LU announces Athletes of the Month

Lakehead Athletics announced Tuesday the winners of the Thunderwolves RBC November Athletes of the Month.

This month’s honoured student-athletes are women’s cross country runner Tess Naroski, men’s cross country runner Andrew Nixon, women’s volleyball player Vanessa Chorkawy, women’s wrestler Aislynn Torfason, men’s wrestler Corey Lee, men’s hockey player Brock McPherson, women’s basketball player Lindsay Druery, and men’s basketball player Greg Carter.

Tess Naroski – Women’s cross country
Naroski, a junior from Thunder Bay enjoyed a breakout season for the Thunderwolves and capped her strong fall with her first appearance at the CIS Championships, Nov. 14 at Fort Henry in Kingston, Ont. In her first national meet experience, Tess finished 105th in a 5 km time of 19:52.5, preparing her well for future seasons as she continues to develop as a runner.

Andrew Nixon – Men’s cross country
Freshman and local runner Andrew Nixon enjoyed a solid debut year with the Thunderwolves as he competed at the Nov. 14 CIS Championships at Fort Henry in Kingston, Ont., alongside teammate Jonas Holmberg. Andrew battled to a 38th place finish in a 10-km time of 33.06.2, and was the fourth freshman to cross the finish line.

Nixon also competed at the National Junior Championships at Guelph, Ont., Nov. 28, and earned a strong 10th place finish – just six seconds off the top six placement needed to secure a spot on the Canadian national team. This meet closed an impressive campaign for Nixon during which he earned OUA rookie of the year honours and became an OUA second team all-star.

Vanessa Chorkawy -- Women’s volleyball
A sophomore from Lively, Ont., Vanessa Chorkawy has been at the forefront of the Thunderwolves women’s volleyball team’s improvement throughout the season and was player of the game in the team’s first win of the OUA regular season at home against the Windsor Lancers.

In matches against the Lancers and the Brock Badgers, Vanessa played in 6 games, tallying 32 kills, seven service aces and six blocks for 45 total points – 42.9 per cent of Lakehead’s total team offence over that span. Her November averages of 5.3 kills, 1.2 service aces, 1 blocks, and 7.5 points per game have moved her up among the OUA stats leaders in several offensive categories. Chorkawy is currently first in the OUA in PTS/G (5.31), tied with two others for first in SA/G (0.62), second in K/G (3.92), and seventh in B/G (0.85).

Aislynn Torfason – Women’s wrestling
A native of Winnipeg, Torfason, a sophomore, has continued her development as an OUA and CIS-contending wrestler with a pair of second place performances at November meets with the Thunderwolves.

Torfason’s first second place result came at the Greater Toronto Open, Nov. 14 at Ajax, Ont. She closed the month with a trip to the 59-kg finals at the Ontario Senior Championships, Nov. 28 at Barrie.

Both meets saw the former OUA bronze medalist perform well against her main conference competition, setting her up for a strong second half of the season starting at the Brock Invitational in January.

Corey Lee – Men’s wrestling
Lee, of La Salle, Ont., has opened his 2009-10 season with consistently impressive efforts and has established himself as a strong contender both provincially and nationally.

The Greco-Roman specialist followed up on his October win at the McMaster Invitational with his second, first place finish of the year, Nov. 14 at the Ajax, Ont.-hosted Greater Toronto Open. Facing Canadian senior national team-level competition at the Ontario Senior Championships at Barrie, Ont., Lee grappled to a second place result in the 84-kg weight class – one of the toughest at the meet.

Brock McPherson -- Men’s hockey
Senior forward Brock McPherson, of Brampton, Ont., ended November as the OUA’s second-leading scoring with 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) following a month of sizzling offensive production. In six November games, McPherson potted 10 goals and added six assists for 16 points.

Firing 28 shots on goal in those games, the two-time Wolves’ leading scorer found the back of the net 35.7 per cent of the time with four of those scores coming on the powerplay and one serving as the game winner in a November 6 win over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. McPherson won a staggering 62 per cent of his faceoffs and had a +4 rating as the Wolves went 4-1-1 in games in which he appeared.

Lindsay Druery -- Women’s basketball
Junior forward, Lindsay Druery, of Smithville, Ont., led the Thunderwolves to a 4-3 record in November, posting near double-double numbers of 10.9 points and 9.7 rebounds (sixth OUA) per game.

Druery shot at a 43 per cent clip from the field for an LU team currently ranked first in the OUA and fourth in the CIS with 75.3 PPG. Defensively, Druery contributed four blocks and four steals in the month. Highlights of Druery’s month include: a 12 point, 13 rebound performance in a win at Queen’s; a 18 point, 15 rebound, 3 block effort in a win at York; and a double-double of 12 points, 12 rebounds in an overtime loss at Laurentian.

Says Wolves’ head coach Jon Kreiner: "Lindsay has worked very hard over the summer and her efforts have been rewarded with a great start to the season. She has been our most consistent player and has also been a tremendous leader in the locker room. I feel she has only scratched the surface of her potential."

Greg Carter – Men’s basketball
A sophomore commerce student from Ottawa, Greg Carter helped the young Thunderwolves to a OUA West Division-leading 7-1 start in conference play. A 5-foot-9 point guard, Carter anchored the Lakehead defence with strong pressure and set the table for his team with excellent game management on the offensive end.

His solid all-around stats are indicative of a balanced team attack as the former OUA West all-rookie, has averaged 9.4 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game throughout the OUA West-East interlock schedule. "Greg's ball pressure and ability to disrupt the opponent's half court offense has been one of the keys to a good month for the team," says Thunderwolves head coach Scott Morrison. "His increased free-throw percentage of 71 per cent is also a sign of his improvement and added experience in finishing off games in the fourth quarter."