EDMONTON – Canada West’s finalists for the conference’s 2019-20 Athlete of the Year awards were announced Monday, as the University of Saskatchewan and Trinity Western University took the spotlight.

Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey goalie Taran Kozun and women’s track & field athlete Michelle Harrison are both finalists, while TWU Spartans Eric Loeppky (men’s volleyball) and Jenaya Robertson (women’s soccer) also cracked the top three.

Rounding out the finalists were Calgary basketball star Brett Layton on the men’s side, and Manitoba female swimmer Kelsey Wog.

Huskie goaltender Taran Kozun earned a pair of CW men’s hockey honours this season, being named both the CW Player of the Year and Goalie of the Year. He would later go on to be named the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as U SPORTS men’s hockey Player of the Year.

The former Seattle Thunderbird led the conference in every major goaltending category, posting a 1.87 goals-against average, .931 save percentage, five shutouts, and 17 wins. Along with those sparkling numbers, Kozun also became just the second goalie in CW history to score when he found the net in January against the Calgary Dinos.

For Harrison, 2019-20 featured five medal wins and three records between the conference and national championship meets.

The fifth-year won gold in both the 60-metre hurdles and the 4×200-metre relay at the Canada West Championships in Saskatoon, setting new conference marks in both those distances to help the Huskies win their third consecutive CW title. At nationals, she set a new national record in the 60-metre hurdles, crossing the line in a time of 8.13 seconds.

Canada West’s Athletes of the Year, which are selected by the conference’s 17 members, will be announced Thursday, May 7th. The CW winners will move forward as nominees for the national awards, as U SPORTS hands out the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards later this year .