All four will be honoured at the 2018 CCAA Hall of Fame Banquet hosted by the R\u00e9seau du sport \u00e9tudiant du Qu\u00e9bec on June 12 in Quebec City.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Olga Hrycak<\/strong><\/p>\n Olga Hrycak guided the Dawson Blues to nine provincial men\u2019s basketball championships in 15 years. She led Dawson to three CCAA silver medals (1998, 1999, 2003) and a bronze medal (1992). Her career at the C\u00e9gep level began with the Champlain Saint-Lambert Cavaliers, who she led to a CCAA silver medal in 1981.<\/span><\/p>\n Overall, her team\u2019s earned trips to 10 CCAA Men\u2019s Basketball National Championships.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOlga was, by her own admission, a very demanding coach who despite her small stature was able to motivate the Dawson College men\u2019s basketball players into being the best they could be, both on and off the court,\u201d said Dan Boyer, Coordinator of Student Services & Athletics at Dawson College.<\/p>\n Hrycak made North American basketball history in 2003, when she was hired as the inaugural head coach of the Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al (UQAM) Citadins, becoming the first woman to coach a men\u2019s team at the university level in Canada or the United States. She had a 12-year career with the Citadins from 2003-15 and won two RSEQ titles (2006, 2010).<\/p>\n In 2017, she was the first Quebec head coach to be inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.\u00a0Hrycak was named the CCAA Men\u2019s Basketball Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1997. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBeing a female coach and winning two Coach of the Year honours over my male counterparts, this helped to solidify my reputation and credibility as a coach,\u201d said Hrycak, who credits her successful coaching experiences in the CCAA as helping her pave the path of confidence to coach at the university level.<\/span><\/p>\n Recruiting players was Hrycak\u2019s most difficult task but it was helpful that her reputation preceded her.<\/p>\n \u201cI sought out players who had a winning attitude and had experienced winning ways as well as those players who may not have been as talented but were hard workers,\u201d she said. \u201cThis recruiting philosophy made for me the essence of great team chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n Of the countless memories Hrycak has of her time in the CCAA, her first provincial championship at Champlain stands out. <\/span><\/p>\n With only 10 seconds left on the clock in the championship final, the Cavaliers were clinging to a one-point lead over Maisonneuve. Champlain fouled their best player, a 6-foot-8 centre who happened to be 10-for-10 from the free-throw line that game. Incredibly, he missed both attempts and the Cavaliers were victorious.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the presentation of the gold medals, the Saint-Lambert fans chanted \u2018Olga, Olga, Olga!\u2019 and I was deeply touched,\u201d said Hrycak. \u201cAfter only two years coaching men at the C\u00e9gep level, it was my proof that a coach can be successful as long as the players believed in the coach and the system. In between her eight years at Champlain and her 15 seasons at Dawson, Hrycak was chosen to be an apprentice coach with the Canadian Men\u2019s Basketball Olympic team for 1987-1988.<\/p>\n \u201cMy years at Champlain and at Dawson were some of the most exciting, successful and memorable years of coaching \u2013 23 to be exact,\u201d said Hrycak. \u201cAt both schools, my teams were very competitive; yet the concept of family was even stronger. It was really hard to leave \u201cfamily\u201d on both occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Varouj Gurunlian<\/strong><\/p>\n Varouj Gurunlian, played in the first two Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Championships, leading the team to bronze medal at the inaugural event in Calgary in 1975, and then on to the top prize at the National Championships the following season.<\/p>\n \u201cVarouj was described as a player with natural born talent who worked hard to improve every aspect of his game,\u201d said Dan Boyer, Coordinator of Student Services & Athletics at Dawson College. \u201cVarouj continues to be active in basketball and is a well-respected basketball referee within Quebec and nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n The 1976 CCAA National Championship victory at St. Clair College in Windsor, ON, was the highlight of his playing days with the Blues.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis was an incredible finish to my playing career in the CCAA because we had reached the pinnacle of success as a team after working so hard all year,\u201d said Gurunlian, who was named a first-team All-Star and National Championship most valuable player.<\/span><\/p>\n He was also named a CCAA All-Canadian in 1976, the first student-athlete from Dawson to receive the honour. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhile the awards were great, it was the championship as a team that meant a whole lot more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After graduating from Dawson, Gurunlian went on to play at Laurentian University and St. Xavier University. He also represented Canada on the national team.<\/p>\n \u201cThe CCAA is what helped me get started, recognized and recruited by our National team, where I spent nine years proudly representing our country around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Gurunlian returned to the Blues a decade later to coach the men\u2019s basketball team for three seasons. He guided his squad to three straight provincial championships and consecutive appearances at CCAA Nationals. As a head coach, he would earn three more CCAAmedals: Bronze in 1986, silver in 1987 and gold in 1988.<\/span><\/p>\n The 1988 CCAA National Championship victory in Truro, Nova Scotia is among his most cherished memories. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was sincerely elated for my players because their faces were priceless, and I couldn’t be happier for them,\u201d said Gurunlian.<\/p>\n His fondest memories of his time at Dawson and in the CCAA are the friendships he made and the opportunity to travel across Canada and complete against the top collegiate players. A memorable midnight practice at the Dawson gym is also at the top of his list.<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps most significant, his time in the CCAA is where Gurunlian learned to be a team player, thanks in large part to illustrious head coach Richie Spears. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is where we all learned real life skills that go way beyond the basketball court and to this day, I use all the people skills that we have all acquired throughout our careers and that helps me in my present work and life,\u201d said Gurunlian.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMoreover, I am able to pass on this experience and knowledge to the younger generation of today \u2013 hoping that they will become successful and better people all around.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Julieth Lewis<\/strong><\/p>\n Three-time Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association All-Canadian Julieth Lewis<\/strong> led Dawson to CCAA Women\u2019s Basketball National Championship final appearances in each of her three seasons with the Blues where the team earned CCAA silver in 1984 before winning back-to-back National titles in 1985 and 1986. In addition to being named a CCAA All-Canadian in each of her three seasons at Dawson, Lewis was named a first team All-Star at CCAA Nationals in 1984 and 1986. She was also named tournament most valuable player in 1986.<\/span><\/p>\n The CCAA National Championship victories in Moose Jaw, SK, and Kamloops, BC, remain the only two National titles for Dawson in CCAA Women\u2019s Basketball.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJulieth was a fierce competitor who, upon joining the Dawson College women\u2019s basketball team, quickly gained a reputation within the province of Quebec and in Canada as an incredible player,\u201d said Dan Boyer, Coordinator of Student Services & Athletics at Dawson College. \u201cShe contributed greatly to the success of the Dawson Blues at national competitions.\u201d<\/p>\n For Lewis, there was no better feeling than showing up at Dawson\u2019s jam-packed home gym \u2013 the Showmart \u2013 for a 6 p.m. game on a Friday night.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had so much support, great fans and we were a part of a team that felt like family,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cThere was no place like the Showmart, it was like a home away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n Lewis recalls an extraordinary conversation she had with a fan at a road game one night in Montreal.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a Friday night game at Vanier, I had a high school player walk up to me and introduce herself,\u201d said Lewis.<\/p>\n \u201cShe said that she really enjoyed watching me play and admired me,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cThat made me feel so good.\u201d<\/p>\n And little did she know at the time, the sport she loved to play was preparing Lewis for her future career.<\/p>\n \u201cI work in the healthcare system and believe it or not, playing basketball and working in the healthcare system requires the same mental skills,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Competing at the highest collegiate level possible allowed Lewis to develop patience and enabled her to work under pressure while enhancing her individual and teamwork skills.<\/p>\n Lewis also learned to show compassion, be supportive and most of all, be a leader.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www-chris.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/130\/CCAA-1.jpg\")
<\/a>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>\n<\/a>The athlete told Lewis that she was invited to the game by the Vanier coach because she was considering going to play there. The student-athlete was told to watch No. 12 from Dawson and \u201cthe way she gets rebounds and controls the boards.\u201d<\/p>\n