Thirty-four School Athletes-of-the-Year honored at Sport Aurora’s ceremony at Town Park

A little pre-event drizzle didn't dampen the spirits of participants at Sport Aurora's 9th Annual School Athletes of the Year celebration on Thursday evening at leafy Town Park.

The rain held off for the ceremony and the breezy, 17-degree conditions were a welcome respite from six consecutive days of stifling humidity, torrid temperatures, and bad air days caused by wildfires in three provinces.

Amid the comparably fresher climatic conditions, Sport Aurora honored 34 student-athletes from 17 Aurora elementary and secondary schools.  The 29 winners who attended the ceremony showcased the abundance of local athletic prowess in the Town of Aurora. All honorees were selected as the 2025 School Athletes of the Year by their respective schools.

Sport Aurora President Ron Weese spoke glowingly about the honored athletes in attendance.

“The best part of hosting an event like is when I ask them how much they enjoy the sports they play.  You can see how enthusiastic they are about athletics and how proud the athletes are of their accomplishments,” he said. “The rounds of applause they get from the audience are tremendous public recognition for our dedicated and talented local school athletes.  It's also great to see the parents at these events and how appreciative they are to see their kids recognized by Sport Aurora.  The celebration of sport is one of our most important roles as an organization.”

In its 20th anniversary of service to local community athletes, teams, and organizations, representatives from Sport Aurora—including Weese, Emcee and ASHoF Inductee Alan Dean, Executive Director/Secretary Laurie Mueller, Vice President and former Aurora mayor Geoff Dawe, Treasurer John Reich, and Community Volunteer Recognition Event Emcee Stephen Forsey – distributed certificates of recognition to the top athletes as they crossed the stage of the Town Park band shell.

Local dignitaries augmenting the Sport Aurora executive on stage were MPP and Minister of Children, Community, and Social Services Michael Parsa (Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill) and Nadia Hansen who represented MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy (Newmarket-Aurora) in her absence.

The 2025 Aurora elementary school Student Athletes of the Year were: 

St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School - Sophia Venuto and Theo Marion;

St. Jerome Catholic Elementary School – Cohen Smith and Mia Dimmell;

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Elementary School - Cameron MacGillivray and Lawson Gamble;

Holy Spirit Elementary School - Katelyn Rantz and Nicholas Di Lucia;

Light of Christ - Katerina Mihaiescu;

Aurora Heights Public School - Kunyanut Jenchiewchan and Penn Duncan;

Northern Lights Public School - Jayden Fu;

Wellington Public School - Ethan Peng and Jacob Wahda;

Lester B. Pearson Public School – Beckett Hawthorne;

Hartman Public School - Ivan Yen and Mya Stickle;

Rick Hansen Public School - Kennedy Hunter and Liam Gao;

Devins Drive Public School - Tyson Navarro and Seth Morris and Kiana Ansari;

Regency Acres Public School - Rosha Nejad-Javadi

The 2025 Aurora secondary school Student Athletes of the Year were:

Cardinal Carter Catholic High School - Noah Wetzel and Abigail Lee; 

Aurora High School - Maddie Law Heese, Ali Worden, and Lucas Mochizuki;

St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic High School - Elliott Pileggi and Kaitlyn Toner;

Dr. G.W Williams Secondary School - Abigail Thompson, Karson Stickle, Ashlyn Donald, and Judah James.

By Jim Stewart
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter