NORTH Vancouver's Kaitlyn Burke was named last month as one of the 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior Class Award honouring the NCAA's top all-around women's basketball student-athlete.
The fifth-year senior for Nebraska has been a strong contributor for the Cornhuskers since beginning her career with the team in 2007-08. So far this year Burke has started in every game for Nebraska after starting 29 games last year and posting averages of 6.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. She ranks No. 8 on Nebraska's career threepoint list despite battling several injuries throughout her career, including foot and knee injuries, multiple broken fingers on her shooting hand and a broken nose.
Off the court Burke is serving as the 2011-12 president of Nebraska's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and also coaches a Special Olympics basketball team. The two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection carries a 3.54 grade-point average as an advertising and business administration major.
From the list of 30 candidates for the Senior Class award, a national media committee will select 10 finalists in late January. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote. To be eligible for the award, a studentathlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
Burke attended Argyle secondary before moving to Ontario during her Grade 12 year to join the National Elite Development Academy.
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West Vancouver's Alexander Kerfoot played a key role in helping Canada West win the World Junior A Hockey Challenge held last month in Langley.
The tournament pitted Canadian regional all-star teams against select teams from hockey powers such as Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic and the United States.
Kerfoot scored a crucial overtime gamewinner for Canada in a semifinal win over Sweden before collecting a goal and an assist in Canada West's 4-2 win over Canada East in the championship game.
The 17-year-old centre is in his rookie season with the BCHL's Coquitlam Express and as of Dec. 9 was second on the team with 27 points - seven goals and 20 assists - in 20 games.
