Meet Concordia’s Athletes of the Year

Veteran rugby player Joey Fulginiti has straightforward advice his fellow student athletes: don’t take the game for granted.

“It’s a rare opportunity,” he says. “So get to know other athletes at Concordia, whether they’re in football, soccer, hockey or basketball. Be part of that family. Bcause before you know it, you're going to be done.”

Veronica Keefe, a long-time wrestler, agrees.“Make friends with the other teams. I didn't do that for the longest time — I went to school, went home, trained and that's it — and I kind of regret that, because it's part of the experience.”

In April, at a celebratory banquet attended by more than 400 people, Fulginiti and Keefe were named the university’s male and female Athletes of the Year.

Both had exceptional seasons: Fulginiti led the provincial scoreboard with 121 points in eight regular-season games, and Keefe won gold at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport National Championships in Fredericton. 

While Keefe will return for another year of competition, Fulginiti is graduating this spring.

The highlight of his final season as a Concordia Stinger?  Fulginiti says it was his team’s 19-13 win over McGill University, which came almost three years to the day after they had last beaten the Redmen. A late-game play by Caleb Jordan sealed the victory.

“We might have been up by three points or so, and they were inside our 22-yard line,” Fulginiti says. “He just read the play beautifully, intercepted the pass from their line and took it 70 yards down the field, untouched. When he scored, there was a sense of relief: ‘We might actually do this thing.’ ”

Keefe’s victories were equally sweet. Less than three months after clinching gold at the 2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Johannesburg, South Africa, she arrived in Fredericton hoping to win the 2014 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Wrestling Championships.

“During the first round, the matches went pretty smoothly,” she says. “Then I had a tougher opponent in the finals.”

That was Olivia Di Bacco from Brock University, “one of the better ones.” Keefe triumphed, and took home the title.

Fulginiti and the Stingers men’s rugby team lost in the provincial finals of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec to their crosstown rivals. Nevertheless, the match capped an incredible season for the accounting student from Saint-Lazare, Quebec. Fulginiti was named the most valuable player in five of the eight regular-season games in which he played.

“In a coach’s career, it’s rare to get an opportunity to work with an athlete who so totally dominates the competition,” says Clive Gibson, head coach of the men’s rugby team. “He was a joy to coach — hard-working, dedicated and skilled.”

After completing his final exams, Fulginiti will be readying himself for another summer season at the Beaconsfield Rugby Football Club.

Keefe, meanwhile, is preparing for a national wrestling tournament in Calgary. The outcome will determine whether she’ll represent Canada in upcoming international competitions, including the World University Championships in Hungary this July. She’s also got her sights set on the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Looking ahead to her last season at Concordia, Keefe has resolved to get even more involved as a Stinger.

“At the banquet, they kept saying how your last year is great, and that you’ve got to get to know everybody,” she says. “I’ve started doing that a little bit, even though we don’t train on campus. I’ve started going into the complex and talking to people, and I think next year is going to be really good for that. It’ll be more ‘Stinger-ish.’ ”

See the full list of Concordia Stingers awards-night honourees.

Three Stingers football players are taking part in the 12th annual East West Bowl at Western University on Saturday, May 10 at 1 p.m. Slotback Jamal Henry and wide receiver Shayne Stinson will play for the East, while kicker Keegan Treloar will suit up for the West. The all-star game is designed to showcase Canadian Interuniversity Sport players who will be eligible for the 2015 CFL draft. Stream it live.