Posted: Apr 03, 2020
Over the course of the week, we will be announcing our Varsity Award winners that would normally be honoured at our annual Black & Gold Athletic Awards Banquet, which has been cancelled due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
PRESIDENT’S AWARD
The President’s Award recognizes an individual who best combines athletics, academics, leadership and fair play; a combination for which we hope every student-athlete strives. One female and one male student-athlete are selected each year.
Matthew Coolen, Track & Field
A fifth-year civil engineering student with a cumulative GPA of 3.80, Matthew Coolen had another outstanding season on the track.
An AUS all-star for the fifth-consecutive season, he won the 60m, 60m hurdles and 4x200m relay at the AUS championships in February, helping the Tigers to their 18th conference title in 19 seasons.
A team captain the last four years, he won his fourth career national medal, winning gold in the 60m hurdles at this year’s U SPORTS championships. He previously won gold in the 60m event in 2018 and 2019, and silver in the 60m hurdles in 2019.
Matthew currently holds the AUS and Dalhousie records in the 60m, 60m hurdles and 4x200m relay. He is also the Nova Scotia record holder in the 60m and 100m events.
He and his fellow captains have been instrumental in changing the culture of the track and field team, helping to bridge the gap between all of the disciplines/event groups. A real team guy, he supports his teammates at each of their events in addition to scoring points at meets to help his team succeed.
In his spare time, Matthew collects track and field gear to donate to youth track and field groups and programs.