Mount Allison University Physical Recreation and Athletics - Seven Fall Sports Mounties Nab All-Star Honour

SEVEN FALL SPORTS MOUNTIES NAB ALL-STAR HONOURS

Seven of Mount Allison’s fall sports athletes have been recognized and honoured for their skill at many levels from regional to national this year. Soccer Mountie Curtis Michaelis was awarded the conference’s Student-Athlete Community Service Award while teammate Ian Kelly was selected as a first-team all-star striker in the league. Five Football Mounties won all-conference status as Kelly Hughes, Gary Ross, and Adam Molnar were named to the 2008 offensive team while Scott Sheffer and Callan Exeter cracked the defensive squad of all-stars.

Left to right are:

1. Callan Exeter (AUS football, defensive all-star, free safety),
2. Kelly Hughes (AUS football, league MVP, offensive all-star quarterback),
3. Adam Molnar (AUS football, offensive all-star, receiver),
4. Gary Ross (AUS football, offensive all-star, receiver and punt return, special teams),
5. Scott Sheffer (AUS football, defensive all-star, tackle),
6. Ian Kelly (AUS soccer, first-team all-star, striker),
7. Curtis Michaelis (AUS soccer, Student-Athlete Community Service Award).

Michaelis received the soccer conference’s Student-Athlete Community Service Award for his ability to combine his soccer skills with academic excellence and volunteer/community work. A 5'7" senior midfielder/fullback for the Mounties, Curtis is a past captain with Dartmouth High School and a member of the Dartmouth United Club team. A two-time Academic All-Canadian, Curtis is a current Dean's List student enrolled in sociology and geography at Mount Allison. A talented student-athlete with a social conscience and a great academic mind, Curtis entered Mount Allison four years ago with a prestigious Bell Scholarship. Off the field, he has diverse interests and gives of his time to a variety of worthy causes. Curtis' talents include singing, and he often performs for numerous charity events and social gatherings and plays large parts in entertaining, organizing, and volunteering for such worthy events such as: Shinerama, Relay For Life, Society of All Nations, Mount Allison Open House, Eco-Action, Free the Children, Habitat for Humanity, and Mount Allison’s own Conduct Becoming, a student-produced album in aid of cancer research. Curtis also works as programmer for CHMA, the University radio station, and as sound designer for the community’s annual Garnet and Gold theatre production.

Soccer teammate Ian Kelly won his second consecutive AUS all-star award being honoured with a first-team selection this year. His four goals and feisty play led a much-improved Mountie squad to several wins over conference opponents this season. A 5'9" resident of Summerside, PEI, Ian is a former two-time Three Oaks High School MVP, and was also Rookie of the Year for the Mounties and Mount Allison in 2004-05. This past university season (2007-08) Ian won second-team AUS all-star honours and last summer he was a member of the Dartmouth United team. Ian is currently in his fifth year of the Commerce program and is majoring in honours economics.

For the Football Mounties, third-year quarterback Kelly Hughes is the 2008 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Most Valuable Player, and a nominee for the Hec Crighton Trophy which honours the top university football player in Canada. From Brampton, ON, he led the Mounties to a 2-6 record this season and a berth in the playoffs.

The 2008 season saw Kelly lead the conference in passing yardage with 1,870 yards, passing attempts (251), completions (137), touchdown passes (11) and had a pass efficiency rating of 122.9. In addition, the versatile QB proved to be a weapon in the Mounties’ ground attack, rushing the ball 89 times for another 616 yards and two TD's. Hughes averaged 77.0 rushing yards per game and his 616 yards were second only in the conference to all-star running back James Green of St.FX.

In just his third season with the Mount Allison program, Kelly has passed for 5,145 yards, an all-time school record, and is just the tenth QB in conference history to eclipse the 5,000-yard mark in a career. Hughes currently holds every Mounties’ single-game, single- and career-passing record.

One of Hughes’ favourite targets for the past three seasons has been three-time all-star receiver and special teams man, Gary Ross, of Windsor, ON. Ross, who led the conference in receiving and all-purpose yards in just seven games this year, has now been selected as an all-star receiver and the special teams Player of the Year in each of his three seasons in the league. His 47 receptions in 2008 were a new Mount Allison school record and one shy of the Atlantic conference record of 48 in a single season. He is ranked second in CIS punt returns and ninth in the nation’s receiving stats.

The third member of Mount Allison’s offensive all-star trio is second-year Mountie, Adam Molnar, a 5’10”, sure-handed wide receiver from Beamsville, ON. With an uncanny ability to get open on the field, Adam finished third in AUS receptions, averaging 15.1 yards per game with two touchdowns, and added six kick-off returns for 136 yards during the season. He is enrolled in third-year Commerce and comes to Mount Allison from Denis Morris Catholic High School in St. Catharine’s, ON.

Defensive all-stars were once again led by the tough 6’3”, 275-pound defensive tackle Scott Sheffer, a resident of Bedford, NS, and a graduate of Prince Andrew High School. In his fifth and final year of Commerce, Scott is again a first-team All-Canadian candidate and was an AUS 2007 all-star as well. He finished his season ranked seventh in the AUS with 34.5 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and one quarterback sack.

Defensive teammate Callan Exeter had an outstanding season at free safety for the Mounties. In his second year with the team, Callan shattered the AUS record for tackles in a season and for a single game (16). Finishing with 77.5 tackles he placed first in the AUS and first in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national rankings. At 6’2” and 185 pounds, the free safety had great instincts for the ball and played all year with real consistency. His stats also included three interceptions. A former all-star with the Oshawa Hawkeyes and graduate of Dunbarton High School, Callan is currently a resident of Ajax, ON and enrolled in second-year Commerce at Mount Allison.

While the CIS soccer all-stars have already been determined, the national football awards are yet to be announced next week as the Vanier Cup activities get started.