May 9, 2019...TORONTO- The Niagara College Knights Athletics and Recreation Department celebrated two of their own last night at the 2019 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Toronto.
The celebration marked the OCAA's ninth Hall of Fame ceremony that saw 25 newly honoured members entered as student-athletes, coaches, and builders of the association.
Long-time Knights Intercollegiate Coordinator and Niagara College staff member, Ray Sarkis, was officially inducted into the OCAA Hall of Fame in the class of 2019. Sarkis, along with four other OCAA colleagues, was acknowledged in the 'Builder' category for the OCAA, which recognizes their extraordinary and/or exceptional contributions to the development and advancement of the OCAA as a member of the executive committee, as a convenor, or as a committee chair, and for their devotion to the OCAA.
Devotion to the OCAA, as well as Niagara College, is an understatement for Sarkis. On top of recently celebrating his 40th year with the Knights, Sarkis first began his long tenure of volunteer positions with the OCAA in 1996 when he became the Men's Volleyball Senior Convenor until 2002, when his role within the OCAA expanded the following year.
Beginning in 2003, Sarkis took on the role as the inaugural Vice-President of the OCAA Board of Directors, a position he held for two years before becoming President of the Board for another two years until 2007.
Over the course of his career within collegiate sport, Sarkis has spent his time volunteering on various OCAA committees, serving as both Chair of the Ways and Means Committee as well as the Constitution Committee. Sarkis currently serves as the men's volleyball national convener for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), a position he has held for the past eight years.
The Knights also celebrated the induction of former women's basketball student-athlete, Kaitlyn McKenna. The former CCAA All-Canadian is one of the most decorated Niagara athletes of all-time.
Through five seasons in a Knights uniform (2005-08/ 2009-11), McKenna led the team in scoring all five seasons and was named team MVP four different times. Always finishing near the top of the OCAA leaderboards in scoring, her most dominating season came in 2007-08 when she led the OCAA with 230 points on route to becoming the first female Niagara College athlete to be named a CCAA All-Canadian. McKenna ended her career in the navy and white as the Knights all-time leading scorer with 970 points.
McKenna joins Lois (Lamb) Stoorza as just the second Niagara College women's basketball player to ever be inducted into the hall.
