Athletic Department Hands Out End of Year Awards
The Alfred State athletic department celebrated the 2018-19 athletic year recently by hosting the annual End of Year Award ceremonies.
Pioneer Legacy Award: Given to the male and female athletes who have achieved success on and off the field throughout their career at Alfred State. The nominees have demonstrated Sportsmanship and Leadership, been involved in Civic Engagement activities, along with earning athletic honors during their career. 2019 Honorees: Maddie Webster & Juwan Toliver
Webster was a four year starter on the volleyball team. This year she moved from her libero position to an outside hitter role to benefit the team and was named 1st team All-ACAA this year after being named 2nd team after her junior season. She finished this season with 282 digs, 231 kills, and 54 service aces and ends her career at Alfred State as the all-time leader with 1,423 digs. She is credited for being an outstanding representative of Alfred State and the athletic department on and off the court. Off the court she was very active with the Business Professionals Association and the Financial Planning Association. During her career she evolved into a great leader and set a great example of what it means to evolve as a student athlete
Toliver was a four year member of the basketball team. He was a 1st team All-ACAA selection this year after being named the ACAA Player of the Year and 1st team All-ACAA last season. He finished his career with 735 points, 434 rebounds, 344 assists, and 165 steals in 83 games. Toliver helped lead the Pioneers to three straight postseason appearances. He is credited for showing great improvement throughout his career, for filling the stat sheet, and producing highlight film plays on a consistent basis. Toliver was a team leader with a smile on his face constantly that led by example and hard work.
Athlete of the Year: Given to the male and female athletes that have made the largest impact upon ASC athletics and exhibited good character in this school year. 2019 Honorees: Marissa Varela and Taj Lewis
Varela was named ACAA Newcomer of the Year and 1st team All-ACAA after hitting .457 this season with a team high, 37 hits and 35 RBI. She collected eight doubles, four triples, and 2 home runs. She was named the ECAC Player of the Month for March and earned Athlete of the Week honors multiple times. Varela's 35 RBI and .728 slugging percentage establish new NCAA era single season records.
Lewis was named 1st team All-ACAA after leading the basketball team with 431 points, 274 rebounds, and 43 blocks. He scored in double figures in 22 of the teams 26 games and scored more than 20 points in nine games. Versus Nazareth, he had a career high 42 points and 21 rebounds. He earned four ACAA Player of the Week honors on top of numerous Alfred State honors. For his career Lewis finishes with 624 points and 393 rebounds in 51 games.
Newcomer of the Year Award: Are given to the male and female athletes who have made the largest impact upon ASC athletics and exhibited good character in their first year as a Pioneer. 2019 Honorees: Jessie LaRue and Jake Wadsworth
LaRue was a two time individual event champion, 200 Individual Medley and 200 back, at AMCC Championships. She Earned All-AMCC 1st team honors with her performances at the Championships. LaRue broke and now holds eight individual NCAA era records and two relay records. During the season she was named Athlete of the Week by Alfred State and the AMCC multiple times. Her 44 points in individual events at the AMCC Championships led the team to their highest overall finish at the meet – 2nd place.
Wadsworth has had an impressive freshman season. He finished 2nd in the ECAC Indoor Championships in the heptathlon with 4,029 points (His total is 2nd highest in school history). For that performance he was named DIII All-Region by the Coaches Association. He has been named CSAC Athlete of the Week once and Alfred State Athlete of the Week multiple times. He scored 5,297 points in the decathlon earlier in the spring season which is 6th all time. His long jump of 6.93 m is currently ranked 6th in all the ECAC. Was named the CSAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning two events, finishing 2nd in a pair of events, and 3rd in another two events.
Academic Award: Honor the male and female athletes who have competed in athletics for at least two years, while achieving the highest overall grade-point average during that time. 2019 Honorees: Katherine Frascella, Dannielle O'Buckley and AJ Gartland.
- Frascella is a two year member of the cross country and track & field teams. She has a 4.0 GPA in Nursing
- O'Buckley is a three year member of the women's soccer team. She has a 4.0 GPA in Surveying and Geomatic Engineering.
- Gartland is a two year member of the baseball team. He has a 4.0 GPA in Architecture.
SAAC Awards - The Student Athlete Advisory Committee established two awards, the Play of the Year and the Iron Athlete, this year. Members of SAAC nominated and voted on these awards.
Play of the Year: Andy Pichardo - Pichardo hit a two-out, walk-off double to defeat conference opponent Penn State Altoona 7-6.
Iron Athlete: Brandon Davis - Davis has had two ACL knee surgeries during his 4-year football career, continuing to rehab and come back after every injury. Played in all four seasons totaling 34 games.
Pioneer Excellence Cup: Honors the team that has combined success in athletic achievements, academic excellence, and in civic engagement - 2019 Honoree: Men's Basketball Team
Chi Alpha Sigma: To be recognized a student-athlete must be in at least their 5th full-time semester and have a minimum of a 3.40 GPA.
Juniors: Devon Clark – Football, Ryan McDowell – Swimming & Diving, Brady Miller – Track & Field, Nathan Miller – Swimming & Diving, Jessica Morton – Track & Field, Hannah Schaus – Western Equestrian, Rachel von Hagn – Western Equestrian, Delaney Ward – Cross Country/Track & Field, and Ethan Wiedmer – Baseball
Seniors: Nic Covelli – Lacrosse, Brandon Davis – Football, Owen Davis – Football, Nick Geyer – Baseball, Megan Hendershot – Swimming & Diving, Christian Jankulowski – Soccer, Joe Johnson – Lacrosse, Jordan Leonard: Softball, Patrick McFadden – Swimming & Diving, Christiana Mehmel – Cross Country/Track & Field, Dannielle O'Buckley – Soccer, Jamie Parente – Softball/Track & Field, Michayla Salatel – Soccer/Basketball, Jackson Teboe: Swimming, and Emily Benes: Soccer/Basketball
4-Year Awards: 4-year awards to our student-athletes that have competed at Alfred State four years.
Jessica Bongard: Western Equestrian, Nicole Donnelly: Volleyball, Megan Hendershot: Swimming & Diving, Amber Laibe: Western Equestrian, Jordan Leonard: Softball, Sarrah Matla: Western Equestrian, Michayla Salatel: Soccer/Basketball, Hannah Schaus: Western Equestrian, Madison Webster: Volleyball, and Julia Yanarella: Soccer
Nic Covelli: Lacrosse, Brandon Davis: Football, Owen Davis: Football, Austin Demberg: Cross Country/Track & Field, Danny Doran: Baseball, Tyrone Freeman: Basketball, Nick Geyer: Baseball, Christian Jankuloski: Soccer, Jevon Jeremy: Football, Joe Johnson: Lacrosse, Dante Jordan: Basketball, Mitchell Lattuca: Wrestling, John Lauretti: Football, Reshard Love: Football, Garrett Mack: Baseball, Joe Moscato: Football, Austin Parker: Football, Ku Reh: Soccer, Will Rollison: Basketball, Albert Senyah: Soccer, Learoy Smith: Football, Jackson Teboe: Swimming & Diving, Juwan Toliver: Basketball, and Dan Woodward: Baseball
William Havens Award: Given to the person within the athletic department who has gone beyond the call of duty in making the greatest contribution in aiding the mission of the athletic department during the past year. Suzie DeNillo.
DeNillo is completing her 3rd year as the softball coach. Her team had nine more victories this season than last year and finished the season as the ACAA runner-ups. Within her secondary duty as Assistant Sports Information Director, she is dedicated to provide our student-athletes and our visiting teams with a great experience. She is willing to do whatever is necessary to make things run smooth during an event. It is not uncommon to see her running around events organizing student workers, figuring out solutions, and stepping in to fill any holes.
Pioneer Honors: This distinction is given to an individual that have gone above and beyond to aid the mission of the athletic department during the past year. Joe Greenthal
Greenthal serves as the college's Chief Financial Officer. He is a strong supporter of the athletic department and serves on the Intercollegiate Athletic Board. Greenthal has helped the department by supporting in a variety of projects including the Orvis pool repairs, the creation of the batting cages near the ACES garage, locker room upgrades, and the upcoming track resurfacing, turf replacement, and gym floor resurfacing.