To watch him play soccer, dangling the ball on his foot as if it was attached by a string, leaving opponents dumbfounded in his wake as he races up the field, Kensho Ando makes it appear effortless, like he could pull off those moves in his sleep.
In his second season with the UNBC Timberwolves, the 23-year-old from Tokyo, Japan emerged as one of the top playmakers in Western Canada, leading the Canada West Conference with five assists as the heart and soul of the T-wolves midfield’ attack. His seven points in 12 games put him in the top-10 in the league and he led Canada West in tackled in the attacking and defensive ends of the field.
Standing just five-foot eight, Ando established himself as a Timberwolves star and he was rewarded for his efforts Sunday when UNBC handed out its annual varsity athletics awards. Ando was named co-winner of the T-wolves male athlete of the year award, sharing the honour with basketball guard Tyrell Laing.
“It’s crazy I was named (for the award), it’s an honour,” said Ando, an international business major. “It’s a great experience. Maybe I could influence UNBC and have some good impression about Japanese students and I think that’s what I can bring with this award.
“It’s not been easy for me, I had to adapt everything, the soccer style (in Canada) is totally different. I met Steve (head coach Simonson) and assistant coaches Rob (Lewis) and Fran (Bartolillo) and they obviously helped me to improve myself. I think I improved tons since I came here and I’m glad to have the hours (working with his coaches).”
Laing, a Prince George Secondary School graduate, turned in another stellar season in his senior year. The 2019-20 Canada West scoring champion averaged a team-high 18.9 points per game and was fourth in the league scoring race this past season while setting career-highs for rebounds (62) and assists (63, ninth-most in the league). In his final regular season game Laing became the all-time T-wolves scoring leader with 1,180 points.
This is the second consecutive year Laing has been chosen for the top male athlete award and it’s the first time in the T-wolves’ history the award has been shared with another athlete.
“It’s super-special, just being able to represent the place that I grew up in has been a dream come true for me,” said Laing. “To pull this off and win it a second time back-to-back is just a tribute to a lot of hard work. Whenever we make it tough for the athletics department in terms of who stood out above the rest I think we’re doing something right, because we’re competing and pushing each other.”
Laing, who turns 24 on Thursday, is no longer eligible to play basketball but plans to come back to UNBC in the fall to finish up his community development degree and help the team as an assistant coach.
Basketball guard Alina Shakirova is UNBC’s female athlete of the year. In her fourth season she averaged 18.5 points, second in Canada West, and nobody did it better from the free-throw line as she hit 92 of 114 attempts.
Shakirova came to Prince George in 2014 from Moscow, Russia and played two years of high school basketball at Duchess Park. She suffered a knee injury that kept her sidelined for the entire 2019-20 season and like the rest of her teammates did not play in 2020-21 when the pandemic forced cancellation of the season.
”It’s a little unexpected but I’m definitely thankful, it’s a big honour to be called one of the bet female athletes in the whole school because there are so many amazing athletes,” said Shakirova. “It just means all the hard work paid off.
“It’s been a pretty good season for me. I’m really glad. It’s been tough after the injury and a COVID year. I’m just glad we were able to play and even better that it was such a great season.”
Majoring in psychology, as a foreign student the 24-year-old Shakirova has no regrets about leaving her familiar surroundings in Russia to come to Canada.
“It’s really interesting experience and it’s healthy to learn so much and grow as a person so I have no regrets and I’m glad I made the decision to come to Prince George,” she said.
Shakirova was selected a Canada West second-team all star and her winning the UNBC’s top athletic honour came as no surprise to her coach.
“She deserves it because she’s a super- hard worker, she’s always in the gym just to get her shots and if there’s anything she doesn’t know she always asks and she’s always ready to sacrifice her time for the team and for the community,” said T-wolves head coach Sergey Shchepotkin.
In other department-chosen awards, soccer forward Kjera Hayman of Penticton was picked as female rookie of the year. She started 10 of 12 games and scored three goals, second-most in UNBC’s program history for a rookie. She’s already cracked the T-wolves top-10 list for most career goals scored.
Darren Hunter was named male rookie of the year. The Edmonton native earned his playing time coming off the bench and finished in the top-five in UNBC’s all-time freshman record book for points, assists, free throws and three-pointers and was in the top-10 in rebounds, steals and minutes played.
Fourth-year soccer defender Mitch Linley of Fort St. John won the KJM Sales Timberwolf Award, handed out to the student-athlete who excels in athletics, academics, and community service. Linley was among a record 38 T-wolves athletes named an Academic All-Canadian (a 3.67 grade-point average on a scale of 4.0 is required). He also served s president of the Timberwolves Student Athlete Society and was an instigator in numerous fundraising efforts.
UNBC public address announcer Joran Wingerter won the Kaz Ikuta Award as the most dedicated T-wolves staff member.
The T-wolves team award winners were as follows:
Men’s Soccer
Most Valuable Player: Kensho Ando
Best Defensive Player: Cody Gysbers
Green and Gold Award: Mitch Linley
Golden Boot (Most Goals): Owen Stewart, Michael Henman
Women’s Soccer
Most Valuable Player: Kiana Swift, Brooke Molby
Offensive Player of the Year: Kjera Hayman
Defensive Player of the Year: Avery Nystedt, Kalista Kirkness
Green & Gold Award: Cara Brawdy
Men’s Basketball
Most Valuable Player: Tyrell Laing
Most Inspirational Player: Vova Pluzhnikov
Zane Robison Award (Most Dedicated Player): Chris Ross
Best Defensive Player: Fareed Shittu
Practice Wins Leader: Vova Pluzhnikov
Rookie of the Year: Darren Hunter
Women’s Basketball
Most Valuable Player: Alina Shakirova
Best Defensive Player: Sveta Boykova
Rookie of the Year: Sarah Kuklisin
Most Improved Player: Anastasia Soltes
Leadership Award: Emma vanBruinessen
