Canada West All Stars: Dinos, Huskies each with 8

EDMONTON – Saskatchewan fifth-year quarterback Laurence Nixon and Calgary running back Matt Walter headline the 2010 Canada West football All-Star team as both players rank among the best all-time in Canada West at their respective positions.

In addition, CFL Draft-eligible Alberta Golden Bears kicker/punter Hugh O’Neill has made the All-Star team for a fourth consecutive season.

Nixon, who hails from Richmond, B.C., passed for 2,424 yards and 16 touchdowns, including four in the final game of the regular season, as the Huskies claimed first place in the conference and finished the season with the #3 CIS national ranking. Nixon ended his career with 7,345 regular season passing yards, good for eighth on the all-time conference list.

In only his fourth year of eligibility, Walter ran for 763 yards and five majors, helping Calgary to a 6-2 record and the right to host a semifinal playoff game last weekend. Adrian Charles, Regina, was the other All-Star running back and the lone unanimous selection to the team.
Broken down by team, the Calgary Dinos placed nine members on the all-conference team, while Saskatchewan had eight. The 5-3 Regina Rams had seven All-Stars, followed by Alberta (3), UBC (2) and Manitoba (1)

Notable All-Stars…
Walter, 2008 Canada West Player of the Year, along with teammate Nathan Coehoorn and O’Neill are now All-Stars for a third straight season, and each was named a CIS All-Canadian in both 2008 and 2009. Dinos receiver Anthony Parker and Golden Bears DE Craig Gerbrandt are holdovers from last season who went on to make the 2009 CIS Second Team. There have been a string of accolades for both Walter, CW Rookie of the Year back in 2007, and O’Neill, who was actually an All-Canadian at punter and kicker in his first CIS campaign back in’07.

Patrick Neufeld (Saskatchewan), Sam Carino (UBC), Alex Krausnick-Groh (Calgary) and Pete Adams (Manitoba) each make the Canada West roster for a second consecutive season. New CIS field goal record holder Aaron Ifield (Calgary) makes his first appearance as an All-Star in this, his fifth and final season.

Picture: (left to right) Laurence Nixon, Matt Walter, Hugh O’Neill

Following is the complete list of 2010 Canada West football All-Stars by position, with program of study, year of eligibility and hometown (*denotes unanimous selection):

OFFENCE
Quarterback Laurence Nixon, Saskatchewan (5th, Richmond, B.C.)

Running Back *Adrian Charles, Regina (5th, Scarborough, ON)
Matt Walter, Calgary (4th Year, Calgary, AB)

Wide Receiver Nathan Coehoorn, Calgary (4th, Redcliff, AB)
Jade Etienne, Saskatchewan (3rd, Deer Valley, SK)

Inside Receiver Anthony Parker, Calgary (4th, Okotoks, AB)
Brenden Owens, Regina (4th, Regina, SK)

Tackle Paul Swiston, Calgary (3rd, Calgary, AB)
Patrick Neufeld, Saskatchewan (4th, Regina, SK)

Guard Reed Alexander, Calgary (3rd, Medicine Hat, AB)
Ben Heenan, Saskatchewan (3rd, Regina, SK)

Centre Nick Ternovatsky, Alberta (tie) (4th, Edmonton, AB)
Alex Krausnick-Groh, Calgary (3rd, Cochrane, AB)

DEFENCE
Safety Matt Yausie, Regina (tie) (5th, Saskatoon, SK)
Bryce McCall, Saskatchewan (3rd, Regina, SK)

Cornerback Sam Carino, UBC (4th, Burnaby, B.C.)
Jamir Walker, Regina (3rd, Regina, SK)

Halfback Tye Noble, Calgary (3rd, Winnipeg, MB)
Pete Adams, Manitoba (4th, Kelowna, B.C.)

Linebacker Sam Hurl, Calgary (2nd, Calgary, AB)
Bruce Anderson, Regina (5th, Port Moody, B.C.)
Peter Thiel, Saskatchewan (3rd, Regina, SK)

Interior Lineman Serge Kaminsky, UBC (3rd, Richmond, B.C.)
Akiem Hicks, Regina (3rd, Elk Grove, CA, U.S.)

End Craig Gerbrandt, Alberta (5th, Sherwood Park, AB)
Zach Hart, Saskatchewan (2nd, Saskatoon, SK)

SPECIAL TEAMS
Kick Returner Luke Thiel, Saskatchewan (2nd, Regina, SK)
Placekicker Aaron Ifield, Calgary (5th, Saskatoon, SK)
Punter Hugh O’Neill, Alberta (tie) (4th, Edmonton, AB)
Chris Bodnar, Regina (3rd, Saskatoon, SK)

Winners of the Canada West major football awards will be announced at 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time on Friday, Nov. 12.

On Saturday @ 3:00 p.m. MT the Calgary Dinos will host the Alberta Golden Bears in the 74th Hardy Cup game at McMahon Stadium. The game can be seen live across Western Canada on Shaw Television & Shaw Direct 299.

About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year since 1997-98. Comprised of 14 schools, from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, the CWUAA produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games. For more information, visit www.canadawest.org; follow “cwuaa” on Twitter.
A proud member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).

RSEQ (QUEBEC) 2010 ALL STARS
OUA 2010 ALL STARS
AUS 2010 ALL STARS