Humber will be honouring its many great athletes and coaches at the 36th annual Humber Varsity Banquet this week.
The event on Thursday evening will highlight the many achievements Humber has accomplished since the beginning of the athletic calendar, and will give elite athletes and coaches a chance to receive personal awards.
Danny Medeiros is one of Humber’s many talents nominated for an award.
The first year Milton native is nominated for rookie of the year following a stellar season, winning both the provincial and national championship.
Danny Medeiros has his Humber athletics photo taken. Medeiros has embraced a new defensive role and managed an honourable man of the match award in the CCAA final. Photo credit: Humber Athletics
Medeiros found out about the nomination with an unexpected early surprise.
“I was eating breakfast, and I saw Humber Hawks tagged you in a post. I was stoked like let’s go, that feels good,” he said.
Along with the two prestigious titles sitting in Humber’s trophy case, Medeiros won the man of the match award at the national championship final in Langley, B.C.
He spoke of the added significance of winning this award in a school where seeing your name among the best is an achievement on its own.
“Humber athletics has such a big presence in Ontario sports. So it’d definitely be a massive honour to win that award for such a great program.”
At this year’s ceremony, several coaches and players will pose with the medals and rings they won during the season, and Medeiros shared how he views Humber’s recipe to success.
“Honestly, it’s just representing a badge with so much greatness behind it, representing a good coach and players that have played at such a high standard. It puts me at a level where I want to do the best I can every game.”
Following his successful debut year, Medeiros said that he does not shy away from recommending Humber athletics to others.
“When I talk to people about why they should play for the college, it’s more of the environment, such a pro environment. You get treated like you’re a top athlete and it’s not like any other college you know, you’re on a different level,” Medeiros said.
Shea Hilpert, who is nominated for the female rookie of the year told Humber News that she was thrilled with being nominated.
“I was shocked. I was actually at the zoo and I saw a notification that I was tagged. I was like, ‘Oh, this is actually happening,’” Hilpert said.
Shea Hilpert smiles for her headshot. Hilpert is a major hustler, managing two stolen bases in a match on three separate occasions. Photo credit: Humber Athletics
Hilpert notched 23 runs in 21 games and nine rbi and was awarded 2023 OCAA All-Academic in her studies, and a bronze medal in the 2022 OCAA tournament on the softball field.
The rookie outfielder has been playing softball since the age of six in her hometown of Waterloo.
She said she has had experience playing softball at a competitive level before, but she did not expect the nomination since in her opinion there are other collegiate rookies at Humber who performed as well as she did.
“I wasn’t sure on how I was going to perform at our level. My teammates were always pushing me to be a better athlete, even pushing me to be a better person. My coaches pushed me to be my best, they’re always there for you even if you’re having an off day,” Hilpert said.
“It’s pretty competitive, everyone has to earn their spot to be there,” she said.