St. John's Hosts 75th Annual Athletic Awards Celebration

St. John's Hosts 75th Annual Athletic Awards Celebration

6/9/2021 3:59:00 PM | Baseball, Fencing, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Golf, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Golf, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Women's Track and Field, Women's Volleyball, Men's Fencing, Women's Fencing

End of Year Video 75th Annual Awards Celebration

St. John’s student-athletes recognized for their success over the season

The St. John's Athletic Department reflected on a great year of accomplishments during its virtual awards celebration on Wednesday afternoon. The 75th edition of the awards banquet celebrated another successful academic year for the Red Storm.

Campus Minster for Athletics, Fr. Richard Rock C.M. kicked off the awards celebration with an invocation to the coaches and student-athletes.

Following Father Rock's opening remarks, Director of Athletics Mike Cragg expressed his appreciation for all the success St. John's student-athletes enjoyed in the classroom, community and playing field this academic year.

Junior track and field star and a member of the St. John's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Amanda Belgrave also spoke to her fellow peers about her time as a Johnnie.

Nine special recognition awards were presented to acknowledge those athletes and coaches who have gone above and beyond the sport in their most recent season.

The Herbert V. Hess Award, which is presented to a coach who during the year demonstrates honesty, integrity and concern for his student-athletes, was bestowed upon the Red Storm's men's basketball coach Mike Anderson. Anderson guided the Red Storm to a 16-11 record, including 10 wins in BIG EAST play. Under the direction of Anderson, St. John's finished with a league record of .500 or better for the first time since 2014-15 and secured a top-four seed in the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 2000. In his 19th year as a Division I head coach, Anderson notched his 400th career victory on Feb. 16, defeating Xavier at Carnesecca Arena. For his accomplishments over the 2020-21 season, Anderson became the first St. John's head man in nearly three decades to receive BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors.

The Frank C. Haggerty Memorial Award and the John W. Kaiser Award are presented to the Red Storm's most outstanding male and female student-athletes. This year, those awards were given to men's basketball's All-BIG EAST First Team selection Julian Champagnie and women's tennis three-time BIG EAST Player of the Year and four-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection Jessica Livianu.

Baseball's Ryan Hogan and softball's Gretchen Bowie received the male and female Rickard F. McSwiney Awards. These are presented to St. John's athletes who exhibit pride in team achievements, determination as a competitor and the ability to lead.

Baseball's Joe Joe Rodriguez received the John DaSilva Award that is presented to a deserving student-athlete who exhibits courage, persistence and fortitude.

The Dr. Peter Vitulli Award was presented to Katherine Turner of women's soccer. This award is given to an athlete who demonstrated courage, perseverance, dedication and spirit of self-sacrifice.

Each year, St. John's recognizes a team manager who has played a significant role for his or her program. This year's James Kevin Beatty Memorial winner was women's basketball's Nick Lachney.

The Walter T. McLaughlin Award, which recognizes an unsung staff member for their dedication to St. John's student-athletes, was granted to the Red Storm's Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Operating Officer John Diffley, Ed.D., who served as co-chair on the St. John's COVID-19 task force, and went above and beyond his role to help ensure a safe playing environment for the student-athletes over the 2020-21 season.

Listed below are the award winners:

Team Awards

Christian L. Thomsen Memorial Award: Julian Champagnie, Men's Basketball
Victoria Porter MVP Award: Leilani Correa, Women's Basketball
John T. "Doc" Gimmler Golf MVP Award: Jack Simon, Men's Golf
Women's Golf Co-MVPs: Angelica Kusnowo and Linda Wang Women's Golf
George Santelli Award: Ivan Dalton Walker, Men's Fencing
Women's Fencing MVP Award: Karolina Kaleta, Women's Fencing
George Seewagen Memorial Award: Ignacio Garcia, Men's Tennis
Connie Kaiser Memorial Award: Jessica Livianu, Women's Tennis
Kenneth F. Perrone Memorial Co-Award Winners: Tani Oluwaseyi and Brandon Knapp Men's Soccer
Marianne Viscovich-Powderly Memorial Award: Jessica Garziano, Women's Soccer
Indoor Track and Field MVP: Leah Anderson, Track and Field
Outdoor Track and Field MVP: Leah Anderson, Track and Field
Cross Country MVP: Claire Cushing, Cross Country
Dr. Margaret Mary Fitzpatrick, S.C. Award: Rachele Rastelli, Volleyball
Baseball MVP: TBA
Softball MVP: Gretchen Bowie, Softball
Marianne Noonan Memorial Award: Camree Clegg, Women's Basketball
The Excalibur Award: Cesar Colon, Men's Fencing
Joseph J. Calcagno Award: Nicole Gavrilko, Women's Fencing
Kathleen Murphy Meehan Award: Tiziana Baumrukova, Volleyball
Francis A. McCall Memorial Award: Jonathan Huber, Lacrosse
John Holohan Spirit and Dedication Award: Lauren Finegan
Cheerleading Team Spirit and Dedication Award: Christina Valenti
Dance Team Spirit and Dedication Award: Matthew Krischenheiter

Specialty Awards

Dr. Peter Vitulli Award: Katherine Turner, Women's Soccer
James Kevin Beatty Memorial Award: Nick Lachney, Women's Basketball
Herbert V. Hess Award: Mike Anderson, Men's Basketball
Rickard F. McSwiney Award: Gretchen Bowie, Softball
Rickard F. McSwiney Award: Ryan Hogan, Baseball
John DaSilva Memorial Award: Joe Joe Rodriguez, Baseball
John W. Kaiser Award: Jessica Livianu, Women's Tennis
Frank C. Haggerty Memorial Award: Julian Champagnie, Basketball
Walter T. McLaughlin Award: John Diffley, Ed.D.