Having practised with the Lancer women’s volleyball team, Paige Phills is looking forward to joining the varsity squad next year. A senior at Riverside Secondary, she represented the school Friday at a reception honouring recipients of the Human Kinetics Book Award and plans to begin studies in kinesiology at the University of Windsor in September.

“I was choosing between two universities and when I came for a tour here, I really enjoyed it,” Phills said. She signed on with volleyball coach Lucas Hodgson in January.

An honour roll student, she has been Riverside’s most valuable player in girls’ volleyball each year since ninth grade, leading the squad to a provincial silver medal in 2016. She was also her school’s MVP in track and field.

Those accomplishments numbered her among the 26 local high school students whose academic performance, athletic activities and community contributions earned them the award.

Emily Roy of Sandwich Secondary, who captained her school’s baseball team, earned a provincial bronze medal in javelin, and competes in volleyball and softball, said she was surprised by the recognition.

“It was such an honour,” she said. “There are so many great athletes.”

Roy will be a classmate of Phills, as she also plans to pursue studies in kinesiology at the University of Windsor, on her way to a career in physiotherapy.

Here is the full list of 2017 HK Book Award winners:

• Meer Feerasta, Académie Ste. Cécile International School
• Daniela Papac, Assumption College School
• Brendan Soto, Belle River District High School
• Sydney Hryniw, F.J. Brennan High School
• Marlee LaSala, Cardinal Carter Catholic Secondary School
• Dalia Farhat, Catholic Central High School
• Gabrielle Fuerth, Essex District High School
• Olivia Menard, École Secondaire Catholique L’Essor
• Rueben Tar, General Amherst High School
• Kaytlyn Cooper, W.F. Herman Secondary School
• Eileen Dancel, Holy Names High School
• Colton Allen, Kennedy Collegiate Institute
• Nathan Leili, Kingsville District High School
• Mikayla Fockens, École Secondaire E.J. Lajeunesse
• Shannon Fehr, Leamington District Secondary School
• Alannah Driedger, Maranatha Christian Academy
• Basma Bitar Tchitoula, École Secondaire Michel-Gratton
• Paige Phills, Riverside Secondary School
• Emily Roy, Sandwich Secondary School
• Emma Gagnon, St. Anne’s Catholic High School
• Joceline Leon, St. Joseph’s Catholic High School
• Alyssa Arundine, St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School
• Stephanie Rosen, Tecumseh Vista Academy
• Kristen Moerchen, Vincent Massey Secondary School
• Carley Brissette, United Mennonite Educational Institute
• Olivia Conlon, Walkerville Collegiate Institute

Each honoree received a sports- or health-related book to keep, and their school libraries will receive in their names a copy of The One-Minute Workout by UWindsor alumnus Martin Gibala (BHK 1991).

Chair of the kinesiology department at McMaster University, he addressed the awardees, telling them his book details the physiological and health benefits of high-intensity interval training.

“People lead busy, time-pressed lives,” Dr. Gibala said. “Intervals provide more options for being able to fit exercise into your day.”