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Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference "To be Canada's premiere collegiate athletic conference by developing and inspiring leadership through excellence in academics, sport and citizenship"
Posted: Apr 08, 2019

Matthew Travaglini & Desmond Wang named 2018-19 ACAC Male Athletes of the Year

Matthew Travaglini & Desmond Wang named 2018-19 ACAC Male Athletes of the Year

EDMONTON, AB (April 8, 2019) - The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is pleased to announce Matthew Travaglini of the SAIT Trojans and Desmond Wang of the Concordia Thunder have been selected as the 2018-19 ACAC Male Co-Athletes of the Year.

This prestigious award is based on personal level of achievement through competition, team level of achievement through competition, academic accomplishements and achievment, campus involvement and leadership, as well as community involvement. Both Travaglini and Wang were standout applicants in every way possible.

 

 

Matthew Travaglini, SAIT Trojans

Travaglini's 2018/19 season saw him achieve an abundance of success, including winning his second-straight ACAC cross-country running title and his second-straight Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) cross-country running title. Awards-wise, Travagalini was named the ACAC Cross-Country Male Runner of the Year, an ACAC Cross-Country Running All-Conference selection and a CCAA Cross-Country Running All-Canadian – all for the second time in as many seasons.

 In the winter semester, Travaglini continued his excellent year with gold medal performances in the 1,500-and 3,000-metre races at the ACAC Indoor Track Championships – after which, he was named the ACAC Indoor Track Male Runner of the Year for the second-straight season.

His performances on the trails and the track helped his Trojans men's team earn their third consecutive team titles in both cross-country running and indoor track.

Away from competition, Travaglini has been involved in the Trojans' Make Some Noise for Mental Health campaign, and is a successful Geomatics Engineering Technology student.

 

Desmond Wang, CUE Thunder

Wang, a second year Bachelor of Science student from Edmonton, Alberta, had an incredible year for the Thunder badminton team. Desmond posted an impressive 9-0 record in men's doubles and 12-0 in mixed doubles over four ACAC tournaments including the ACAC Championship where he captured the mixed doubles gold medal with his sister Takeisha. At the CCAA National Badminton Championships in Truro, Nova Scotia, the duo of Desmond and Takeisha would go 7-0 to completed the perfect season and capture the CCAA Mixed Doubles Gold Medal.

 "As a second year player Desmond has embraced a leadership role on the team. His confidence and consistency was on full display this season. What makes Desmond an excellent student athlete is his ability to understand the importance of academics during his time here, managing an honours average to match his athletics success. He is an exciting player to watch on the court and I look forward to doing so for many years to come," said Director of Athletics, Joel Mrak.

This will be the second year in a row that Desmond has won a CCAA gold medal. In 2018 Desmond stole the show as a rookie, dominating the field to capture the men's singles title. What made this year's season so special was that he was able to win the gold medal with his older sister Takeisha, as it is something they have wanted to do for some time. Additionally, Desmond was recognized as the CCAA Player of the Year, ACAC Male Badminton Player of the Year, CCAA All-Canadian and CCAA Academic All-Canadian.

Both ACAC athletes were so decorated both on and off their respective playing fields, the conference decided to honour both athletes with the Athlete of the Year award.

Honorable mentions and fellow nominees for the 2018-19 ACAC Male Athlete of the Year were Regan Fathers (Red Deer College Kings | MVB), Ryan McLaren (Concordia University Thunder | MBB), and Michael Harrison (University of Augustana Vikings | GOLF). 

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About the ACAC: The ACAC is the governing body for intercollegiate athletics in Alberta. Its mission is to provide competitive collegiate sport experiences, promote academic achievement and be a leader of sport development in Canada.

For more information on the ACAC, please visit our website: www.acac.ab.ca

For additional information, contact:

Mark Kosak, ACAC
Chief Executive Officer
403-875-7329
markk@acac.ab.ca

Wade Kolmel, SAIT
Atheltics and Recreation Director
(403) 284-8363
wade.kolmel@sait.ca

Joel Mrak, CUE                                           
Athletics Director                                       
780-479-9321                                             
Joel.mrak@concordia.ab.ca 

Twitter: @acac_sport / #ACACSport                      
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