Fencing standout Wintle named Jack Jarvis Trophy winner at Queen's Varsity Clubs athletic banquet

KINGSTON, Ont. (March 29, 2016) – Jasmin Aggarwal (Orillia, Ont.) of triathlon and Jimmy Wintle (Fonthill, Ont.) of men's fencing, were named the top student-athletes for the 2015-16 season at the 80th annual Colour Awards Varsity Club Athletic Banquet Tuesday night at the ARC Main Gym.

Aggarwal was awarded the Marion Ross Trophy, which is given to the top Varsity Club female student-athlete. Aggarwal continued to excel this season finishing in first or second in all races she took part in during her final season. She was atop of the podium at the Wolfe Island Duathlon, Swim Row Go and the Toronto Triathlon Club Invitational. Over her career, she finished with four first place performances, six second place finishes and two third place results.

The Orillia, Ontario native also excels in the classroom, as she is a  two-time Academic All-Star in her career. A leader on the team as both a coach and mentor, she dedicated her time working with teammates to improve their performances as well. Aggarwal will also be representing Canada at the International Triathlon Union Duathlon World Championship in Spain this summer. 

Wintle, completing his Ph.D. in rehabilitation science, was named the winner of the Jack Jarvis trophy, which is awarded to the top Varsity Club male student-athlete. 

A captain and student-coach with the fencing program, Wintle has been part of the Gaels three straight OUA championship teams from 2011 to 2013 and most recently has helped the Gaels earn two silvers and a bronze.
 
Individually, the seven-time OUA Academic All-Star, has one gold, three silvers and one bronze for Queen's while being named an OUA All-Star twice. Most notably, Wintle takes the time to give back to his team, school and community. From being the Varsity Leadership representative for fencing since 2011, sitting on the University Council on Athletics and Recreation, working with camps for Kingston youth to being a driving force behind the club's annual December contribution to the Partner's in Mission Food Bank.

With many standout performances by individual athletes in 2015-16, the Outstanding Performance of the Year (OPY) honour was awarded to Gill Pegg (Oro-Medonte, Ont.) of women's wrestling and rugby. 

The two-sport athlete had an outstanding year for the Gaels first on the field in the Fall with the CIS Championship host women's rugby team. Pegg was an OUA All-Star and CIS All-Canadian for the Gaels. At the national championship at home, Pegg helped lead the Gaels to massive upsets of No.1 Acadia and No.5 Concordia to earn a CIS Silver medal. She was also honoured as a CIS Championship All-Star for her efforts.

On the mat, Pegg took home an OUA gold medal while being named the female conference MVP and an All-Star. Then at the CIS Championship, she earned her second CIS medal of the year taking home bronze.

On Tuesday night, the Award of Merit Trophy was presented to the Queen's men's ultimate team who won both the Canadian University Ultimate Championship (CUUC) and the Canadian Eastern University Ultimate Championships (CEUUC). 

The Gaels, who finished as the runners-up to Manitoba in the 2014 CUUC national title game, enacted their revenge in 2015 defeating the Bisons for their third national title in program history. Queen's started off the championship with a 2-1 record in pool play. They then saw narrow wins over both Sherbrooke and Toronto before edging out Manitoba 13-12 for the national gold.
 
The Alfie Pierce award recipients for the top club rookies of the year were Jessie Pollett (Winnipeg) from women's fencing and Cameron Butler (Toronto) from men's squash. Pollett was a vital part of the women's fencing team clinching their third consecutive OUA title this year. She finished with a gold medal as a member of the women's foil team event and took the silver medal in the individual foil event at the OUA Championship. Butler stepped into the Gaels number one position and had an excellent showing at the OUA Championship where he was not only named the conference rookie of the year but found a spot on the All-Star team as well.

The Varsity Support Service Awards are presented each night to recognize the individuals who have demonstrated dedication and leadership while making a significant contribution to the success of the Queen's Varsity Sport Program in Athletic Therapy (Hal Dunlop Shield), Athlete Services, Home Events, Strength and Conditioning and Varsity Club Leadership. This year's Varsity Club Leadership winner was Brittany McEachern from triathlon.
 
Throughout the course of the evening, each Varsity Club also honoured their team award winners as the individual team leaders spoke of their team's successes throughout the year.
 
Tomorrow night, Queen's Athletics and Recreation will host the Colour Awards Varsity Team athletic banquet. Among the awards announced on Wednesday will be the Varsity Team rookies of the year as well as the Varsity Team of Year. Also handed out will be the PHE'55 Alumnae Award and the Jenkins Trophy, which will be awarded to the top fourth or fifth-year student-athletes.
 
QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS & RECREATION VARSITY CLUB AWARD RECIPIENTS FOR 2015-16
Marion Ross Trophy: Jasmin Aggarwal (Triathlon)
Jack Jarvis Trophy: Jimmy Wintle (Men's Fencing)
Outstanding Performer of the Year: Gill Pegg (Wrestling/Rugby)
Award of Merit Trophy: Men's Ultimate
Alfie Pierce Trophy (Female): Jessie Pollett (Women's Fencing)
Alfie Pierce Trophy (Male): Cameron Butler (Men's Squash)