Stonehill Holds Student-Athlete Awards Ceremony


FRONT ROW (l-r): Breakout Sophomore Award winner Stephen Vercollone, Community Service Award recipient Jermel Wright, McDonough Spirit Award recipient Marykay Nasby, Athletic Director's Award recipient Aisha McAdams, Gartland Award recipient Nicole Borofski, Martin Award recipient Joe Santo, Athletic Director's Award recipient Fr. Tim Mouton, CSC. BACK ROW (l-r): McCarthy Leadership Award recipient Andrew Kibarian, Martin Award recipient Sarah Morse, Gartland Award recipient Ryan Logan, Rookie of the Year Alexandra Vo, Breakout Sophomore Kacie Smith, McCarthy Leadership Award recipient Jamie Block, Outstanding Junior Award winner Taylor Shannahan.

 

Borofski and Logan named Fr. Gartland Student-Athlete Award recipients
Morse and Santo selected as Martin Scholar-Athlete Award winner
Block and Kibarian receive Fr. McCarthy Leadership Awards
Nasby earns McDonough Spirit Award

EASTON, Mass. (May 10, 2017) – The Stonehill College athletic department held its end of the year Student-Athlete Awards Ceremony, presented by title sponsor Northwestern Mutual, at the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex on Monday night. The athletic department issued its annual senior student-athlete awards, while also presenting underclassmen honors and team recognitions for spirit and community service. 


Martin Scholar-Athlete Award Recipients Sarah Morse (Field Hockey) and Joe Santo (cross country/track & field)

2017 Edward E. Martin Scholar-Athlete Awards

The Edward E. Martin Scholar-Athlete awards are presented annually to senior student-athletes who have combined academic success, with a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade point average, with athletic achievement. This year's recipients were seniors Sarah Morse (Westminster, Massachusetts/Oakmont Regional) of the field hockey program and Joe Santo (Newburyport, Massachusetts/Newburyport), from the cross country and track and field programs.

Morse, a finance major with a 3.69 cumulative grade point average at Stonehill, is a two-time consensus All-American with the field hockey program. She was a consensus first team selection as a midfielder her junior season, before earning first team All-America honors as a back her senior year from Synapse Sports, along with second team Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) accolades. Morse earned CoSIDA Academic All-America At Large third team honors her junior year and is a two-time NE10 Academic All-Conference selection. She is a two-time first team All-NE10 honoree and NE10 All-Championship team selection over her career, earning Most Outstanding Player honors in leading the Skyhawks to a second-straight NE10 Tournament title in 2015. She has received the St. Thomas Aquinas Medal for having the highest cumulative GPA on the field hockey team and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and Omicron Delta Epsilon honor societies.

Santo, a marketing major with a 3.45 cumulative grade point average at Stonehill, has been named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-East Region team seven times in his career as a member of the men's cross country and track & field programs. This spring, he has captured two NE10 Championship titles at the Outdoor Championships in the 10,000-meter run and the 5000-meter run to go with three runner-up finishes at the NE10 Championships over his four years. The three-time NCAA provisional qualifier is a three-time All-New England performer, winning the 5000-meter run at the New England Indoor Championships in February, while placing fifth in the 5000 at the Outdoor Championships over the weekend. Santo, also a nominee for the NE10 Man of the Year award, has been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for all seven semesters, while also being tabbed on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for five semesters. Santo was named to the USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Academic Team for three years and selected on the CoSIDA Cross Country and Track & Field Academic All-District I First Team in 2016. 


Gartland Senior Student-Athlete Award recipients Ryan Logan (basketball) and Nicole Borofski (cross country/track & field)

2017 Fr. William Gartland, C.S.C., Awards

The Father William Gartland Awards are presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete who have achieved excellence on the playing field over the course of their career. The award winners are recognized on the basis of athletic accomplishments, citizenship and character and personality. This year's Fr. Gartland Award recipients are seniors Nicole Borofski (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) of the cross country and track and field programs and Ryan Logan (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) from the basketball team.

Eight times an All-American in cross country and track and field, Borofski started and ended her career with honors as she was first named the NE10 Cross Country Rookie of the Year after placing ninth at the NE10 Championships, 11th at the NCAA East Regional and made an appearance in her first NCAA Championship. She has totaled 15-straight NE10 Championship events including those in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. The healthcare administration major has been a participant in ten NCAA Division II Championships in her four years as a Skyhawk and helped Stonehill to 11 NE10 Championships: four cross country, four indoor and outdoor titles.

Logan, a two-time NABC All-District honoree and three-time All-NE10 performer, with first team honors as a junior and senior, started all 115 games of his collegiate career, finishing ranked fifth on the program's career scoring list with 1,757 points and tenth with 135 three-point field goals. He averaged 15.3 points per game over his career as the team's top scorer all four years, ranking among the top ten in the NE10 for scoring, rebounding and assists as a junior – the only player in the league to do so last winter. Logan also totaled 822 rebounds, 359 assists, 103 steals and 47 blocked shots over his career. 


McCarthy Leadership Award recipients Andrew Kibarian (football) and Jamie Block (soccer).

2017 Fr. John McCarthy, C.S.C., Leadership Awards

The Father John McCarthy, C.S.C., Leadership Awards are presented annually in memory of one of Stonehill's most beloved figures to one senior male and female student-athlete in good academic standing and citizenship on the basis of their exemplary leadership attributes. This year's honorees are seniors Jamie Block (Georgetown, Massachusetts/Georgetown) of the women's soccer program and Andrew Kibarian (Lynnfield, Massachusetts/Lynnfield) from the football team.

Block captained the Stonehill women's soccer program to its first NCAA Tournament bid in program history and first NE10 Tournament Championship since 1995. She is just the program's student-athlete in program history to earn All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), while also collecting All-East Region honors and NEWISA All-Star honors. The NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year wrapped up her final season as a Skyhawk with a career-best 0.85 goals against average, 19 goals against, 99 saves, an .839 save percentage, and ten shutouts.

Kibarian, a two-time All-NE10 defensive lineman, captained the Stonehill football team as a senior and his noted leadership was integral to a defense which ranked third in the NE10 for total defense (320.8 ypg), leading the NE10 in rushing defense (111.3 ypg). Kibarian played all 44 games of his collegiate career, starting the final 42 games, finishing with 166 tackles (79 solo), including 27.0 tackles for a loss of 108 yards, with 12.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and four pass breakups. His 27 career tackles for loss finished tied for tenth all-time in program history, while his 12.5 sacks rank 13th


McDonough Spirit Award recipient Marykay Nasby (volleyball), center, with members of the McDonough family.

2017 Matthew McDonough '99 Spirit Award

Stonehill junior Marykay Nasby (Belle Plaine, Minnesota/Belle Plaine), a member of the volleyball program, received the 2017 Matthew McDonough '99 Spirit Award, which is presented annually by the Stonehill Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to the student who embodies the contagious spirit and outstanding character of Matt McDonough, '99, for whom the award commemorates. McDonough was a commendable student-athlete and fan of Stonehill athletics, who passed away tragically after graduation. His memory remains etched upon the Stonehill campus and will continue to be remembered in the future as the ideal student-athlete, participating on the Stonehill football team and was an avid fan and attendee of all fellow sports competitions. His dedication and pride toward the community will always be highly regarded and this award memorializes his honorable character and service toward the Stonehill community. 


Community Leadership award recipient Jermel Wright (football), center with Dean O'Keefe '94 (left), Director of Athletics, and Northwest Mutual representative Grant Frieling.

2017 Community Leadership Awards, presented by Northwestern Mutual

In conjunction with the event's title sponsor, Northwestern Mutual, Stonehill presented for the Community Leadership Award. This year's recipient was a team as well as an individual, with the baseball team as well as football junior Jermel Wright (Dorchester, Massachusetts/Newton North) being selected as honorees.

Wright, who recently was recognized with the Newman Civic Fellowship by Campus Contact, modeled his "Level Up" program after one similar from which he was a product as a student at Bigelow Middle School now eight years ago. He restarted the program after enrolling at Stonehill, which discusses the challenges that come from bussing from Boston to Newton, while placing an emphasis on academics and overcoming the social challenges of being students of color in a predominantly white institution. Wright meets with METCO students at Bigelow every Monday and offers life skills advice aimed at assisting the students as they prepare for high school and look forward to attending college.

The baseball program hosted its first blood drive this year on Wednesday, January 18 to accompany its annual Blood Bowl best of seven game series the team plays each and every fall. In response to the blood drive, 38 people, including Stonehill and Easton community members and the baseball team donated their time and blood to help save roughly 114 lives. 

Other Awards Presented: 

Rookies of the Year
Women's: Alexandra Vo (Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania/Nazareth Academy), Tennis
Men's: Andrew Jamiel (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts/Dennis-Yarmouth), Football 

Breakout Sophomore Awards
Women's: Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood), Field Hockey
Men's: Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke), Track & Field 

Breakout Junior Awards
Women's: Taylor Shannahan (Mendham, New Jersey/Morris Catholic), Soccer/Lacrosse
Men's: Thomas Bellio (Saint Joseph, Michigan/Saint Joseph), Tennis 

With 21 intercollegiate sports, after announcing the addition of women's golf for the 2017-18 academic year, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. Stonehill has finished in the top three of the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup standings for overall athletic performance 13 straight years, following a second place finish in 2017. The Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first six years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 96% ASR by the NCAA three straight years, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for sixth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with 11 Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked third in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings for Division II used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.

Student-Athlete Awards Night Photo Gallery