West Babylon, N.Y. - On Thursday afternoon, the East Coast Conference announced its annual academic award winners.
State Farm Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year; Sports Scholar-Athlete Winners
Roberts Wesleyan standouts Josiah Ottolini (Spring Arbor, Mich.) and Emily Miller (Buffalo, N.Y.) were named the 2019-20 East Coast Conference State Farm Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year. The conference announced its Scholar-Athletes of the Year for all of its sponsored sports, as well.
"On behalf of State Farm and the James Von Eiff Agency, we want to extend our congratulations to all the recipients of the 2019-20 ECC Scholar-Athlete Award," said presenting sponsor of the award, Jim Von Eiff. He continued saying, "You are no strangers to overcoming adversity and challenges to reach your goals and this year has certainly been all that and more. So proud of how you have persevered through the challenging times, and we at State Farm know that your perseverance will prove to be an invaluable asset in all areas of your life."
Ottolini, a senior engineering major with a 3.948 GPA, earned First Team All-Conference honors in cross country after a third place finish in a time of 27:19.30. He was also the ECC Champion in the 800m (1:56.48) and Mile (4:19.95) at the league's Indoor Track & Field Championship.
Miller is a senior marketing major with a near-perfect 3.99 GPA. A repeat winner as the ECC's Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a three-time winner of the ECC Elite 19 award, Miller wrapped up one of the most successful careers in conference history. A three-time All-Conference pick, Miller averaged 14.0 points per game and an ECC-leading 9.7 rebounds per game on the year. She finishes her career ranked in the top-10 in conference history with 1,891 points (7th), 1,103 rebounds (8th), and 736 field goals made (4th).
2019-2020 ECC Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Baseball – John Mooradian, Mercy: Mooradian earns the Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor for the second year in a row after compiling a 3.75 GPA as a Nursing major. The senior was an All-Conference selection in 2019 after finishing second in the ECC with a .397 batting average and leading the league with 50 RBI. Recently named a CoSIDA Academic All-American, Mooradian was hitting .333 with five doubles, one home run, and eight RBI when the spring 2020 season was canceled.
Men’s Basketball – Andrew Sischo, Daemen: Sischo, a Sport Management major with a 3.40 GPA, earns the Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete honor. Sischo was named the ECC Player of the Year for the second straight season after averaging 24.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. He also earned consensus All-America honors and earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, as well.
Women's Bowling - Marisol Dodson, Lincoln Memorial: Dodson, a senior Psychology major with a 3.56 GPA, earns the honor after being named to the ECC All-Conference Second Team. Dodson was a two-time All-Conference selection and the Most Outstanding Bowler of the 2018 ECC Championship that was won by Lincoln Memorial.
Women's Cross Country - Abagaile Kimbrell, St. Thomas Aquinas: Kimbrell has been named the Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year by boasting a 3.87.0 GPA as a Natural Sciences major. Kimbrell was also an All-Conference First Team honoree after a second-place finish at the ECC Championship in a time of 19:29.10.
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Aidan Russell, St. Thomas Aquinas: Russell earns the honor after compiling a 3.75 GPA as a Psychology major. On the track, Russell finished in fifth place in the Mile (4:32.10) and sixth place in the 3,000m run (9:12.24) at the ECC Indoor Championship.
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Abigail Gostomski, Roberts Wesleyan: Gostomski earns the Indoor honor for compiling a 3.79 GPA as an undeclared major. Gostomski was the ECC Champion in the 800m (2:16.70) at the conference's Indoor Championship.
Men’s Lacrosse – Brandon Leon, Molloy: Leon, a Biology major with a 3.88 GPA, has been selected as the Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A three-year starter for the Lions, Leon had tallied 18 ground balls and eight caused turnovers over six contests before the season was halted.
Women’s Lacrosse – Ashley Claud, New York Tech: Claud, a grad student pursuing a doctorate in Physical Therapy has compiled a perfect 4.0 GPA at New York Tech after transferring with a 4.0 GPA in her undergraduate studies. A 2019 All-Conference First Team pick, Claud compiled three goals, one assist, 18 ground balls, and 30 draw controls over five games this season.
Men’s Outdoor Track and Field – Matthew Healy, Molloy: Healy, an Accounting/Finance major with a 3.77 GPA, finished in sixth place in the 10,000m (35:21.00) at the 2019 ECC Outdoor Championship. In this year's indoor season, he tallied an eighth place finish in the 5,000m (17:04.56) at the ECC Championship.
Women’s Outdoor Track and Field – Temera Duncan, Dist. Columbia: Duncan, an Accounting major with a 3.94 GPA, finished in third place in the discus throw at the 2019 ECC Championship.
Men’s Soccer – Erlend Skagestad, Bridgeport: Skagestad was a Third Team All-Conference selection after scoring four goals and passing off one assist for nine points. Academically, the Marketing major holds a 3.89 GPA.
Women’s Soccer – Maegan Doyle, Bridgeport: After repeating as the ECC Offensive Player of the Year, Doyle repeats as ECC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as well. The senior Analytics major with a 3.78 GPA scored 16 goals and dished off nine assists for 41 points on the year.
Softball – Kylie Lacerte, New York Tech (Life Sciences/PA Studies - 3.89): Lacerte was a Second Team All-Conference selection last season after hitting .286 with four home runs. The Life Sciences/PA Studies major who boasts a 3.89 GPA, was off to a hot start this season hitting .571 over three games before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Men’s Tennis – Hugo Evangelista de Andrade, Queens: Evangelista de Andrade earns the Scholar-Athlete honor after finishing with a 3.54 GPA as an Economics major. On the court, Evangelista de Andrade was a perfect 3-0 in singles and doubles in Queens' shortened season.
Women’s Tennis – Luisa Auffarth, Queens: Auffarth, the ECC Player of the Year, earns the Scholar-Athlete honor after finishing with a perfect 3.74 GPA as a Business Management major. This past season, Auffarth compiled a 16-3 singles record to help lift Queens to their first ECC title since 2010.
Volleyball – Amanda Hennemann, Bridgeport: Hennemann, this year's ECC Volleyball Elite 19 winner, is now also the Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year with a 3.96 GPA as a Biology major. On the court, Hennemann earned a First Team All-Conference selection after finishing third in the ECC with 356 kills and fifth with 3.04 kills per set.
ECC Elite 19 Award
The ECC Elite 19 Award is usually given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA from a team competing in each of the 19 ECC Championships.
After the ECC's final nine championships of the year were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference decided to award the honor to the student-athlete with the highest GPA in each sport, regardless of their team's spot in the ECC standings.
The remaining ECC Elite 19 Award honorees are listed below.
Women's Bowling: Quinn Hodson, Jr., Bloomfield (4.0 GPA - Computer Science)
League of Legends: Ifa Afariogun, Jr., New York Tech (3.79 GPA - Computer Science)
Men's Tennis: Marcel Volz, So., St. Thomas Aquinas (3.94 GPA - Mathematics)
Men's Outdoor Track & Field: Nathan Cannon, Sr., Roberts Wesleyan (3.94 GPA - Physics)
Women's Outdoor Track & Field: Claire Stokes, So., Roberts Wesleyan (3.95 GPA - Nursing )
Men's Lacrosse: Robert LoRicco, Jr., Mercy (3.97 GPA - Business Administration/Finance)
Women's Lacrosse: Ashley Claud, Gr., New York Tech (4.0 GPA - Doctorate of Physical Therapy)
Softball: Marissa Nicoletti, So., Molloy (3.95 GPA - Childhood Education/Math)
Baseball: Logan Allen, R-So., Bridgeport (3.89 GPA - Health Sciences)
ECC Academic Success Rate Award
St. Thomas Aquinas was awarded the ECC Academic Success Rate Award. The Spartans earned the honor for the third year in a row after posting a 90 percent graduation success rate in the NCAA Academic Tracking System