A spirited crowd spent the evening bidding generously on silent and live auction items, helping the Tigers generate valuable funds for our teams.
Presented by Morneau Shepell, Sportsnets’ Kevin Reid regaled the crowd with the accomplishments of this year’s class of inductees and A. J. Sandy Young Award winners.
Leanne & Jeanette Huck
The Huck sisters had an amazing impact on the success of the women’s soccer program in the 2000’s. They both played five years with the Tigers, sharing the pitch for two of those seasons. Between them they have five CIS all-Canadian selections, two AUS MVP awards, nine AUS all-star nods, six Tigers soccer team MVPs, four Dalhousie female athlete of the year awards and six academic all-Canadian honours.
Originally from Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia, Leanne and Jeanette came to the Tigers after successful high school and club team careers.
Leanne was the first to arrive on campus in the fall of 2003 after being recruited to both the soccer and track and field teams by then head coaches Graham Chandler (soccer) and Dan Hennigar (track and field). An MVP for both the soccer and track and field teams two years in a row at the Halifax Grammar School, she was also their female athlete of the year in her grade 11 and 12 years. She went undefeated in the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints throughout her high school career and still hold the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation record in the 200m event.
Leanne also represented Nova Scotia at the 2001 and 2005 Canada Summer Games as a member of the track and field team and placed fifth in the 100m and 200m events in 2001.
During her five years at Dalhousie, Leanne helped lead the women’s soccer team to three second-place AUS championship finishes. A striker, she was in the top five in scoring in four of her five seasons, netting 34 regular season goals during her career.
A four-time AUS all-star, Leanne is also a two-time AUS MVP and three-time CIS all-Canadian. The soccer MVP for three seasons, she was a four-time academic all-Canadian and was twice honoured with the Class of ’55 award as Dalhousie’s female athlete of the year.
As a sprinter with the track and field team, Leanne earned even more accolades. She won 13 events at the AUS championships in her five seasons as a sprinter for the Tigers. She was a member of the AUS champion 4x200m relay team in all five years and won the 300m event in four of her five seasons. She and her 4x200m relay teammates won silver at the 2003-04 CIS track and field championships before earning a gold medal the following season. The track and field team MVP in the 2005-06 season, Leanne earned a fourth-place finish in the 60m at nationals that year.
“Leanne Huck was a joy to coach and a leader on our team during her years at Dalhousie,” says former track and field head coach Dan Hennigar. “I will always remember her courageous CIS gold medal run in the 4x200m relay and her tears of joy as she celebrated success with her teammates. Her capacity to deliver as an athlete and connect with those around her made her the indispensable heart of our team.”
Three years after Leanne came to Dalhousie, Jeanette landed on campus in September 2006 after being recruited by Chandler and on the recommendation of her older sister. The summer before she started at Dalhousie, she represented Nova Scotia at the 2005 Canada Summer Games as a member of the women’s soccer team.
It was a special time for the Huck family in the fall of 2006. Leanne was joined by Jeanette and their older sister Tonya who transferred from Mount Allison. All three sisters would play two seasons for the Tigers together.
Jeanette soon made a name for herself in the league, earning AUS second team all-star and rookie of the year honours. In her sophomore season, she was again named an AUS second team all-star while helping the Tigers to a second-place finish at the AUS championship. At the end of the 2008-09 season, she earned AUS first team all-star honours and was named a CIS second team all-Canadian. The soccer team’s MVP, she was also named the Class of ’55 award winner as Dalhousie’s female athlete of the year.
A full back, she continued to shine in her final two seasons, earning AUS first team all-star and team MVP honours while landing in the top four in the conference in scoring both years. A CIS first team all-Canadian in her final season, she earned her second Class of ’55 award as the Tigers female athlete of the year.
"Over my 34-year coaching career, many happy memories of players, games, situations and events easily come to my mind,” says Chandler. “While the games, moments and events are memorable, without question it is the players and their personalities that shine brightest. So, it is fitting that the Huck sisters are being inducted to the Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame. Leanne and Jeannette were the epitome of the highest level of character and player profile I wanted in the women’s soccer program. Outstanding personal characteristics combined with excellence in the classroom and truly outstanding performances on the soccer field were equalled by a social and emotional responsibility on campus and in the community. That is their legacy. A coach could not ask for more from his/her leaders.”
2004 Women’s Cross Country Team
The 2004 Dalhousie Tigers women’s cross country team became the first and only AUS team to ever win a national university championship.
The Tigers got off to a great start that year, sweeping the top four spots in their first race on September 18 at the team’s home meet in Point Pleasant Park, and put a fifth runner in sixth-place to score a near-perfect 15 points. Janice Ashworth led from start to finish for the win with Leanna MacLean, Hilary Burn and a late-surging Karen Forward following her across the line.
A few weeks later, they flew to London, Ontario to race in Canada’s most competitive mid-season university cross country meet. The Tigers placed third behind Guelph and Western, with Ashworth leading from start to finish to earn her second win of the season. Burn and MacLean ran the first kilometre in deep amongst the other runners, before moving through the pack together and out-sprinting everyone but Ashworth to give the Tigers an unheard of 1-2-3 sweep. Forward finished in 13th and Cathy French also scored, placing in the top 85.
The next weekend’s meet saw the Tigers facing the best NCAA schools in New England and nationally ranked teams from as far away as Texas. Once again, the Tigers answered the challenge. Ashworth passed several NCAA all-Americans to finish second behind a two-time all-American from South Africa. MacLean, Burn, Forward and Sophie Williams all came up with amazing best-ever runs to give the team a fifth-place finish.
The final regular season race was held in the cold rain and mud at l’Université de Moncton. Although times were slow, Ashworth pushed through the elements to her earn her third victory of the year. Forward and MacLean were close behind, finishing in third and fourth respectively. Williams, Cathy French and Caroline McInnes crossed the line in sixth, ninth and 13th to secure the Tigers second AUS meet team win.
Hundreds of supporters came to Point Pleasant Park for the AUS championships. The Tigers came close to a perfect team score, with Ashworth leading MacLean and Burn to a podium sweep. Forward finished in fourth with Williams coming on strong over the final kilometre to place sixth. McInnes and French rounded out the scoring, crossing the line in ninth and 13th respectively, giving the Tigers their 17th conference championship win. Ashworth was named the AUS MVP for the second year in a row in addition to being an AUS all-star along with Burn, Forward, MacLean and Williams. Head Coach Dan Hennigar earned his second-consecutive AUS coach of the year award.
It was a magical day for the Dalhousie Tigers at the CIS championship held at the University of Guelph two weeks later. The skies were bright blue, the air was cold and the five-kilometre course was grassy with rolling hills. Despite a delayed start to the race, the team stayed focused and ready go.
Ashworth quickly distanced herself from the rest of the field along with the eventual champion from Guelph. She would cross the line in second to earn her second-consecutive CIS silver medal. Burn, MacLean and Forward, finished in fifth, seventh and 16th. Williams rounded out the scoring finishing in 29th while Cathy French and Caroline McInnes were 70th and 71st.
At the end of the day, the Tigers collected 59 points to become the first and only Atlantic University Sport school to ever win a national cross country championship title. Ashworth, Burn and MacLean were all named CIS first-team all-Canadians and Hennigar earned the honour of CIS coach of the year.
Randy & Nancy Barkhouse
The Dalhousie A. J. Sandy Young Award honours an individual for their outstanding contribution to Nova Scotia sports. It was conceived by the late Dr. Sandy Young, a professor of sport history in the School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie.
Randy and Nancy Barkhouse have been heavily involved in sport in Nova Scotia for over 50 years.
Randy came to Dalhousie University in 1964 to study physics before branching into mathematics and computing during a stay at Dalhousie that lasted over 42 years. While an undergraduate student he was a member and captain of both the track and field and cross country teams.
Over the years the husband and wife duo have organized various track and cross country meets in Halifax including an Eastern Canadian championship, a national cross country championship and a national university cross country championship. Randy and Nancy have both served terms at the president of the Nova Scotia Track and Field Association and Nancy was the team manager for the 1973 Canada Summer Games track and field team.
Both Randy and Nancy have illustrious officiating careers. Nancy officiated in both track and swimming and the first Canada Summer Games in 1969 but most notably both Randy and Nancy were officials at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. After decades of officiating at cross country meets in Point Pleasant Park, Randy served as meet director for the national university championship in 1993 and the chair of officials at the 2005 event.
As their three sons grew up, Nancy and Randy continued to give back to the Nova Scotia sporting community as officials, coaches and managers, branching out into youth soccer and volleyball. All three of their sons attended Dalhousie, with their second son, Aaron, excelling both in the classroom and on the soccer field. A member of the 2000 AUS championship team, Aaron was also and Top 8 Academic All-Canadian and a Rhodes scholar.
Randy and Nancy have remained active in the Dalhousie community over the years with Nancy serving as president of the Dal Alumni Association and on the board of the Black and Gold Club. They continue to be members of the Black and Gold Club, help with the cross country meets and encourage those around them to support the Tigers.