Sullivan, Van Santen lead for Massey
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Ashley Sullivan and Logan Van Santen value leadership, and it’s clear Vincent Massey does too after the school named the pair their athletes of the year.
The two Grade 12 students both served as captains of multiple squads, with the 17-year-old Sullivan leading the girls volleyball and basketball teams, and 17-year-old Van Santen helping guide football and basketball.
“The last two years, every team I’ve played for I’ve been a captain,” Sullivan said. “I think my leadership speaks more about who I am as an athlete than my skill on the court. I have skill but I really focus more on leading by example and supporting my teammates as a captain.”
Van Santen also noticed that about Sullivan.
“Ashley is a great athlete in both volleyball and basketball,” Van Santen said. “She is a great leader too. She really helps keep that group together.”
The six-foot Sullivan lined up as a middle in volleyball, which is her favourite sport. On Dec. 1, 2025 in Winnipeg, Sullivan and the Vikings repeated as AAAA champs, beating the Jeanne-Sauvé Olympiens 3-1 (25-15, 26-24, 23-25, 25-17) to claim the title.
Sullivan earned a provincial all-star nod and was named team MVP.
“It was honestly the best season of my life,” Sullivan said. “My teammates, I owe everything to them. They pushed everybody so hard. It was amazing, and winning with Mrs. (Kelly) DeRoo, she was the best coach I could ask for.”
Basketball was a bit of a different matter. The team fell 2-0 to the Crocus Plainsmen in the city final after upsetting the Neelin Spartans in the semifinal.
But Sullivan, who was also named basketball MVP, still found things to like about the experience.
“It was a very interesting season,” Sullivan said. “I played varsity last year with my coach Mr. (Derek) Barnett. Me and my best friend Reece (Cowan) both play volleyball and basketball and it was time I could spend with her. I loved the season with my teammates.
Other recent winners at Vincent Massey.
2025
• BOYS: Zach Redekop
• GIRLS: Kypling Black
2024
• BOYS: Scott Sherb
• GIRLS: Chelsea Nnamani
2023
• BOYS: Justin Sharp
• GIRLS: Ryan DeGroot
2022
• BOYS: Jacob Doerksen
• GIRLS: Ashlyn Whetter
2021
• BOYS: Kenyi Kubari
• GIRLS: Breelyn Cloet
2020
• BOYS: Nathan Chubaty
• GIRLS: Arlynne Hyra
2019
• BOYS: Zane Anderson
• GIRLS: Drew Curtis
2018
• BOYS: Braden Cancade
• GIRLS: Johnna Doerksen
“Basketball definitely isn’t my favourite sport, and I play it just for conditioning for volleyball but I’m a very competitive person, so getting it out on the basketball court is really nice. It’s a good outlet.”
She finished up her high school athletic career a couple weeks ago in her third sport, the threes division at the beach volleyball provincials. She was joined by Cowan and Hayden Wharf from the Vikings varsity volleyball team.
“The last three years we’ve been on a team together and competed in it,” Sullivan said. “The first year we did at the JV level we got second, last year we got fourth and this year we got second again. We couldn’t get the provincial title.”
As it turned out, she still had some winning ahead of her anyway
Sullivan found out on Monday she had been named athlete of the year, fulfilling a four-year-old dream.
“I was really happy,” Sullivan said. “When I was in Grade 9, I made a promise to myself that I would get athlete of the year. My mom (Suzanne Sullivan) got it when she went to a small high school in Minnedosa. I really wanted it. I made it my goal in high school.”
Her next step involves a trip east.
Sullivan is headed to Hamilton’s Mohawk College in the fall to play volleyball in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association.
While the next chapter awaits, after two years of junior varsity and two years of varsity at Massey in both volleyball and basketball, she has a lot of memories. Sullivan, who is thankful to all her coaches and teammates, said the closeness of her teams is what she’ll carry with her long after graduation.
“I think I’ll remember winning championships back to back,” Sullivan said. “I think my teammates in my volleyball are my friends. A lot of them I went to middle school with and I’ve been friends with since kindergarten.
“I really think that’s why we’ve won so much, it’s because we spend every minute together. Even with the season done, a lot of us played club volleyball together and a lot of us just hang out every day.”
LOGAN VAN SANTEN
Van Santen’s high school athletic career might be best remembered for the sheer breadth of excellence it produced as he participated in basketball, volleyball, football, baseball and track and field.
“I’m an athlete,” Van Santen said. “I don’t think I’m better in one particular sport, I’m about the same in all of them. I don’t think I’m just a football player or just a basketball player.”
In football, Van Santen earned team MVP honours as a wide receiver after playing parts of four seasons with the varsity team.
The Vikings were 4-3 when they met Winnipeg’s mighty St. Paul’s Crusaders in the playoffs and took a 53-0 pounding.
“We went to playoffs and we lost in the first round by a lot to St. Paul’s. It was a pretty big blowout,” Van Santen said. “I love football, the coaches, the teammates, a lot of my basketball teammates also played football so it was fun.”
In volleyball, the six-foot-three teenager lined up at middle or opposite hitter. The Vikings beat the Spartans in the city final and topped the River East Kodiaks in the play-in round. In the quarterfinals, however, the 10th-ranked Vikings narrowly fell 3-2 (25-21, 13-25, 21-25, 25-23, 8-15) to the second-ranked Steinbach Regional Sabres.
“We had a pretty good season,” Van Santen said. “We won city finals against Neelin and then we made it to the quarterfinals in provincials, where we lost in five sets to Steinbach. It was a lot of fun, probably the most fun I’ve had on a volleyball team.”
He was named a provincial graduating all-star.
During basketball season, the lanky teenager was a forward who went on to earn the coaches award. After the sixth-ranked Vikings beat the 11th-ranked Garden City Gophers at provincials, they fell 111-81 to the third-ranked Churchill Bulldogs.
“We had a pretty good year,” Van Santen said. “We won cities and lost again in the quarterfinal to Churchill. That group was so fun. We had a lot of great times, even just in the hotel and in practice.
“It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a team. It was such a great group of guys and we all got along really well.”
After suiting up in junior varsity, he played varsity volleyball since Grade 10 and varsity basketball since Grade 11. Sullivan said he’s good at both.
“In volleyball, he was probably the most aggressive right side on their team,” Sullivan said. “I think he swung the hardest on his team. In basketball he plays the same position I do so he was down by the rim, which is a very aggressive spot to be. Kudos to him.”
His baseball season was different because he didn’t play a lot. But since he wasn’t really a devoted ball player to start with, it wasn’t a huge surprise and he still enjoyed the experience.
That team made it all the way to the provincial final, falling 8-6 to the Northlands Parkway Nighthawks on June 6.
“I hadn’t played in a few years and just wanted to get back into it and see if I could still play,” Van Santen said. “It was fun.”
In track, he did field events, throwing javelin and shotput. In javelin, he finished third at cities and 23rd at provincials, and in shot put he was second in cities and 16th in provincials.
While he had a lot of near misses this season, he was able to celebrate a win when he was named the school’s top male athlete.
“I was really, really happy,” Van Santen said. “The first thing I did was I went downstairs and hugged my dad.”
Ashley Sullivan, shown diving to make a dig for Massey, loves volleyball and will play at the post-secondary level next season. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
He is joining the Assiniboine College Cougars volleyball squad in the fall, which will keep him close to his high school triumphs. Long term, he thinks the memories of the sports action will fade but the time spent with friends will burn brightly.
“I’m probably just going to remember the times I had with my teammates,” Van Santen said. “Not even just playing, but the memories in the hotel and going out to restaurants.”
» pbergson@brandonsun.com