The Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters hosted their annual Athletes of the Year Dinner on Sunday January 25 at the Delta Hotel in Winnipeg.  Basketball was well represented with the National Champion Manitoba 17U Male Provincial Team being recognized as a finalist for Team of the Year honours.  Individually, the National Championship MVP Will Kohler was singled out as a finalist as Manitoba Male Athlete of the Year.


The provincial team program was up against some high profile competition as the Olympic Gold Medalist Jennifer Jones curling team and Gold Medalist and professional hockey star Jonathan Toews were named as the top performers of 2014.

The 17U Male team was on hand to take in the ceremony.   The team brought home the first gold medal victory in this division for a team from Manitoba. Led by William Kohler's 20-point performance, the Manitoba squad defeated three-time champion Ontario 79-61 in the tournament final.

17U Male Assistant Coach Jon Giesbrecht (5th from left) pictured with other
representatives as Manitoba Team of the Year

Plaque presented to the 17U Team in recognition of accomplishments

Members of the Manitoba 17U Male team present at the MSSA Dinner (Left to Right; Back Row; Mason Foreman, William Sesay, Roger Milne, Frankie Tocci, Jacob Penner, James Wagner, William Kohler; Front Row, Asst Coach Jon Giesbrecht, Nikola Zorcic, Torrez McKoy, Keiran Zziwa, Zach Giesbrecht) 

MVP and Manitoba POY Finalist Will Kohler

Will Kohler (2nd from left) pictured with other finalists as Manitoba Male Athlete of the Year

The MSSA is a non-profit, fraternal organization of sports media members that operates an annual Athletes of the Year Dinner, hands out the Jack Matheson Award scholarship, recognizes the careers of sportswriters and sportscasters through the Media Roll of Honour and acts as an advocate for sports journalism issues.  Formed in 1955, the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, or MSSA, is an organization of working and retired sports media members in the province of Manitoba.  READ MORE...

The full Manitoba 17U Male team roster consisted of...




Uni #
Player
School
4
Torrez McKoy
Mennonite Brethren
5' 11"
5
Nikola Zorcic
Oak Park High School
5' 10"
6
Keiran Zziwa
Glenlawn Collegiate
5' 10.5"
7
Kieran McGrath
Glenlawn Collegiate
6' 3.5"
8
Zach Giesbrecht
John Taylor Collegiate
6' 0"
9
James Wagner
John Taylor Collegiate
6' 6"
10
David Smallwood
Dakota Collegiate
6' 0.5"
11
William Sesay
Oak Park High School
6' 2.5"
12
Mason Foreman
Lord Selkirk Regional
6' 5.5"
13
William Kohler
Oak Park High School
6' 7.5"
14
Jacob Penner
Garden City Collegiate
6' 8"
15
Roger Milne
Oak Park High School
6' 8.5"
PP
Frankie Tocci
Maples Collegiate
6' 6"
PP
Justice Lughas
St. Boniface High School
5' 9.5"
PP
Michael Ogoms
St Paul's High School
6' 3"









Coaching Staff


H
Dan Becker


A
Jon Giesbrecht


A
Darcy Coss


A
Marc Collier


VIEW ALL PLAYER PROFILES

WATCH FULL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BELOW OR IN CLASSIC GAMES COLLECTION


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