It was a special night for two members of the UBCO Heat two weeks ago at the 49th annual Kelowna Civic and Community Awards as men's golfer Justin Towill and cross country head coach Malindi Elmore were named the recipients of the Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards respectively.
It was a special night for two members of the UBCO Heat two weeks ago at the 49th annual Kelowna Civic and Community Awards as men's golfer Justin Towill and cross country head coach Malindi Elmore were named the recipients of the Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards respectively.
Towill, a native of Kelowna and graduate of Okanagan Mission SS, was recognized for his fantastic 2023 season, his final one at UBCO. He captured the individual title at the Canada West Championships for the second straight year, winning in a playoff thanks to an incredible chip shot on the third playoff hole to set up birdie. He also earned a 12th place showing at his first Canadian University/College Championship in June and tied for second at his home tournament, the Battle at the Bear, at the Okanagan Golf Club.
The accolade is just another in a growing list for the 6-4 lefty who was also recently named the UBCO Male Outstanding Athlete of the Year for the second straight year as well as earning a Community Sport Hero award back in February.
Towill also becomes the second consecutive UBCO student-athlete to take home the award after men's volleyball's Seba Manuel captured the award in 2022.
Elmore was named the Female Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years, and third time ever, after another strong year in 2023.
Ranked the top female marathon and half-marathon runner in Canada, she is preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics, her third trip to the Games, thanks to an impressive performance in Berlin last year. With a record smashing pace at her qualifying race in Germany, she finished in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 30 seconds, just 18 seconds shy of the all-time Canadian woman's marathon record. Elmore also placed second in the Ottawa marathon, a full 20 minutes ahead of the next Canadian, then was off to Japan where she ran Canada's fastest half-marathon by a woman in 2023. In Arizona, Malindi not only won the women's half marathon, but placed 11th out of all genders.
Two others in the UBCO Heat community were also finalists for awards at the event. Women's soccer forward Stefanie Young of Kelowna, B.C., was a finalist for the Female Athlete of the Year while the women's golf team was a finalist for the Bryan Couling Memorial Award, awarded to the team of the year.