Kodiaks celebrate the 2025-26 season with KODI Awards

The Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks celebrated the KODIs Tuesday night, an annual award show dedicated to honouring the athletic and academic achievements of Kodiaks student-athletes throughout the 2025-26 season. The event brought together teams, employees, polytechnic leadership, friends of the Kodiaks and sponsors for an evening of recognition and celebration.

The awards recapped another incredible year for Kodiaks Athletics, which earned more than 45 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) honours including: eight CCAA Academic All Canadians, 16 All-Conference selections, three All-Tournament selections, two ACAC Rookie of the Year awards and 13 ACAC individual and team medals. The Kodiaks also anticipate at least 62 student-athletes will receive CCAA National Scholar honours as well as ACAC Academic Honours.

“The 2025-26 Kodiaks committed to the culture that has built the program to the level it is and again experienced a very memorable year,” says Todd Caughlin, Kodiaks Athletics and Recreation Services director. “The KODIs represent the opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the work that was done toward honouring the Three Pillars of Kodiaks Athletics, and this year’s teams did just that. Kodiaks Nation should be proud once again!”

The foundation of all KODI awards is built on the Three Pillars of Kodiaks Athletics: academic accountability, athletic excellence and the student-athlete experience. These pillars guide the selection process, which is carried out by members of the Kodiaks Athletics administration and coaching staff. Public input also plays a role, setting voting records year after year. This year’s vote set another record, with 935 participants.

The women’s indoor track team went home with the Best Championship Performance of the Year and the Val and Flora Matteotti Kodiaks Team of the Year, which they shared with the women’s cross-country team.

Khloe Jankowiak (third year, women’s soccer, futsal and indoor track, Lethbridge) earned the Tim Tollestrup Female Leadership Student-Athlete of the Year. Jankowiak was a CCAA Academic All-Canadian, two-time ACAC All-Conference selection, won an individual bronze medal in the 3,000-metre indoor track running event and played a significant role in helping the women’s indoor track team earn the program’s first championship banner.

Levi Balderson (second year, men’s basketball, Welling, Alta.) took home the Tim Tollestrup Male Leadership Student-Athlete of the Year Award. Also a CCAA Academic All-Canadian, he played a key role in guiding a young team to a successful season, leading the Kodiaks in multiple statistical categories and ranking among the ACAC leaders. He earned ACAC first-team all-conference honours and was named to the tournament all-star team after leading the championships in scoring and helping the Kodiaks capture a silver medal and qualify for nationals, where they finished fifth.

Taren Hayward took home the inaugural Coulee Glass and Aluminum Ltd. Assistant Coach of the Year, which is awarded to a Kodiaks assistant coach who best assisted the head coach and used the Three Pillars to build, guide and commit to their team’s success both on and off the court or field. Hayward played a major role in building the women’s indoor track program into a championship-winning team. She has worked tirelessly to recruit, develop and support the squad, while also helping multi-sport athletes balance demanding competition and training schedules. 

Ryan Heggie earned the Electrical Solutions Inc. Kodiaks Coach of the Year award. He guided a very young team to both conference and national success. The Kodiaks battled all season to qualify for the ACAC championships, where they pulled off a major upset – defeating the No. 1 seed and host school. The win earned them the Best Upset of the Year award, a spot in the championship final and a silver medal. They went on to compete at the CCAA national championship, finishing fifth in the country.

The women’s basketball team won the Comeback of the Year award after trailing for nearly the entire game playing the Briercrest Clippers at home on Jan. 23. Facing an 18-point deficit late in the fourth quarter the Kodiaks women locked in defensively and chipped away at the Clippers possession by possession, building momentum with every stop before erupting on a 24-0 run, taking the lead with just over a minute remaining and holding firm down the stretch to complete an unbelievable comeback victory.

Student-athletes Lauren Barker (fourth year, women’s volleyball, Calgary), Ethan Grasmeyer (third year, men’s cross-country and indoor track, Smithers, B.C.), Nathaniel Hosannah (second year, men’s basketball, Tacoma, Wash.), and Chase Wells-Creighton (second year, women’s basketball, Standoff, Alta.) were named winners of the Calgary Flames Harley Hotchkiss Leadership Award, recognizing student-athletes who excel in leadership, community involvement and academics, the “unsung heroes” of Kodiaks Athletics.

The full list of KODI Award winners is below:

KODIs special awards:

• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for Soccer/Futsal – Khloe Jankowiak and Adam Krisko
• Haylie Shoults Memorial Award – Paityn Lake and Moe Huska
• Alvin Tietz/Knud Petersen Award for Soccer – Kiara Jankowiak and Orien Domin
• Alvin Tietz/Knud Petersen Award for Futsal – Sophie DeMarsh and Emiliano Garcia Velarde
• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for Cross-country/Indoor track – Katrina Michel and Ethan Grasmeyer
• Gerry and Brian Stewart Memorial Award for Cross-country – Hallee Pilling and Owen Boucher
• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for Esports – Brayden Easthope
• Simulacrum Interactive Inc. Esports Leadership Award – Rhex Ledma
• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for Volleyball – Robyn Austin and David Kindley
• Alvin Tietz/Knud Petersen Award for Volleyball – Olivia Wideman and Malcolm Fisher
• Emmalee Cherweniuk Memorial Award for Women’s Volleyball – Aylah Vanderwerff
• Lethbridge Sports Legacy for Basketball – Nyomi Heins and Marley Kenion
• John Jasiukiewicz Award for Basketball – Summer Long and Nathaniel Hosannah

KODIs pillar awards

• Men’s soccer
• • Pillar award: Jordan Morello
  • Outstanding player: Moe Huska
  • Newcomer: Orien Domin

• Men’s futsal
• • Pillar award: Lazlo Lorenzo
  • Outstanding player: Cristobal Jacob Pares
  • Newcomer: Ya-Sin Benbrik

• Women’s soccer
• • Pillar award: Sammy Demchuk
  • Outstanding player: Megan Morrison
  • Newcomer: Paityn Lake

• Women’s futsal
• • Pillar award: Abigail Leusink
  • Outstanding player: Khloe Jankowiak
  • Newcomer: Alexis Bradford

• Men’s cross-country 
• • Pillar award: Arpandeep Singh
  • Outstanding runner: Ethan Grasmeyer
  • Newcomer: Zachary Hillier

• Women’s cross-country 
• • Pillar award: Livia Swift
  • Outstanding runner: Katrina Michel
  • Newcomer: Livia Swift

• Men’s indoor track 
• • Pillar award: Jonah Hennig
  • Outstanding runner: Owen Boucher 
  • Newcomer: Owen Boucher 

• Women’s indoor track 
• • Pillar award: Hallee Pilling
  • Outstanding runner: Paighton Kumson
  • Newcomer: Khloe Jankowiak

• Esports: League Of Legends
• • Pillar award: Keagan Fletcher
  • Outstanding player: Cole Russell
  • Newcomer: Edmund Maloff

• Esports: Rocket League
• • Pillar award: Liam Rose
  • Outstanding player: Branden Collar
  • Newcomer: Gabe Rahn

• Esports: Valorant
• • Pillar award: Brayden Easthope
  • Outstanding player: Keagan Fletcher
  • Newcomer: Ryan Bohnert

• Men’s volleyball 
• • Pillar award: Nate Calihoo
  • Outstanding player: Cameron Marshall
  • Newcomer: Corny Bergen

• Women’s volleyball
• • Pillar award: Reese Hanusich
  • Outstanding player: Robyn Austin
  • Newcomer: Madison Yates

• Men’s basketball
• • Pillar award: Rhett Lewis
  • Outstanding player: Levi Balderson
  • Newcomer: Randall Mongard

• Women’s basketball
• • Pillar award: Gaby Power
  • Outstanding player: Chase Wells-Creighton
  • Newcomer: Zoe Michelson