The Kodiaks Celebrate the 2024-25 KODI Awards

The Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks celebrated the annual KODI’s on Thursday night, an award show dedicated to honouring the athletic and academic achievements of Kodiaks student-athletes throughout the 2024-25 season. The event brought together teams, staff, Polytechnic officials and sponsors for an evening of recognition and celebration.

The awards capped another strong season for Kodiaks Athletics, earning over 40 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and CCAA individual and team recognitions, 13 All Conference selections, 3 CCAA Academic All Canadians, 3 ACAC Rookies of the year selections, one Coach of the Year and 67 CCAA National Scholar and ACAC Academic Honor recipients!

“Always an amazing experience to celebrate all the Kodiaks student athletes for their achievements throughout another successful season,” says Todd Caughlin, Kodiaks Athletics and Recreation Services Director. “You look into the crowd of student athletes and know that there is a feeling that they may not have achieved what they wanted to and that goes to show where the bar is set for the Kodiaks level of achievements, and I am proud of every one of them for setting that bar that high!” 

The foundation of all KODIs awards is built on the three Pillars of Kodiaks Athletics: academic accountability, athletic excellence and the student-athlete experience. These Pillars guide the selection process, which is carried out by members of the Kodiaks Athletics administration and coaching staff. Public input also plays a role, with this year’s vote drawing 865 participants, a new record for the KODI’s.

The men’s volleyball team had a strong showing this year picking up the Val and Flora Matteotti Kodiaks Team of the Year, Best Comeback of the Year and Best Championship Performance of the Year.

Hannah Pilling (first year, women’s cross-country and indoor track, Cardston) and Nolan Moes (fifth year, men’s volleyball, Barrhead) were honoured as the Tim Tollestrup Leadership Student-Athletes of the Year. Pilling earned the women’s award following an outstanding debut season, where she consistently led her team and played a key role in helping the women’s cross-country squad capture a silver medal and qualify for nationals in cross country. Her performance earned her spots on the ACAC All-Conference team in both cross-country and indoor track, along with the title of ACAC Cross-Country Rookie of the Year. Moes received the men’s honour after capping off his final collegiate season in a dominant fashion. He ranked in the top five in the conference for total kills, kills per set, and hitting percentage, helping lead his team to a silver medal at the ACAC championships. Moes was also named to the ACAC Men’s Volleyball First Team All-Conference and the All-Tournament Team.

Greg Gibos earned the Electrical Solutions Inc. Kodiaks Coach of the Year award. Gibos led the men’s program to a regular season 17-2 record and guided his team to an ACAC silver medal after a year of competitive exhibition and regular season games against nationally ranked teams.

The women’s volleyball team won the Best Upset of the Year after navigating through a season filled with roster challenges the women’s team closed out the year with back-to-back weekend upsets over the number one teams in the south division altering the standings for the ACAC championships.

Student-athletes Samantha Demchuk (fourth year, women’s soccer and futsal, Whitehorse, YT) and Keegan Hartery (second year, men’s cross-country and indoor track, Saint John, NB) were named winners of the Calgary Flames Foundation Leadership Scholarships, recognizing student-athletes who excel in leadership, community involvement and academics – the “unsung heroes” of Kodiaks Athletics.

The full list of KODI award winners is below:

KODIs major awards:

• Tim Tollestrup Athlete of the Year (Male) – Nolan Moes (men’s volleyball)
• Tim Tollestrup Athlete of the Year (Female) – Hannah Pilling (women’s cross-country and indoor track)
• Val and Flora Matteotti Team of the Year – Men’s volleyball
• Electrical Solutions Inc. Kodiaks Coach of the Year – Greg Gibos (men’s volleyball)
• Calgary Flames Foundation Leadership Scholarship (female) – Samantha Demchuk (women’s soccer; futsal; KLC)
• Calgary Flames Foundation Leadership Scholarship (male) – Keegan Hartery (men’s cross-country; indoor track; KLC)
• Best championships performance – Men’s volleyball ACAC silver medalists.
• Best upset – Women’s volleyball. navigating through a season filled with roster challenges the women’s team closed out the year with back-to-back weekend upsets over the number one teams in the south division altering the standings for the ACAC championships.
• Best comeback – Men’s volleyball defeats Keyano at championships: Down two sets in the ACAC semi-final the Kodiaks pushed the match to a 5th set where they fought off multiple match points to take down the No. 1 team in the North in a reverse sweep.

KODIs special awards:

• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for soccer/futsal – Gracee Valgardson and Jaxon Uhl
• Alvin Tietz/Knud Petersen Award for soccer – Megan Morrison and Jordan Morello
• Alvin Tietz/Knud Petersen Award for futsal – Jordy Wright and Tristan Martin
• Haylie Shoults Memorial Award – Hannah Bradford and Tristan Martin
• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for cross-country/indoor track – Hana Oikawa and Hunter Graves
• Gerry and Brian Stewart Memorial Award for cross-country – Hannah Pilling and Owen Stewart
• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for Esports – Nathan Haberstock
• Simulacrum Interactive Inc. Esports Leadership Award – Chris Marynowski
• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for volleyball – Taryn Bach and Dario Gentile
• Alvin Tietz/Knud Petersen Award for volleyball – Emma Blumenschein and Ethan Nashim
• Emmalee Cherweniuk Memorial Award for women’s volleyball – Robyn Austin
• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for basketball – Annah Westrop and Rhett Lewis
• John Jasiukiewicz Award for basketball – Chase Wells-Creighton and Cole Lake

KODIs pillar awards

• Men’s soccer
• • Pillar award: Nikola Baljak
  • Outstanding player: Wilson Ntignee
  • Newcomer: Jordan Morello

• Men’s futsal
• • Pillar award: Tyler Munnings
  • Outstanding player: Jake Marshall
  • Newcomer: Bronson Schlicter

• Women’s soccer
• • Pillar award: Sammy Demchuk
  • Outstanding player: Shelby Bach
  • Newcomer: Sophie Demarsh

• Women’s futsal
• • Pillar award: Kiara Jankowiak
  • Outstanding player: Gracee Valgardson
  • Newcomer: Hannah Bradford

• Men’s cross-country 
• • Pillar: Keegan Hartery
  • Outstanding runner: Owen Stewart
  • Newcomer: Wacey Smith 

• Women’s cross-country 
• • Pillar: Hannah Smith
  • Outstanding runner: Hannah Pilling
  • Newcomer: Hannah Pilling

• Men’s indoor track 
• • Pillar: Hunter Graves
  • Outstanding runner: Jonah Hennig
  • Newcomer: Tyler Wiebe 

• Women’s indoor track 
• • Pillar: Rayanne Hoeflicher
  • Outstanding runner: Hannah Pilling
  • Newcomer: Hana Oikawa

• Esports: League Of Legends
• • Pillar: Cole ‘cloud’ Russell
  • Outstanding player: Chris ‘eggwhites101’ Marynowski
  • Newcomer: Angus ‘jkrrbbit’ Atwood

• Esports: Rocket League
• • Pillar: Nathan ‘po’ Haberstock
  • Outstanding player: Ty ‘redsolopup’ Hubka
  • Newcomer: Brandon ‘kai’ Collar

• Esports: Valorant
• • Pillar: Aaron ‘gnoochi’ Aquino
  • Outstanding player: Rizky ‘r1zzy’ Suptura
  • Newcomer: Brayden ‘keo’ Easthope

• Men’s volleyball 
• • Pillar: Tyler Chernishenko
  • Outstanding player: Nolan Moes
  • Newcomer: Brady Ewart

• Women’s volleyball
• • Pillar: Taryn Bach
  • Outstanding player: Aideena Wickstrom
  • Newcomer: Robyn Austin

• Men’s basketball
• • Pillar: Rylan Adrian
  • Outstanding player: Ryan Degner
  • Newcomer: Levi Balderson

• Women’s basketball
• • Pillar: Annah Westrop
  • Outstanding player: Halle Aleman
  • Newcomer: Bailey Blackmore