Beaton, Pasquotti named Kinsmen Sports Persons of the Year
By Lethbridge Herald on September 26, 2020.
Lethbridge Herald
The Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame has named its Kinsmen Sports Persons of the Year.
Earning the nod this year is judoka Evelyn Beaton and soccer player Nico Pasquotti.
Beaton won multiple international tournaments over multiple age groups and was named the female recipient.
Pasquotti, one of the top offensive threats for the Canadian Premier League’s Cavalry FC was named the male winner.
The Kinsmen Sports Persons of the Year awards acknowledge individuals for outstanding performance or participation in sports while representing Lethbridge.
Beaton, a member of the Lethbridge Judo Club, was just 14 years old for most of the 2019 season.
Her wins in the -44kg division included the U18 National Cadet Championship, the Canada Winter Games, the Edmonton International U18 competition, the Open National Championships and the Canada Cup.
Beaton also earned a silver medal at the Pan American U18 Championships, a bronze at the prestigious Thuringia Cup in Germany, and she qualified for and competed at the Cadet World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Moving up to the senior division late in 2019, she won her first championship at the Ontario Open Senior Canadian Circuit in Toronto. In early January 2020, Beaton opened the new year with a victory at the Canadian Cadet Championships in both the U18 and senior division, helping the Lethbridge Judo Club win its second-straight U18 Canadian Club of the Year title.
Pasquotti, 24, was a member of Calgary’s Cavalry FC for the first season of the Canadian Premier League.
He helped lead Cavalry FC to the top spot in both halves of the CPL regular season, and a second place finish in the CPL playoffs. In 23 games, Pasquotti scored five goals — tied for fourth on the team and 18th in the CPL — totals that were strong enough to earn him the right wing position on the CPL’s “Team of the Year.”
Prior to his professional career, Pasquotti played for both the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns and Lethbridge College Kodiaks. He re-signed with Cavalry FC in the summer and just finished his second season with the club.
The Kinsmen Sports Persons of the Year are usually announced in the spring and honoured at the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame’s induction banquet in May. This year’s announcement and banquet were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the 2020 induction banquet was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans are underway to announce a new class of honourees in 2021.
Nominations are accepted at any time up to Jan. 31 and can be submitted online at http://www.lethbridgesportshalloffame.ca.
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