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SACKVILLE -

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Mathew Finniss

Mike Walker

Sussex Regional High School grads and former Sussex Sonics Mike Walker and Mathew Finniss have been honoured at Mount Allison University.

At the year-end Mount Allison University's annual athletic awards night, Walker was chosen as MVP of the 2007-2008 soccer Mounties. Finniss was recognized as winner of the university's prestigious scholar athlete award.

It was a nice feather in Walker's cap, being selected by his teammates and peers as their most valuable player choice. Coach Barry Cooper agreed, "Mike was Mr. Reliable with a little more. He was always there when needed, and he was totally committed to the team and to his own performance.

"He was not just a worker, but a player with deft touch and subtle pass to match his competitive approach. He is a pure leader by example and so valuable to our team."

Walker was a 2005 athlete of the year at SRHS, where he was coached in soccer by Ron Leger. The five-foot-11 Mountie midfielder is majoring in science and enrolled in third-year biology.

Finniss has been a four-year leader on the hard court and in the classroom while maintaining dean's list standings every year at Mount Allison. A six-foot-two forward with the basketball Mounties, he won the prestigious Rod Shoveller memorial award of the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association last season, and this year is a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant recipient.

Finniss is a former basketball standout with the N.B. team and SRHS, where Byron Barton coached him. In his final year, taking a bachelor of science degree and majoring in honours chemistry, Finniss is a strong student and has almost averaged a 4.0 GPA over his four years at Mount Allison.

A captain with the Mounties, he was selected by his teammates as the squad's rookie of the year in 2004-2005 and its MVP the following season. An ability to successfully combine his academics, athletics, and volunteerism made him a valuable role model for the rest of the Mounties over all four seasons that he played.

Finniss spent the spring of 2005-2006 building Habitat for Humanity houses in Georgia, and as well spent many hours as a volunteer tutor and research assistant in the chemistry department for most of his academic years. He is a past bronze medal recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh leadership award, Elizabeth Lovitt scholarship, Thomas Cadman scholarship, and LA Goodridge trust scholarship. He maintained a dean's list standing all four years, and in his last season was named to the national scholar athlete's list of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association.

Head basketball coach Bruce McMillan said the Mounties were lucky to get a player of Finniss' character saying, "Mathew has been an outstanding contributor to our program for four short seasons. He always brings his best performance whether it is in practices, games, or in the classroom. He has been an outstanding role model for all of our Mountie athletes, and we will certainly miss his presence on the floor and in the locker room."