Women's basketball forward Jaeli Ibbetson and men's golfer Justin Towill were named the 2023-24 UBC Okanagan Heat Outstanding Athletes of the Year on Tuesday as the department of athletics and recreation hosted their Athletic Banquet at the Coast Capri Hotel.
Ibbetson, a native of Kelowna, B.C., closes out her decorated career by becoming the ninth women's basketball player to be recognized as the school's Outstanding Athlete of the Year. She was also named the Graduating Athlete of the Year, taking home two major awards in her final season at UBCO.
As for Towill, also a native of Kelowna, B.C., he becomes the first Heat athlete to repeat as Outstanding Athlete of the Year since men's soccer's Mitch McCaw and women's cross country's Veronika Fagan accomplished the feat in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Both Ibbetson and Towill will receive a $2000 prize courtesy of the Coast Capri Hotel for being named the Heat Outstanding Athletes of the Year.
Ibbetson was a force on the court for the Heat in her final season at UBCO as the 6-0 forward finished in the Top 4 in the Canada West conference for scoring, rebounding and assists during the 2023-24 season. She poured in 353 points and recorded 253 rebounds, both program records, while also posting a career-best 79 assists, the second most in a single season in team history. She also led the conference in double-doubles with 12 and recorded the first-ever triple-double in team history.
Thanks to her incredible season, she helped the Heat set a new team record for most wins in a season with 11 and led her team to their first-ever Canada West playoff victory. For her efforts, she was recognized as a U SPORTS Athlete of the Week and Canada West Athlete of the Week on two occasions and capped off the year by being named a Canada West Second Team All-Star.
"I am super thankful and it feels really special to be recognized," said Ibbetson on her award wins. "I honestly just need to give a huge shoutout to my team and coaches and everyone else who has supported me because I definitely couldn't have done it without any of them.
In his final season with the Heat, Towill earned his second consecutive Outstanding Athlete of the Year award after winning his second consecutive Canada West individual title in October. The 6-4 lefty birdie the 18th hole during the second round to reach the playoff and then won on the third playoff hole, lofting a touchy chip shot, from a short-sided position, within two feet of the hole to win the tournament. His performance also helped the Heat win their first-ever medal at the conference championship, securing the team silver medal.
During the 2023-24 season, Towill also finished 12th at his first-ever appearance at the Golf Canada Canadian College/University Championship and finished second at the Battle at the Bear, while place inside the Top 20 in two other tournaments.
"It's amazing," said Towill on winning the Outstanding Athlete of the Week for the second time. "You're up against so many incredible athletes. Coming into the night, I looked at all the nominees and I had no idea who was going to win. Even to be mentioned and nominated with all of those other guys is definitely an honour and to do it as my last thing I do in this program, in my final season, means the world to me. This place has been everything for me the last four years and it's really sad leaving but it's incredible to leave in this way."
The Heat also recognized their Rookies of the Year at the banquet with women's golf's Julia Alexander-Carew and men's volleyball's Jack Taylor taking home the hardware.
Alexander-Carew, a native of Oakville, Ont., was the Heat's most consistent performer during the course of a very strong season for UBCO. She finished inside the Top 10 in six of the seven events she competed in, including winning her first-ever university-level event, taking home the individual title at the Battle at the Bear in September.
At her first-ever appearance at the Canada West Championship, Alexander-Carew finished fifth in the tournament, leading her team to a silver medal at the event and over the course of the season, she was named the UBCO Athlete of the Week on five separate occasions thanks to her impressive play.
Joining Alexander-Carew as a Rookie of the Year recipient was Taylor, who took home the award for the men's sports.
The first-year outside hitter from Winnipeg, had a major impact in his first season despite it being cut short due to injury. In 12 matches, Taylor led all conference rookies in aces per set at 0.19 and digs per set at 1.72 while his 1.9 kills per set and 2.3 points per set were second-best among all Canada West first year players. His best performance of the season came in December against Manitoba as he posted 17 kills against his hometown team, the most in a match by a Heat rookie since 2018.
Overall, Taylor finished the season with 61 kills, 55 digs, six aces and 16 blocks for 75 points as he earned a spot on the Canada West All-Rookie team.
The final major awards that the department handed out on Tuesday evening were the Graduating Athletes of the Year which were awarded to men's volleyball's Téo Ardanaz and women's basketball's Ibbetson.
Ardanaz, a native of Tsawwassen, B.C., has enjoyed a decorated five-year career with the Heat that came to a close this season. The five-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian has left his mark at UBCO in the classroom, on the court and in the community.
On the court, Ardanaz, who has served as his team's captain for the past three seasons, finished his career in 2023-24 as the Heat's all-time leader in block assists with 260 and second all-time in total blocks with 287. In total, he appeared in 99 matches, recording 335 kills, 41 aces, 93 digs and 533 points.
Off the court, Ardanaz has been a member of the Heat Athletic Council's leadership group for the past two years, spearheading the department's community initiatives and helping to build internal community within the Heat teams. He also served as UBCO's representative on the Canada West Student-Athlete Engagement committee while also spearheading the student group responsible for bringing a successful student referendum to campus for a new Recreation facility
As for Ibbetson, she closed out her four-year career with the Heat this past season and has left a lasting legacy for the department. A four-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian, Ibbetson finishes her career with 1089 points and 716 rebounds, the second-most in women's basketball team history, as well as the all-time leader in assists with 211.
A seven-time UBCO Athlete of the Week, she twice was named a Canada West Second Team All-Star, just one of eight Heat athletes to ever be named a conference all-star on multiple occasions. She also became just the eighth player in Canada West history to record a triple-double this past season and she capped off her career by leading the Heat to their first-ever playoff victory.
Also recognized on Tuesday evening were each team's Most Valuable Players and Leadership & Community Service Award recipients.
Team MVPs
M Basketball - Jalen Shirley
W Basketball - Jaeli Ibbetson
M Cross Country - Owen Lloyd
W Cross Country - Tori Bouck
M Golf - Justin Towill
W Golf - Emily Cornwall
M Rugby - Jean-Louis Desgouttes
M Soccer - Malachi Emerson
W Soccer - Annika Gross
W Softball - Bella Green
M Volleyball - Zach van Geel
W Volleyball - Natalie Funk
Leadership & Community Service Awards
M Basketball - Cole Koop
W Basketball - Rachel Hettinga
M Cross Country - Joel Worman
W Cross Country - Emma Kearns
M Golf - Andrew Rouble
W Golf - Symone Ripley
M Rugby - Nicholas Gray
M Soccer - Jacob York
W Soccer - Sonia Sarai
W Softball - Mikhaela Muir
M Volleyball - Téo Ardanaz
W Volleyball - Abigail Dueck