The pandemic’s dark days of sport at the local secondary school have broken and young student athletes have returned to the local pitches, courts, rinks and fields.

One would have to return to the early days of World War II to find a comparable period of dormancy for the local high school sports scene but that period of dark gymnasiums and quiet green spaces gave way to the pomp and circumstance of the annual PECI Athletic Awards celebration at the Regent Theatre last week.

With a pair of Bay of Quinte team championships, several individual titles from Track and Field and a host of COSSA and OFSAA appearances to take note of, Principal Andrew Ross said it wasn’t just the on-the-field triumphs and success that needed celebrating.

Allyship was clearly on display. Panthers — from teammates to coaches to managers, officials and fans — stood beside, behind and in front of one another to demonstrate solidarity, interconnection, and support.

“We are not just celebrating our successes tonight. If you look at entire seasons with practices, there is a lot of failure, a lot of struggle, a lot of pain and hardship. We are going to celebrate tonight but we need to recognize and remember all those things about sport and athletics that make them worthwhile,” Ross said. “Testing ourselves and competing is fun.”

Over the past few months, the sporting season at PECI reached a crescendo as the Sr. Boys Rugby squad won the first-ever Bay of Quinte title for the school and went on to COSSA where they earned a silver medal and qualified for their first ever OFSAA tournament.

On the diamond this spring, PECI was able to craft a couple of come-from-behind, walk off victories at the Bay of Quinte tournament to win the 2023 championship.

At Track and Field, a number of Panthers found their way to the top of the podium at the Bay of Quinte meet. Runner Rowan Colby kept the heat on in the Jr. Boy’s 200m all the way to the OFSAA championships in Ottawa earlier this month.

In the fall, highlights included Grade 10 cross country runner Josh McGill finishing 7th at COSSA and managing to qualify for and compete in the 2022 OFSAA meet in Uxbridge as well as the Sr. Boys soccer team winning a COSSA Silver medal.

There were multiple winners in the various Athletes of the Year category. Rowan Colby took home both the Jr. Boys athlete of the year and the Jeremy Vincent Memorial Award as PECI’s top Track and Field Athlete in 2022-23. In addition to competing at OFSAA, Colby was a standout on the PECI Jr. Boys basketball squad.

A lot of top talent meant both the Senior Boys and Girls awards were split.

Bethany Foster was outstanding in girls varsity hockey and rugby, serving as team captain in both sports. Maeve Veenstra who was the most valuable player for the Sr. Girls soccer, volleyball and basketball teams.

In the Jr. Girls ranks, Drew Spencer was captain of the rugby team and took home Most Valuable Player honours in that sport as well as soccer.

Liam Rice was recognized for his sporting efforts and, in particular, his winning day on May 24 when he suited up for both Panthers entries in the Bay of Quinte Rugby and Baseball championships. Rice capped a come-from-behind walk off win in the baseball semi finals with a 10th inning RBI in Wellington, played key minutes for the Panthers rugby squad in their 5-3 win over Nicholson in the rugby finals in Belleville and then travelled back to Wellington to help lead the Cats to an extra inning win over St. Theresa in the BOQ baseball finals.

Rice shared his award with Riley Grimmon, who earned the player-of-the-match honours in PECI’s historic rugby win and was able to overcome a broken leg in the fall to perform in the spring in track and Field.

The Novice boys AOY award was split by Ethan Thompson and Cam Billing. Thompson picked up the win in that thrilling 2023 BOQ baseball final and was a standout on the cross country team. Billing helped lead the soccer team and was a key contributor to the rugby team.

On the girls side, Kate Cowan had an outstanding rookie season with the PECI Panthers hockey club.

The Joe Scott Memorial Award for excellence in a single sport went to Hayden Blakeley who spent the first semester in Ottawa, playing for a prep school basketball program and returned to PECI for the second semester and played well for the baseball and rugby programs.

OPIE awards for dedication to the life of sport at PECI went to Sage Noxon, Kieran Young, Brooke Spencer, Rowan Colby, and Shelby Swackhammer.

Athletes recognized in their individual sports included:

Cross Country: Thompson (Most Dedicated), McGill (Most Valuable).

Jr. Girls Rugby: Drew Spencer (MV), Izzy Bailas (MD).

Sr. Girls Rugby: Foster (MV), Carly Rideout (MD).

Jr. Boys Soccer: Will Theakston (MV), Cam Billing (MD).

Sr. Boys Soccer: Kieran Young (MD), Husdon Flynn (MV).

Jr. Boys Volleyball: Thompson (MD), Grady Holmes (MD).

Varsity Girls Basketball: Veenstra (MV), Spencer (MD).

Jr. Boys Basketball: Colby (MD), Declan Vincent (Most Improved).

Sr. Boys Basketball: Luke Raham (MV) Young (MI).

Jr. Girls Volleyball: Grace Wallach (MD), Sadie Caissie (MI).

Sr. Girls Volleyball Veenstra (MV), Grace Werkhoven (MI).

Varsity Girls Hockey: Foster (MV), Lainey Van Vlack (MV).

Jr. Badminton: Vincent (MD), Sophie Eskins (MI).

Sr. Badminton: Chase Colby (MD), Grace Conley (MD).

Jr. Boys Rugby: Connor Borton (MVP), Cole Carruthers (MI).

Jr. Girls Soccer: Drew Spencer (MV), Gwen Gillingham (MD).

Sr. Girls Soccer: Veenstra (MV), Stella Thompson (MI).