Awards
Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards: Message from Their Honours

U SPORTS Staff
Aboubacar Sissoko of the Montreal Carabins men’s soccer team and Kelsey Wog from the Manitoba Bisons women’s swimming squad were named the winners of the 2020 Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards Presented by Makadiff SPORTS, as U SPORTS Athletes of the Year for the 2019-20 season.
The winners were announced Thursday evening during a virtual awards show on CBCSports.ca due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
WATCH | Kelsey Wog and Aboubacar Sissoko accept their U SPORTS Athlete of the Year Awards
All eight nominees – one male and one female from each of the four U SPORTS conferences –received a commemorative ring from Baron, the Exclusive Provider of championship rings and recognition jewelry for U SPORTS. Sissoko and Wog also earned a unique custom-made sculptured fossil-stone trophy and will receive a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship to attend a graduate level, masters, or doctorate degree at a Canadian university accredited by Universities Canada.
The prestigious prizes handed out have also been rebranded this year to the Doug and Lois Mitchell Trophies after its champions: His Honour Doug Mitchell and Her Honour, the Honourable Lois Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. The Jim Thompson Trophy, formerly awarded to the U SPORTS Female Athlete of the Year, will be given to a distinguished alumni of the program beginning in 2021.
“These awards recognize the essential role that university sports play in shaping Canada’s future leaders,” said Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell. “Young people who compete at this elite level develop the integrity, resilience, teamwork and communication skills they need to excel no matter what challenges come their way, and to inspire others to do the same.”
Formerly known as the Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) and Howard Mackie Awards, the event is celebrating its 28th year and has been a staple celebration in the national sport community since 1993, recognizing Canada’s top athletes competing in university athletics within U SPORTS.
“These awards recognize the essential role that university sports play in shaping Canada’s future leaders”
Her Honour, the Honourable Lois Mitchell - Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
The winners were selected by a combined vote of the Canadian Athletic Foundation (75 per cent), a not-for-profit board chaired by His Honour Doug Mitchell and the public (25 per cent) on USPORTS.ca.
“It was no easy task to choose this year’s winners from such a strong group of nominees,” said Doug Mitchell. “I would like to thank the trustees of the Canadian Athletic Foundation for their service and outstanding commitment to helping support the athletes develop to their fullest potential.”
“On behalf of our entire membership, congratulations to both Aboubacar and Kelsey on being named the 2020 U SPORTS Athletes of the Year,” said U SPORTS interim CEO Dick White. “We are proud of your extensive accomplishments on the soccer pitch, in the swimming pool, and in the classroom and look forward to watching you become leaders both in the community and in the next stage of your athletic careers.
“I would also like to thank our partners, Their Honours Doug and Lois Mitchell, for continuing to celebrate our talented student-athletes for nearly three decades. It is a privilege to collaborate with you year after year to recognize excellence in Canadian university athletics.”
For a full list of all-time award winners and nominees click here.
The 2019-20 season concludes on Tuesday, June 30, with the announcement of this year’s U SPORTS Honours Awards and Student Media Awards celebrating leadership and contributions to university sports in Canada.
Soccer, Midfielder
Bamako, Mali
5th year
Arts and Sciences
After helping the program achieve its first national title in school history in 2018, Carabins men’s soccer star Aboubacar Sissoko picked up right where he left off.
The defensive midfielder and captain was effective at both ends of the pitch this season, scoring one goal and adding three assists, leading the team to a 9-1-2 campaign, and its third straight RSEQ title. To cap off his outstanding season, Sissoko was named RSEQ and U SPORTS Player of the Year.
Then at the U SPORTS Championship, Montreal nearly earned to back-to-back national banners on their home field. Following Nike Player of the Match honours in Montreal’s 2-0 quarterfinal win, Sissoko and the Carabins defeated the Cape Breton Capers in the semifinals – the third straight encounter between the two sides after a pair of consecutive championship final contests – before capturing the U SPORTS silver medal.
"Aboubacar is simply an extraordinary player and man. On the field, it's amazing the number of times he manages to get us out of difficult situations without us noticing, because of his intensity,” said Montreal head coach Pat Raimondo. “He is always in the right place and always makes the right decisions. Despite his great talent, he is very humble. He knows what he has to do to win and he does not hesitate to shine the light on others for the good of the team."
Sissoko’s performance earned him a free agent contract with the Canadian Premier League’s HFX Wanderers, a year after being initially selected as a development player by Hamilton’s Forge FC in the inaugural CPL-U SPORTS Draft. The arts and sciences major was also invited to Vancouver Whitecaps Training camp ahead of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season. Internationally, Sissoko capped twice during his junior career for the Mali national under-20 team.
In five seasons with the Carabins, Sissoko was selected twice as both an RSEQ First Team and Second Team All-Star. He also earned a spot on the U SPORTS Championship All-Star Team in 2017.
Sissoko is the second Montreal winner of U SPORTS Athlete of the Year in three seasons, and third overall, after women’s volleyball star and Canadian national team member Marie-Alex Bélanger took home the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Award in 2018.
Nominees
Swimming, Breastroke Specialist
Winnipeg, Man.
4th Year
Agricultural & Food Sciences
By the time Kelsey Wog's record-setting career at the University of Manitoba is complete, the hometown product's athletic résumé will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest in school history.
The fourth-year women's swimmer continued to shine in the pool this season, winning four national gold medals (50m, 100m, 200m breaststroke & 200m individual medley), with her 200m breaststroke and 200m IM golds coming in U SPORTS record fashion. Wog’s 2:22.42 in the 200m breast is the fastest time in the world in 2020, while her 100m breaststroke time of 1:06.44 was among the fastest in the last calendar year.
Thanks to her stellar national championship, Wog was named the U SPORTS Female Swimmer of the Year, following four-time winner, former world record holder and 2016 Canadian Olympian Kylie Masse – who captured the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Award two months before competing in Rio.
“Kelsey’s success comes from simple approach to improvement,” said Bisons head coach Vlastik Cerny. “She sets goals, works hard to improve every day and competes. When she reaches her goal, she sets a new one and repeats the process again. But one of her biggest strengths as a competitor is her resilience in times of struggle. She looks at stumbles as opportunities to improve which ultimately make her a champion.”
Speaking of the Olympics, those are a likely next step for Wog, who had her sights squarely set on the Canadian Olympic Trials prior to their cancellation due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Heading into 2021, her sights remain set on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, which are now scheduled for July of next year.
Internationally, Wog won a silver medal in the 200m breastroke at the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) held in Windsor, Ont. She has also represented Canada at the 2019 FINA World Championships, the 2018 Pan Pacific and 2016 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, and the 2017 FISU Summer Universiade.
Prior to dominating at the U SPORTS Championships, Wog earned four gold medals (50m, 100m & 200m breastroke,100m freestyle, and a relay bronze (4x100m medley) at the CW Championships in November of last year, with two of her golds coming in CW record times.
In addition, Wog competed last fall for the Cali Condors in the inaugural season of the International Swimming League (ISL), a new professional circuit featuring over 100 Olympians spread across eight teams. Wog touched the wall in second in the 200m breastroke (2:18.06) at the ISL Grande Finale in Las Vegas, helping the Condors claim second overall.
Wog is set to compete for the new Toronto Titans franchise in the next ISL season, after signing with the expansion club this spring.
She is the second Bison to be named U SPORTS Athlete of the Year, and first since basketball star Terri-Lee Johannesson in 1997.
Nominees
Awards
U SPORTS Staff