Introducing the finalists for Griffins' 2019-20 Female Athlete of the Year
MacEwan Athletics
In a new world of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are announcing all 2019-20 Griffins award winners online. Here is our schedule:
March 25: Most Improved winners for each team (Find the story here)
March 26: Most Outstanding winners for each team (Find the story here)
March 27: Team of the Year (Find the story here)
March 28: Academic Team of the Year (Find the story here)
Monday: Female Rookie of the Year (Find the story here)
Tuesday: Male Rookie of the Year (Find the story here)
Today: Female Athlete of the Year
Thursday: Male Athlete of the Year
Our Female Athlete of the Year award goes to the individual who had the greatest performance of any female Griffins student-athlete (in good academic standing) over the course of the 2019-20 season.
Here are our finalists for the award. The winner will be announced at 4:30 p.m. today.
Morgan Casson, women's hockey
Awards: ACAC first team all-star … Named Sutton Place Player of the Month for March.
Stats: 8G, 9A, 17 PTS in 21 regular season games; 2G, 2A, 4 PTS in 4 playoff games
Synopsis: As team captain, Morgan Casson led by example on and off the ice, guiding the Griffins women's hockey team to a historic 21-win season, which matched the ACAC record. In a dominant playoff performance (four points in four games), she led the Griffins to a 2-0 series lead on the NAIT Ooks in the best-of-five championship series before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Casson finished third on the team in scoring (and second on the Griffins in points per game), but brings so much more to the table as arguably the premier two-way player in the ACAC women's hockey ranks. Her responsible defensive game set the tone for a team that allowed just 34 goals against in 24 regular season games.
Off the ice, Casson has been involved in all of the team's community initiatives through Griffs Do Good Deeds, including Read-In Week, Grow Girls Hockey, the Salvation Army, Boyle Street Hot Lunch Service and many more.
Jamie Erickson, women's soccer
Awards: U SPORTS first team all-star (MacEwan's first ever) … Canada West first team all-star and top defensive player … Named to MacEwan Athletics' three stars list once (1st - Oct. 29).
Stats: 2G (both GWG), 2A, 4 PTS in 14 regular season games, 32 shots (10 on goal); GWG in 1-0 Canada West quarter-final win over Victoria.
Synopsis: As co-captain of the women's soccer team, Erickson saved her best for her fifth-and-final season with the Griffins, leading them to a program-best 9-2-3 record, marking the first time in program history they earned the right to host the Canada West Final Four.
Coming into the season after representing Team Canada at the FISU Summer Universiade in Italy, Erickson was dominant in the centre-back position for the Griffins, leading the team in every defensive statistical category.
Offensively, her four points were second-most by a centre-back in Canada West.
Off the field, her work in the community is extensive and includes volunteering for 72 hours in various capacities, including coaching, Santa's Anonymous and the Food Bank. She has a keen interest in medicine, majoring in biological sciences and has volunteered for more than 250 hours over the past two years at the Cross Cancer Institute.
She's also a member of MacEwan's Student Athlete Council.
Haley Gilfillan, women's volleyball
Awards: Canada West first team all-star (first in program history) … Sutton Player of the Month for November … Named to MacEwan Athletics' three stars list twice during 2019-20 season (3rd – Nov. 26, 3rd – Feb. 4)
Stats: 102 blocks (2nd in Canada West), 1.17 blocks/set (3rd in CW), .317 hitting percentage (5th in CW), 42 service aces (5th in CW), 0.48 aces/set (5th in CW), 290.0 points (15th in CW), 3.3 points/set (T14th in CW), 191 kills (22nd in CW), 2.20 kills/set (26th in CW).
Program record: Best single-season hitting percentage (.317)
Synopsis: As the team's leader on and off the court, Haley Gilfillan was a major reason why the Griffins had their best season in program history, finishing with a 17-7 record and earning the right to host a Canada West playoff series for the first time.
Gilfillan finished off her five-year career in style with a dominant season across the board, posting rare multi-category statistics for a middle blocker. Her hitting percentage of .317 broke her own program record (.316 set in 2016-17).
As a result, she became the first Griffins player to earn a spot on the Canada West first all-star team.
Gilfillan was not only the team's leader on the court, but off of it, too, spearheading the team's activities, responsibilities and community projects. Some of those include educational reading programs, coaching and running the annual Big Kahuna Showcase for high school all-stars.
