When she graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2007, Meaghan Mikkelson had to choose a path. The defencewoman had not yet made it onto the Canadian national women's hockey team and wondered if it was time to hang up her skates.“I had to make a decision at that point. Was it the real world and real life or was I going to keep going after my dream and playing for Team Canada,” she said.“I decided that I wasn't done yet. That I wasn't ready to throw in the towel, that I wasn't ready to quit and I continued training and I continued playing and ultimately played on my first team in 2008 at the World Championships.”Mikkelson is a two-time Olympic gold medalist as a member of Canada's women's hockey team. During the gold medal game against the United States at the Sochi Olympics in February, she recorded an assist on her team's first goal, a catalyst leading to a 3-2 comeback victory in overtime.Her remarks came during a speech she made at the Olds College Broncos awards banquet on April 8 in the school's Alumni Centre.She told more than 100 student-athletes they would someday be confronted with tough choices. For her, it was leaving a stable job at a marketing agency in Edmonton to chase her dream to play in the 2010 Olympics.“I knew that if I wouldn't have gone for it, I wouldn't have pursued playing in the Olympics, I probably would have looked back and wondered, what if,” Mikkelson said in a post-banquet interview. “And I didn't want that. I didn't want to have any regrets so that's why I went for it and that was part of my message today … to find what it is you're passionate about and to go for it.”Mikkelson also talked about her team's journey to gold at the Sochi Olympics and how her teammates never gave up despite trailing 2-0 through 56:34 of play.Their mettle was refined during a boot camp in Penticton, B.C. and a gruelling 55-game schedule before the Olympics, all while spending up to 12 hours training at the rink every day.The team was exhausted, Mikkelson said, but the toil prepared them for their final challenge against the U.S., a game she played in with a broken hand.“The greater the sacrifice that you have to make to achieve your goals, the greater the satisfaction that you're going to get, you're going to experience when you get there,” she told the room of Broncos.During her speech, Mikkelson also told the audience to enjoy being student-athletes, calling her time at Wisconsin among the best years of her life.“It's a great, great experience and the lessons that you learn, you take away with you for the rest of your life,” she said.Those lessons, she told the crowd, included teamwork, dedication, leadership and motivation, skills applicable in the working world.The banquet was also an occasion to recognize the achievements of student-athletes at Olds College.As the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) regular season blocks leader, volleyball player Dakota Wilson was chosen as the female athlete of the year.It was amazing to be honoured in front of her peers, Wilson, who plays the middle position said, crediting her coach and teammates for her success.“A hundred per cent my coach and my teammates for forcing us to be better,” she said. “For not getting in the gym, someone was on your back, telling you to get there.”Wilson, from Bashaw, is graduating from Olds College and will pursue a bachelor of arts at MacEwan University. She will continue playing volleyball, this time in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport league.The male athlete of the year went to Colton Short, a forward on the men's basketball team who studies in the heavy-duty technician program.Short averaged 17.8 points-per-game on .486 shooting, along with 7.8 rebounds-per-game.Like Wilson, he acknowledged his coach and team for the accomplishment.“He made me feel like a better player,” said Short, from Black Diamond. “I was more confident in myself. I could be more aggressive and be the player I was.”The 2013-14 season was the second year in the ACAC for most sports, said Bob Murray, the college's director of athletics, fitness and recreation.“It's been another growing step towards being the program that we want to be. We had some successes this year, in particular mixed curling, winning the gold so I think we're making the right steps in the right direction, for sure,” Murray said.Murray cited the curling team's gold medal and hosting the women's basketball championships as highlights for him while at the Broncos' helm this year.Though the season is over, coaches will be kept busy during the summer, he added.“Our coaches are out there heavily recruiting right now for next year,” Murray said. “I mean, the season doesn't stop as you heard me say earlier. It isn't just from September until April. It goes, goes, goes.”Other award-winners from the banquet included:Female rookie of the year: Mikaela Pushor, volleyball.Male rookie of the year: Colton Goller, curling.Female academic athletes of the year: Nicole Wagner, cross-country; Shauna Bokenfohr, curling.Male academic athlete of the year: Shay Pridmore, [email protected]
