2008-09 C-Club Senior Athletes of the Year Paul LeBlanc (left) and Kayla Chambers (right) are presented their awards by C-Club President Jim Codispoti '63
The 2009 SUNY Cortland C-Club Athletic Awards Ceremony, held in early May in the College's Alumni Arena, honored the top student-athletes from among the 600-plus who competed on Cortland's 25 men's and women's intercollegiate teams during the past academic year.
The SUNY Cortland C-Club Male Senior Athlete of the Year Award was presented to wrestler Paul LeBlanc (Morrisville/Morrisville-Eaton) and the C-Club Female Senior Athlete of the Year was given to field hockey forward Kayla Chambers (Craryville/Taconic Hills). The awards were sponsored by the C-Club and were voted upon by Cortland athletic administrators.
LeBlanc placed second nationally at 149 pounds at the 2009 NCAA Div. III Wrestling Championships and finished the season with a 29-3 record. He is a three-time All-American (4th place (141) as freshman, 7th place (149) as junior and 2nd place (149) as senior) and a four-time Empire Conference champion. LeBlanc is also Cortland's career win leader with an overall record of 128-14.
Chambers earned first team field hockey All-America honors and was the SUNYAC Co-Player of the Year after recording 14 goals and seven assists in 20 games. She finished her career as a two-time, first team All-American (2007 and 2008) and a four-time All-SUNYAC honoree, and ranks fourth in school history with 59 goals scored and 144 total points (59 goals, 26 assists).
Other finalists for Male Senior Athlete of the Year were football running back Andrew Giuliano (Thornwood/Westlake), cross country and track runner Shamus Nally (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), soccer forward Bryan Patterson (Farmingdale) and track and field pole vaulter Jake Zanetti (Saratoga Springs). Other finalists for Female Senior Athlete of the Year were lacrosse defender Lindsay Bakker (Sloatsburg/Suffern), volleyball setter Brittney Horton (Owego/Owego Free Academy), track and field pole vaulter Sarah Kimball (Liverpool) and soccer forward Katie Trivisonno (Apalachin/Owego Free Academy).
Swimmer Lauren Friedlander (Woodbury/Syosset) received the M. Louise Moseley Award, which goes to a senior female athlete who has demonstrated both strong leadership skills and athletic achievement. Friedlander also earned the Whitney T. Corey '43 Award, which is presented to the senior female student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. Friedlander is a physical education major who had a 3.90 overall GPA entering the spring semester. She was a captain on the women's swimming and diving team and is the school record-holder in the 200-yard backstroke.
Moseley was Cortland's Director of Women's Athletics from 1966-78. A pioneer for women's athletics, she played an integral role in the start of women's intercollegiate athletics at Cortland in the late 1960s. Corey coached men's basketball at Cortland in the 1950s and early 1960s and also served as the school's vice president for academic affairs. The main gymnasium in Cortland's Park Center bears his name.
Men's soccer defender Peter Degere (West Islip) received the Carl "Chugger" Davis Award, which is given to a senior male athlete for strong leadership skills and athletic achievement. A team captain, Degere earned All-Northeast Region second team honors as a senior. He was also named the MVP of the SUNYAC Men's Soccer Tournament, which Cortland won. Davis was Cortland's head football coach from 1932 to 1962 and also coached baseball, basketball and golf.
Three student-athletes – men's ice hockey players Tim Lloyd (Oswego) and Mike Mistretta (Buffalo/Sweet Home) and baseball player J.J. Potrikus (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) – shared the Robert J. Weber Award, which is presented to the senior male student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. All three players had a 3.97 overall GPA prior to the spring semester. Lloyd majored in sport management, Mistretta was an adolescence education – math major and Potrikus majored in childhood education. Weber was Cortland's director of athletics for 12 years and the Chairman of the Men's Physical Education department for 15 years. He worked at Cortland from 1952-85.
Senior men's basketball player Juan Miolan (Troy) received the inaugural Peter J. Cahill '66 Award. The award, named for Cortland's former swimming and diving and women's tennis head coach, is presented to either a current student-athlete for involvement in activities outside of sports, or to a current non-athlete student for contributions to the Athletics Department. Among his activities, Miolan was a member of Cortland's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and served as president of SUNY Cortland's Men of Value and Excellence (M.O.V.E.) organization. M.O.V.E. is a multicultural organization that performs volunteer work on campus and in the community and instills brotherhood, scholarship and addresses the retention rate of male and female students at SUNY Cortland.
The 13th annual C-Club Coach of the Year Award was presented to men's cross country and track and field coach
Steve Patrick. Patrick led the Red Dragons to the 2008 NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country national championship and, after last year's banquet, guided Cortland to a runner-up finish at the 2008 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He was named the 2008 Division III men's cross country national Coach of the Year.
Mark Yacavone, Cortland's Director of Admissions, was chosen as the Fraser Stokes Award winner for his dedication and service to Cortland athletics. The Judson and Elise Taylor Team GPA Awards, named after the former SUNY Cortland president and his wife, were presented to the men's and women's athletic teams with the highest cumulative grade point averages. The men's soccer (3.01 GPA) claimed the men's award and the field hockey team (3.30 GPA) was the women's winner. The award was first given in 2003.
Each year, the Cortland head coaches select a Red Letter Award winner in their respective sports. The Red Letter may be given for outstanding athletic skills, team leadership, personal development as a player, or for any combination of reasons. The 2008-09 Red Letter Award winners, by sport, are as follows:
Baseball:Â Mike Avery, Sr. (Cortland)
Men's Basketball:Â Carson Niehoff, Sr. (West Islip)
Women's Basketball:Â Ali Canale, Sr. (Oswego)
Men's Cross Country: Josh Henry, Sr. (Truxton/Homer)Â Â Â
Women's Cross Country:Â Andi Palen, So. (Gardiner/Wallkill)
Field Hockey:Â Kayla Chambers, Sr. (Craryville/Taconic Hills)
Football:Â Jim Smith, Sr. (Nanuet)
Women's Golf:Â ** Rebecca Infante, Jr. (Carmel/Mahopac)
Women's Gymnastics:Â Cristina Speirs, Fr. (Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage)
Men's Ice Hockey:Â Patrick Palmisano, Jr. (Ann Arbor, MI/Ann Arbor Pioneer)
Women's Ice Hockey:Â Maggie Welker, Sr. (Rochester/Greece Athena)
Women's Tennis:Â Stephanie DiCapua, Fr. (East Quogue/Westhampton Beach)
Men's Indoor Track and Field:Â Jake Zanetti, Sr. (Saratoga Springs)
Women's Indoor Track and Field:Â ** Kristen Serikstad, Jr. (Oyster Bay)
Men's Outdoor Track and Field:Â Shamus Nally, Sr. (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake)
Women's Outdoor Track and Field:Â Sarah Kimball, Sr. (Liverpool)
Men's Lacrosse:Â Joey Morgan, Sr. (Putnam Valley)
Women's Lacrosse:Â Anna Fahey, Sr. (Syracuse/West Genesee)
Men's Soccer:Â Peter Degere, Sr. (West Islip)
Women's Soccer:Â Kayla Sweet, Sr. (Fonda/Fonda-Fultonville)
Softball:Â Crystal Carlson, Sr. (Lancaster/Iroquois)
Men's Swimming and Diving:Â Dan Evans, Jr. (Hamburg)
Women's Swimming and Diving:Â Liz Neddo, So. (Syracuse/Fowler)
Women's Volleyball:Â Brittney Horton, Sr. (Owego/Owego Free Academy)
Wrestling:Â Paul LeBlanc, Sr. (Morrisville/Morrisville-Eaton)
** also won award in 2007-08
Banquet Award Winners (since 1988)
Â
Â
.
Â
Â
Â
Â
