The 2015 SUNY Cortland C-Club Athletic Awards Ceremony, held April 27 at 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.
 

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BANQUET PHOTO GALLERY

AWARDS BANQUET PROGRAM (PDF)

RED LETTER AWARD VIDEO PLAYLIST
 

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The SUNY Cortland C-Club Male Senior Athlete of the Year Award was presented to men's track and field sprinter Melique Garcia (Watervliet) and the C-Club Female Senior Athlete of the Year Award was presented to women's track and field jumper/women's soccer goalie Taylor Hudson (Victor). The awards were sponsored by the C-Club and were voted upon by Cortland athletic administrators.

Garcia is a two-time All-American in the 200-meter dash with a national runner-up finish indoors this past winter and a fourth-place finish indoors last year. He also qualified nationally for the 60-meter dash indoors in 2014 and 2015, the 100-meter dash outdoors in 2013 and 2014, and the 200-meter dash outdoors in 2014.

Hudson is a three-time high jump All-American with a national runner-up finish this past winter, a third-place showing at last year's outdoor nationals, and a fifth-place effort indoors in 2014. She's qualified for nationals three times in the long jump, twice in the heptathlon, and four times in the high jump, including her three All-America finishes.

Other finalists for Male Senior Athlete of the Year were soccer goalie Tim Beauvais (Hilton), cross country and track and field distance runner Nick Marcantonio (Glens Falls), baseball pitcher Brandon McClain (Coram/Longwood) and ice hockey forward Nick Zappia (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius). Other Female Senior Athlete of the Year finalists were lacrosse attack Marilyn Farrell (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius), lacrosse midfielder Emma Hayes-Hurley (Huntington), gymnast Elise Konikoff (Hamburg) and basketball forward/softball shortstop Erin Wolstenholme (Oneonta).

Beauvais received the Carl "Chugger" Davis Award, which is given to a senior male athlete for strong leadership skills and athletic achievement. Beauvais was a first-team All-East goalie who set Cortland career records with 24 shutouts and 337 saves. Davis was Cortland's head football coach from 1932 to 1962 and also coached baseball, basketball and golf.

Basketball guard Lindsey Minor (Wheatley Heights/St. John the Baptist) received the M. Louise Moseley Award, which goes to a senior female athlete who has demonstrated both strong leadership skills and athletic achievement. Minor played four seasons for the women's basketball team and started every game each of the last three seasons. She was only the third player in program history to be selected as a three-time team captain. 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.

Women's distance runner Ameena Dye (DeWitt/Jamesville-DeWitt) earned the Whitney T. Corey '43 Award, which is presented to the senior female student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. Dye is a communications studies major with a 3.94 overall GPA entering the spring semester. 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.

Baseball outfielder Adam Smith (Vestal) won the Robert J. Weber Award as the senior male student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. Smith is a fitness development major with a 3.96 overall GPA prior to the spring semester. 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.

Junior Erin Locascio, a White Plains, N.Y., native and physical education major who works as a women's basketball team manager and also assists softball, men's soccer and other teams, won the 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.

The 19th annual C-Club Coach of the Year Award was presented to baseball coach Joe Brown. Brown led Cortland last season to a 36-10 record and a tie for fifth at the NCAA Div. III World Series, and his squad this spring is currently 32-2 and ranked first nationally. Brown previously won Cortland's Coach of the Year Award in 2001 and 2006.

Tom Cranfield, Cortland's Associate Director of Athletics, was chosen as the Fraser Stokes Award winner for his dedication and service to Cortland Athletics. Cranfield has been in his current position at Cortland since 2010. He also served as an assistant director of athletics from 2006-10 and was the school's men's ice hockey head coach from 2001-07 and in the 2013-14 season.

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 team (3.06 GPA) won the award for the fourth time in the last five years and the women's gymnastics team (3.47 GPA) won the award for the second straight year. The award was first given in 2003.

The ceremony closed with comments by Mike Partigianoni, who is concluding his role as Cortland's athletics equipment room supervisor after 28 years. "Parge" was given a pair of standing ovations by the student-athletes, coaches and guests in attendance. He was inducted into Cortland's C-Club Hall of Fame in 2013.

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 2014-15 Red Letter Award winners, by sport, are as follows:

Men's Basketball: Lamard Herron, Sr. (Westbury)
Women's Basketball: Lindsey Minor, Sr. (Wheatley Heights/St. John the Baptist)
Men's Cross Country: Nick Marcantonio, Sr. (Glens Falls)
Women's Cross Country: Ameena Dye, Sr. (DeWitt/Jamesville-DeWitt)
Field Hockey: Erica Wharton, Sr. (Putnam Valley)
Football: Gabe Ostrow, Sr. (Nanuet)
Women's Golf: Samantha Morley, Sr. (Poughkeepsie/Arlington)
Women's Gymnastics: Maddy Scozzie, Jr. (Ashburn, VA/Broad Run)
Men's Ice Hockey: # Nick Zappia, Sr. (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Women's Ice Hockey: Abbie Adams, Sr. (Potsdam)
Men's Lacrosse: Matt Rakoczy, Sr. (Clifton Park/Albany Academy)
Women's Lacrosse: Marilyn Farrell, Sr. (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Men's Soccer: Tim Beauvais, Sr. (Hilton)
Women's Soccer: Caitlin Guerra, Sr. (Highland Falls/James I. O'Neill)
Softball: Devynn Wilder, Sr. (Oswego)
Men's Swimming and Diving: Mark Hanifin, Sr. (Fort Plain)
Women's Swimming and Diving: Angelica Ford, So. (Chicago, IL/Elk Grove Village)
Women's Tennis: Shannon Grodotzke, Sr. (Rocky Point)
Men's Indoor Track and Field: # Melique Garcia, Sr. (Watervliet)
Women's Indoor Track and Field: Kayla Koelbel, Jr. (Bradford, PA/Kings Park (NY))
Men's Outdoor Track and Field: Jarred Iacovelli, Sr. (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional)
Women's Outdoor Track and Field: $ Taylor Hudson, Sr. (Victor)
Women's Volleyball: Mary Kelly, Sr. (Guilderland)
Wrestling: Paul Fields, Sr. (New City/Clarkstown North)
Baseball:  no selection

# also won award in 2013-14
$ won women's indoor track and field award in 2013-14

Also recognized at the ceremony were Cortland's student-athletes who were selected to the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society. The organization recognizes college student-athletes who are juniors or seniors with at least a 3.7 cumulative GPA on a 4.3 scale. Cortland's 2014-15 honorees were:

Marley Bender (Riverside, CA/Woodcrest Christian), Women's Gymnastics
Edwin Bliemeister (Alden), Wrestling
Kayla Blomback (Orchard Park), Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Ameena Dye (Jamesville/Jamesville-DeWitt), Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Marilyn Farrell (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius), Women's Lacrosse
Dillon Giorgis (Avon, OH/Western Reserve Academy), Men's Lacrosse
Magdalena Gippert (Cologne, Germany/Antoniuskolleg Neunkirchen), Women's Gymnastics
Connor Griffin (Cortland), Baseball
Elise Konikoff (Hamburg), Women's Gymnastics
Travis Laitar (Fergus, ON/Centre Wellington), Baseball
Michelyn Little (Voorheesville/Clayton A. Bouton), Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Emily Nagy (Merrimack, NH), Women's Gymnastics
Marina Pettinicchi (Bellport), Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Maddy Scozzie (Ashburn, VA/Broad Run), Women's Gymnastics
Sarah Seger (Wantagh/L.I. Lutheran), Women's Basketball
Adam Smith (Vestal), Baseball
Amelia Taylor (Seaford), Women's Lacrosse
Erica Wharton (Putnam Valley), Field Hockey

(For information about individual award winners, please contact Cortland Sports Information Director Fran Elia at (607) 753-5673 or by e-mail at eliaf@cortland.edu)

Banquet Award Winners (since 1988)
2014-15 Senior Athletes of the Year Taylor Hudson (left) and Melique Garcia (right) with Cortland Director of Athletics Mike Urtz.