Female Jessup Award Winners

Two of North Bay's finest female athletes will share the 2006 Britt Jessup Memorial Trophy at the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame dinner, April 21. The award is presented for outstanding achievement by a local level female athlete.

Julia Knox of Widdifield Secondary School and Kaytlyn Faucon of Chippewa Secondary School are both multi-sport athletes highly respected by coaches and fellow athletes. Both outstanding athletes epitomize sportsmanship, fair
play, and excellence in sport.

Knox has had an exceptional four years at Widdifield. She has excelled in five sports, and often has been the captain leading her teams to victory. She played basketball at Widdifield for four years. After winning a league MVP as a junior in 2003, she continued as the captain of the senior team.

"I saw first-hand how her tremendous work ethic, dedication, leadership and positive attitude benefited our team," said her basketball coach Shawn Plamondon.

"She showed her maturity in her ability to motivate teammates to play at a higher level in tough game situations. What further distinguishes Julia as an individual is her caring and giving personality. She continually displays her thoughtfulness and empathy towards
her peers, teachers and coaches."

Knox is also in her fourth year of volleyball at Widdifield, having played at the senior level since Grade 10. In 2006, the Wildcats won NDA and NOSSA championships and finished fifth at OFSAA. She was selected tournament MVP in Durham, one of many the tourneys the Wildcats have won throughout the province.

"Her job is to touch every second ball and distribute it without hesitation to all attacking positions," said Wildcats volleyball coach Mark Hopper.

"She pursues this goal with tact and precision unlike any other player at the high school level. Without a doubt Julia will be a setter at the next level. Her positive demeanour, composure, game analysis ability and presence on
and off the court make her the most coachable athlete that I have ever trained."

Knox is also one of the top golfers in Northern Ontario. In 2006, she won NDA and NOSSA championships and was second at the North Bay Golf & Country Club's junior invitational tournament.

At Widdifield, Knox also played hockey in 2006, serving as team captain. The Wildcats won the NDA exhibition season and went on to the NOSSA finals where they lost to a Sudbury team.

Knox has also been a successful ringette player, having won provincial championships with her West Ferris Ringette teams over the last few years.

Kaytlyn Faucon started off 2006 with an NDA championship in Nordic skiing.

She followed this performance with a win at NOSSA and a fourth-place finish at the OFSAA championship in Orillia.
After OFSAA, Faucon travelled to her third Canadian Nordic Championships in Thunder Bay with the North Bay Nordic Junior Racing Team. At the nationals, she registered a 15th-place finish and two other top-25 showings.

Faucon has been a member of the North Bay Nordic Junior Racing Team for five years and has competed on the Ontario Cup circuit, registering consistent top-10 performances.

After her ski season, Faucon continued right into track and field. She qualified for NOSSA with wins in both the 400-metre hurdles and the 400 m events. She earned a berth to OFSAA with a third-place finish in the 400 m hurdles.
Track season ended after OFSAA in June, but Faucon had already started her next sport, basketball. In May, she travelled to Sault Ste. Marie to try out for the North Juvenile Development Team. Faucon made the team and was appointed co-captain.

The team practised every weekend through May and June in Sault Ste. Marie and then travelled to Michigan for a tournament. The team's travels ended in Toronto at an all-Ontario tournament against the five other regions in the juvenile development program.

In the midst of all the track and basketball, at Chippewa's athletic banquet, Faucon received MVP in the three school sports she participates in (basketball, track and field and Nordic skiing), along with recognition as female athlete of the year.

In September, Faucon was named captain of Chippewa¹s senior girls basketball team. Over the course of the season, the team travelled to tournaments in Sudbury, Orillia and New Liskeard, where she was named to the all-star team at each tourney. She was also named the MVP of the NDA senior girls basketball league.

Unfortunately, the Raiders season ended with disappointing second-place finishes in both the NDA and NOSSA, but the battles were hard-fought. With high school basketball coming to an end, Faucon moved into the start of another Nordic ski season. She recently won both NDA and NOSSA to earn a berth to the OFSAA championships in North Bay, where she won an OFSAA gold medal. Recently, Faucon was named to the Ontario Development team for Cross-Country
Ontario. She will travel to Mont Ste. Anne for her fourth trip to the nationals, March 17-24.

Submitted to BayToday.ca