Canada’s women’s basketball team and currently in her sophomore year at the University of Connecticut and member of their women’s basketball team, Brooke Henderson, a professional golfer who was last year’s Syl Apps award recipient, Damian Warner, a Canadian track and field decathlete performer, Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman and Brad Sinopoli, Ottawa Redblacks wide receiver.
To be eligible for the award, athletes must be Ontario-born or Ontario-based and made an outstanding and memorable contribution to Ontario sports during the previous calendar year.
In choosing the 2015 Syl Apps Ontario Athlete of the Year, the public are asked to participate by making their selection and can do so by logging on to: www.oshof.ca or www.ontariosportshalloffame.ca
The winner will be recognized at the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, 2016 induction ceremony and awards gala at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel’s grand ballroom Oct. 17.
The Syl Apps Ontario Athlete of the Year Award was unveiled in 1998 and is named after former Toronto Maple Leafs captain and Olympic pole-vaulter Syl Apps.
