Worcester State University’s student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and members of the Board of Trustees gathered in the Lancer Gymnasium to recognize the accomplishments of Lancer student-athletes at the annual Athletic Awards Ceremony on Monday, April 30.
The ceremony opened with a presentation of the 2018 Worcester State Athletics senior class by Director of Athletics Michael Mudd and Deputy Director of Athletics John Meany.
President Barry M. Maloney commended the student-athletes for their hard work and efforts on and off the field. Mudd followed and spoke of the accomplishments of our student-athletes and coaches. He also thanked parents, coaches, and administrators for their support.
Associate Athletic Director Karen Tessmer and Coordinator of Student-Athlete Support Services Kelly Downs led the recognition of student-athletes who have excelled academically. Tessmer spoke of research projects that the student-athletes completed and mentioned the academic achievers in the group.
Downs honored the seniors of the Chi Alpha Sigma student-athlete honor society. The senior recipients were: Jason Barrett, Justine Butler, Kayla Corcoran, Sean Corcoran, Abigail Danso, Eric Davis, Matthew Dent, Sydney Despres, Kyle Griffin, Brianna Hackett, Alexa Harvey, Anna Haynes, Ashleigh Howland, Marques Johnson, Rachel Lauzon, Daniel Orlando, Edmond Peladeau, Megan Rouillard, Lindsay Ryan, Kathryn Salemme, Stephen Smialek, Dakota Smith-Porter, Beth Spinazzola, Jolane Thibualt, and Christopher Walles.
Worcester State’s All-Conference student-athletes, All-Americans (Michaila Parent, Hayley Sutherland, Jacob Maher, Justin Lewis and Marcus Vieira), MASCAC Championship teams (women’s cross country, field hockey, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and softball), and coaches of the year (Alexa Carlson of field hockey and Bernie Chase of women’s volleyball) were recognized by Assistant Athletic Director Dave Lindberg.
The Rookie of the Year award was presented to the student-athletes who had outstanding accolades in their first year with Worcester State: Jake Breton of the baseball team, Tim Drevitch of the men’s ice hockey team, and Asgerdur Jana Agustsdottir of the women’s track and field team.
The two recipients of the Athlete of the Year Award were football All-American Jacob Maher and field hockey All-American Michaila Parent.
The Rich Korzec Service Award was presented to Alex Dalelio, who was a member of the men’s cross country team, is a team manager of the men’s track and field team, and is a student-worker in the Athletics Department. He was honored for his dedication, hard work, and contributions to the department.
The Blue and Gold Award, which is given to a senior student-athlete who has overcome severe adversity to continue their playing career and had success in action, was presented to Beth Spinazzola of the women’s soccer team.
The next three awards were for the seniors and their accomplishments throughout their career at Worcester State.
The Lancer Award, which is awarded to a male and female who exemplify dedication to their program, leadership qualities, and good sportsmanship, was presented to Maligie Kallon of the football team, Alex Pommerville of the men’s ice hockey team, and Hayley Sutherland of the field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams.
The Margaret “Peg” Nugent Scholar Athlete Award, which is awarded to a male and a female who show outstanding performance on the field or ice as well as in the classroom with exceptional GPAs, was presented to Chris Walles of the football team and Justine Butler of the women’s soccer team.
The last award of the night was the Robert Devlin Senior Athlete of the Year Award, which is given to a male and female who show outstanding performance and achievement throughout the course of their career at Worcester State. The male recipient was Matthew Dent of the men’s soccer team and the female recipient was Sydney Despres of the softball team.