2022 Hall of Fame Bursary Winners Announced!
Congratulations to the 2022 Peterborough & District Sports Hall of Fame Bursary winners named tonight at a special ceremony held at the Memorial Centre. Family and friends gathered to recognize the athletic and scholastic achievements of these student-athletes. Each of the recipients received a bursary valued at $2000. Funds for the bursary come from the annual “Jack’s PDSHOF Golf Tournament”.
The following is a brief biography of each recipient’s accomplishments to date:
Haley Griffin- Honours student and a graduate of EDGE program at Crestwood Secondary School. She will be attending the University of Ottawa studying Biomedical Sciences.
In high school Haley participated in cross country running, Nordic skiing, track and field and lacrosse. She earned the Dysart Award in 2020 and 2022. She was MVP in cross country running and Nordic skiing 3 times. She earned her junior athletic letter and senior athletic letter as a result of her involvement in high school sport. She has developed her leadership skills as an assistant coach with the Peterborough Pirates Triathlon club and the Kawartha Lakes Lightning Track club. She has been a member of Crestwood student council and the Relay for Life committee and was just recently named Valedictorian for her graduating class.
In the community Haley has been involved with Dr. Shufelt’s kids triathlon and Lakefield Triathlon. She has been a life guard and swim instructor as well as an assistant swim club coach. She has also been a camp counsellor and waterfront co-ordinator at the YMCA.
According to Haley her most significant achievement has been her commitment to excellence and her resilience throughout the COVID pandemic – continuing to train on her own and set goals that she was able to achieve.
Haley’s coach says that she has a strong work ethic and always gives her best. She is very goal oriented and knows what she wants and does whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
Meghanne Hiltz – Honours student with specialization in the Sports Excellence and Athletic Leadership (SEAL) Program, graduate of Holy Cross SS will be attending Canisius College in Buffalo and studying at the School of Education and Human Services – as well as playing lacrosse.
In high school Meg played basketball, volleyball, lacrosse and was a member of the cross country running and track and field teams. She won numerous Kawartha and COSSA championships with her teams.
She developed her leadership skills as a member of the student athletic committee (SAC), as a participant in the SEAL program, is a certified basketball and lacrosse official and has been a camp instructor in lacrosse.
In the community she has been a member of the Lady Blue Knights lacrosse provincial championship team, a member of Team Ontario Lacrosse, a member of the United Lacrosse Elite league, and been captain of the Peteborough Power basketball team.
According to Meg her most significant achievement has been persevering through the pandemic and maintaining her strong academic standing as well as continuing to train and play lacrosse at an elite level.
Her coach says she treats her peers with respect and advocated for herself when necessary. In most instances she was chosen captain of the many high school teams she played on. She is a remarkable young woman who has a bright future ahead of her.
Nathaniel Oatway – Nathan is an honours student who graduated from Adam Scott. He will be attending Dalhousie University in Halifax Nova Scotia in the fall studying in the Bachelor of Commerce Coop program. He will be attending the Dalhousie Tigers Rugby training camp in August.
In high school Nate played football, basketball and rugby- was the captain of 6 of those teams – winning 7 COSSA gold medals and this past spring captaining the gold medal winning Rugby team at OFSAA. He earned many MVP awards in all 3 of his sports, earned his junior and senior athletic letter and was named Junior Athlete of the Year in 2019 and Senior Athlete of the year in 2022.
In the community he played basketball for the Peterborough Power and rugby for the Peterborough Pagans. He has developed his leadership skills through the OLP – outdoor leadership program at Adam Scott as well as through the the PYBA as a league referee and assistant gym convenor.
According to Nate his most significant achievement has been the development of his leadership skills through the opportunity that high school and community sport have provided for him. He utilized many of these skills during COVID by encouraging his peers to maintain a positive attitude and focus on the things that they could control.
His high school coach describes him as a “special athlete”- as comfortable on the field as he is on the court and in the classroom. His mix of natural ability, effort and persistence set him apart from his peers.
Mya Payne – Mya is an honours student who is a graduate of Thomas A. Stewart. She will be attending the University of New Brunswick in the fall studying in the Bachelor of Business Administration program.
In high school Mya played basketball, ice hockey, badminton, lacrosse and track and field. She was the captain of the basketball team and earned a bronze medal at COSSA in track and field.
She has developed her leadership skills by coaching short track speed skating, coaching soccer, been a timekeeper and scorekeeper for various sports. She is a member of Speed Skating Canada and has done some assistant coaching with the PGHA Ice Kats.
In the community she has played rep hockey for the Ice Kats for 4 years, lacrosse with the Ptbo Lacrosse club and been a member of the Kawartha Quarks speed skating club. She has been a volunteer with Kawartha food share, elementary track meets, a volunteer at the Lakefield speed skating oval and a volunteer for the Deaf Ed picnic with KPRDSB.
According to Mya her most significant achievement was overcoming significant health issues and learning to speed skate and now is one of the Elite skaters in her age category.
Her coach describes her as a dedicated athlete who is an inspiration to all the members of the club. She is a mentor to younger skaters taking her knowledge that she has acquired at higher level competitions and encouraging them to always do their best.
Good luck to Meg, Haley, Nate and Mya as you pursue your post secondary education!