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Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference "To be Canada's premiere collegiate athletic conference by developing and inspiring leadership through excellence in academics, sport and citizenship"
Posted: Feb 26, 2019

Ashton Simard Honoured as 2018-19 ACAC Women’s Curling Athlete of the Year

Ashton Simard Honoured as 2018-19 ACAC Women’s Curling Athlete of the Year

OLDS, AB (Feb. 26, 2019) – The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is pleased to announce Ashton Simard of the MacEwan University Griffins has been selected as the 2018-19 ACAC Women's Curling Athlete of the Year.

Simard led the Griffins women's rink to the ACAC Championship on Sunday in Olds, guiding the team back from a 5-0 deficit after five ends to an 8-5 win after eight over the University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings.

Named as the ACAC all-star skip during the championship banquet after leading the Griffins to an 11-1 record through two regional events, Simard exemplifies all the qualities needed in a successful skip.

"Probably the No. 1 thing she has and it's perfect for a skip – mental toughness," said Griffins head coach Tom Kitagawa. "She's very cool under fire.

"She's very mentally calm, even-keeled. If you watch the Scotties, it's the same thing. She reads the ice really well, throws a rock very well – technical skills, strategy skills, she's all very strong."

Simard, who has now been a part of two ACAC Championship teams, also winning it in 2016, will now lead the Griffins back to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national championship in Fredericton, N.B. March 15-19. The fourth-year Commerce major from Chauvin, AB and her rink of third Erin Wells, second Andie Kurjata and alternating leads Taitan Hagglund and Rebecca Bartz will aim to improve upon a fourth-place finish MacEwan had in 2018.

This prestigious award was presented to Simard at the 2019 ACAC Curling Championship held Feb. 22-24 at Olds College.

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About the ACAC: The ACAC is the governing body for intercollegiate athletics in Alberta. Its mission is to provide competitive collegiate sport experiences, promote academic achievement and be a leader of sport development in Canada.

For more information on the ACAC, please visit our website: www.acac.ab.ca

For additional information, contact:

Mark Kosak, ACAC
Chief Executive Officer
403-875-7329
markk@acac.ab.ca

Kenneth Schildroth, MacEwan                               
Director of Athletics                                                 
780-497-5795                                                           
SchildrothK@MacEwan.ca       

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