Chatham-Kent June Athlete of the Month Voting

Below are CKSN’s nominees for the June 2014 Chatham-Kent Athlete of the Month.

Voting will continue until Tuesday, July 8, with the winner being named Wednesday, July 9. Poll votes, comments below, as well as Facebook comments (www.facebook.com/cksportsnetwork) and Twitter Retweets (www.twitter.com/cksportsnetwork) will be counted as votes. See below the poll for monthly accolades for each athlete.

Nominees in Alphabetical Order and Monthly Highlights:

Quinn Cannella (Chatham) – The Chatham runner scored a pair of OFSAA medals in early June, after dominating at Kent, SWOSSAA, and OFSAA West Regionals in May. In the Junior Boys 1500m, Cannella, who represented Chatham-Kent Secondary School won a bronze medal, and followed that up with a silver medal in the Junior Boys 3000m race. Later in May, Cannella won the 800m at the District ‘A’ Legion Track and Field meet to make the Royal Canadian Legion’s Ontario track and field championships district ‘A’ team, which will compete at provincials in August.

Bridget Carleton (Chatham) – Bridget Carleton opened the month representing the John McGregor Panthers at the OFSAA badminton championships with partner Ashley Herfst. At months end, Carleton was the leading scorer, and one of the top five statistically in the world, at the FIBA U17 World Championships in the Czech Republic as the star of Team Canada’s Cadette basketball team. Carleton scored 20-points against Hungary to open the tournament, and followed it up with a 14-point performance against Korea, both game highs.

Morgan Desjardins (Pain Court) – After sweeping through Kent, SWOSSAA, and OFSAA West Regionals in May, Pain Court’s Morgan Desjardins won a pair of OFSAA medals in June. Desjardins won the Junior Girls OFSAA gold medal in shot put, with a throw of 11.29 meters, and won a silver medal in discuss a day later, representing Ecole Secondaire de Pain Court.

Parker Gilhuly (Wallaceburg) – Parker Gilhuly had a big month of June in two sports. With the Wallaceburg Tartans Junior football team, Gilhuly had four touchdowns in a Kent semi-final win over John McGregor, and followed it with another four touchdown performance, with the shortest run being 50-yards, to help the Tartans win the Kent title over UCC. As a member of the Wallaceburg Red Devils Junior B lacrosse team, Gilhuly helped the Red Devils to a 7-1 record in June, scoring 3 goals and adding 6 assists.

Jesse Gross (Wallaceburg) – Wallaceburg Jesse ‘The Ghost’ Gross made a statement victory in Sarnia, Ontario as a part of the Pro Fighting Series III event, defeating Tony Hervey by a unanimous decision. The decision, 30-27,30-27,30-27, for Gross, was his ninth as a professional fighter.

Spencer Marcus (Chatham) – Chatham’s Spencer Marcus had a strong showing for the Western Counties Wolverines U14 ‘AAA’ baseball team in early June, collecting 7 hits and 8 RBIs, as well as pitching a 3 hit, 5 strike out, en route to a championship at the London Badgers Tournament title. Marcus was dynamic at the plate in numerous other appearances for the Wolverines. At the St. Clair Catholic Elementary School track and field meet in mid-June, representing St. Ursula, brought home first place finishes in Long Jump, Triple Jump, and Shot Put in the grade 8 boys division.

Tate O’Leary (Port Lambton) – Twelve-year-old Tate O’Leary had a big month in two sports. At South Buxton Raceway, the young driver, in only his sixth week of racing, won the Autotech Bomber feature on June 21. The youngster, technically a Port Lambton resident, who competes solely in Chatham-Kent, helped the Peewee Chatham-Kent Cougars to a perfect 3-0 record in June, including an Ontario Football Conference championship, anchoring his teams offensive line.

Emily Van Damme (Port Lambton) – Van Damme started one game for the Wallaceburg Red Devils Junior B lacrosse team in June, picking up a victory. She is one of only two recorded women to have ever played in the OLA Junior B loop. Van Damme also saw action in a win over Owen Sound. The Wallaceburg District Secondary School student was also named Team Ontario’s starting Junior goaltender for the upcoming National Championships.