Vote For the Chatham-Kent Male Athlete of the Year

With 2013 coming to a close, it’s time to look back at the year’s top performers. For the first time, we’re looking to name a Chatham-Kent Male and Female Athlete of the Year, and we’re opening the voting up to you.

There are two ways to vote, click the poll below, or on our homepage, and comment below. A click on the poll counts as one vote, and a comment counts as one vote, giving every reader up to two votes per computer.

Next week, we’ll narrow it to our final four and let you vote again. When the New Year arrives, we’ll announce our Chatham-Kent Male and Female Athletes of the Year for 2013. Make sure you share this post, email to friends, and rally your communities to vote for your hometown hero.

Here are the eleven nominees for the 2013 Chatham-Kent Male Athlete of the Year:

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Max Allin (Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, OUA, Basketball, Chatham), Shaun Suisham (Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL, Football, Wallaceburg), Seth Griffith (London Knights and Providence Bruins, OHL/AHL, Hockey, Wallaceburg), Derek Whitson (Team Canada, Sledge Hockey and Soccer, Chatham), TJ Brodie (Calgary Flames, NHL, Hockey, Dresden), Jonah Pataki (Queens Gaels, OUA, Football, Wallaceburg), Andy Fantuz (Hamilton Tiger Cats, CFL, Football, Chatham), Dane Fox (Erie Otters, OHL, Hockey, Thamesville), Brady Campbell (Maine Blackbears and Elmira Sugar Kings, NCAA/GOJHL, Hockey, Blenheim), Chad Laprise (MMA, Chatham), Zach Herreweyers (Loyola Greyhounds and Peterborough Lakers, NCAA/OLA, Lacrosse, Wallaceburg).

To be eligible for this award, athletes needed to be born in Chatham-Kent, and trained or competed for a significant portion of their athletic career in Chatham-Kent. As well, athletes nominated for this award needed to have achieved excellence in their sport, not simply within Chatham-Kent’s borders, but on a Provincial, National, International, or Professional stage.