Audrey Leduc and Jonathan Sénécal named 2023-24 U SPORTS Athletes of the Year

CALGARY (U SPORTS) – Audrey Leduc, a sprinter from Université Laval, and Jonathan Sénécal, a football player from the Université de Montréal, are the Lois and Doug Mitchell Award winners as the U SPORTS Female and Male Athletes of the Year for the 2023-24 season. The laureates were announced Monday night in Calgary as the awards program celebrated its 31st edition, dating back to the launch of the Howard Mackie Awards in 1993.

All eight nominees – one female and male athlete from each of the four U SPORTS conferences – received a commemorative gold ring from Baron, the exclusive supplier of commemorative jewellery for U SPORTS. Leduc and Sénécal were also presented with a trophy and a $5,000 scholarship to attend a Canadian university graduate school.

The winners were selected by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, a not-for-profit board established to administer the Awards and protect the integrity of the selection process.

“We are so proud of the eight nominees this year. They are exceptional student-athletes and citizens,” said The Hon. Lois Mitchell, chair of the foundation board of trustees. “Audrey and Jonathan had outstanding seasons, demonstrating their adaptability to any condition they have faced on the field of competition and in the classroom. They are excellent recipients of the Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards.”

“On behalf of U SPORTS, I wish to congratulate Audrey and Jonathan on winning the Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards,” said Pierre Arsenault, U SPORTS CEO. “We had an exceptional group of nominees this year, with many national champions and athletes of the year winners in their sports. To be recognized like this is a wonderful accomplishment for Audrey and Jonathan, and we wish Audrey the best as she pursues her Olympic dream this summer.”

Leduc, who hails from Gatineau, Que., and is in her fourth year of U SPORTS eligibility, took home the Lois Mitchell Trophy, presented annually to the female winner, and is the third athlete from Laval to take home the national award, following volleyball player Marylène Laplante in 2006 and soccer player Arielle Roy-Petitclerc in 2017

Sénécal, who completed his third year of eligibility, returns home with the Doug Mitchell Trophy. The Mirabel, Que., product is the second male athlete from the U de M to win national athlete-of-the-year honours, following soccer player Aboubacar Sissoko in 2020.

This is the third time that Québec has swept the national honours, following 1999 (Corinne Swirsky of Concordia, Alexandre Marchand of Sherbrooke) and 2012 (Ann-Sophie Bettez and Marc-André Dorion, both of McGill).

The other female finalists were UNB basketballer Jayda Veinot of Port Williams, N.S.; Brock volleyballer Sara Rohr of Milton, Ont., and UBC soccer player Katalin Tolnai of Toronto.

The other male nominees were UNB hockey player Austen Keating of Puslinch, Ont.; Guelph runner Max Davies of Toronto; and Alberta volleyballer Isaac Heslinga of Orangeville, Ont.

- U SPORTS -

Audrey Leduc 

Laval

Track & Field (sprinter)

Gatineau, Que.

Fourth year

Master of Business Administration

Audrey Leduc, a fourth-year sprinter with the Laval Rouge et Or, is the 2023-24 U SPORTS Female Athlete of the Year. In her fourth season with the Rouge et Or, the Gatineau, Que., product won every race in her specialty, the 60-metre dash, and was named the U SPORTS Track Athlete of the Season for 2023-24.

The 25-year-old’s time of 7.21 seconds during qualifying at the U SPORTS Championships in Winnipeg was the fastest time run at that length in Canada this season. She later took gold in that event with a time of 7.26. When her Winnipeg performance is added to the 7.22 that she posted at the Carleton Last Chance meet and her 7.25 at the RSEQ Championship, Leduc came away with the top four 60-metre times in Canada this season. She also contributed to Laval’s silver-medal performance in the 4x200-metre relay, as the Rouge et Or finished in fifth place overall.

In the week before U SPORTS nationals, she competed for Canada at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, where she posted times of 7.22 and 7.21 in the 60-metre dash as she advanced to the semifinals.

After the U SPORTS championship was finished, she turned her attention to the outdoor season, and ran the 100-metres in 10.96 seconds on April 20 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, breaking the Canadian record set by the late Angela Bailey in 1987. On May 31, she added the 200-metre national record to her portfolio with a time of 22.36 seconds in Atlanta, shaving 0.14 seconds off the previous record, which was set by Crystal Emmanuel in 2017.

A 2022-23 Academic All-Canadian, she is set to compete at the 2024 Canadian track and field trials in June, with the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Games in Paris later this summer.