High school track and field stars, former figure skaters, and a host of Thorold’s past and present greatest athletes will join the Runway of Recognition this March.
Bob Elliott, chair of the annual event, appeared at city council last Tuesday to announce this year’s inductees.
In addition to being honoured at the 13th annual banquet on March 26, all award recipients will be added to the wall of fame in the Thorold Arena.
Elliott recalled how the Runway idea originated in 2006, when former Globe and Mail Editor and Thorold born, Wilf Slater approached then Mayor Robin Brock, asking how Thorold could honour its sports heroes.
Brock formed a steering committee, made up of Elliott and city staff, as well as Tim Whalen and Cindy Dickson.
In 2007, they began by inducting 10 athletes, and the wall of fame now features more than 100 local athletic individuals and teams; the current committee having grown to include six members plus a council representative.
In 2008-09, the “Trombone” award was added in honour of Albert Ciancio, to recognize volunteers who “have a tremendous impact on sporting life,” said Elliott.
Ciancio worked in the Thorold parks department for years, and supported local athletes.
This year’s Trombone award will go to Steve Krawchuk, “who has spent a lifetime of coaching in Thorold.”
His dedication to volunteering to the sport of girls’ softball has spanned many decades. During that time, Elliott noted, “He’s done everything from buying equipment to lining the fields.”
Daryl Mahler was an athletic director and beloved coach at Denis Morris High School, who died tragically in a car accident at age 48 in 2009. With the Daryl Mahler Coaching award, his memory lives on.
Bill Mirpa is this year’s recipient, based on his “30 years of working with the TAAA in a variety of sports.”
National gold medalist Deandre Fournier has been named the Wilf Slater Male Athlete of the Year. The Thorold Secondary School student triple-jumped his way to a new record while competing in Brandon, Manitoba this past summer with the Thorold Elite Track and Field club.
Samantha Keltos, a junior basketball player with the St. Francis College Brooklyn Terriers in New York, has captured the Irene McInnis Female Athlete of the Year award.
For the second time in three years, the TSS Eagles football team has been crowned champs of the Niagara Football League. This year’s perfect 8-0 record has earned the students the 2018 Team of the Year award.
Other Runway of Recognition recipients this year include:
Lonna Jorgenson, a championship figure skater in the 1970s; the 1985 peewee hockey team, which took both the OMHA and OHA titles; Denis Morris running back Dave Graffi, who was drafted by the Hamilton Tiger Cats and his brother, Mike Graffi. Both boys played football at Wilfrid Laurier University, and Mike also played as an offensive for the Hamilton Tiger Cats as well as for Ottawa in the CFL.
The award ceremony will take place at John Michael’s Banquet Centre in Thorold South. Tickets cost $20 and are available at the Thorold Community Credit Union, located at 63 Front Street South.
