INDIANA, Pa. – IUP Athletics announced more than 100 nominees for the 2017-18 Crimson & Gray Awards. Nominees consist of student-athletes, coaches, and teams from IUP's 19 varsity sports, and are spread out over 16 total categories – eight men, eight women.
In its second year of existence, the Crimson & Gray Awards are run by the IUP Sports Information Office, which collected the nominations from its head coaches. A list of finalists will be voted on by select members of the sports information office and athletic department, and announced later this month.
Winners of each award will be announced over a two-week period in June on IUPAthletics.com, and on IUP Athletics social media accounts.
RELATED | Crimson & Gray Awards home page
Continuing from the inaugural year, awards are given to a member of both an IUP men's and women's team, and include: Coach of the Year, Performance of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Postseason Performer of the Year, Senior of the Year, Team of the Year and Athlete of the Year.
Also included in the Crimson & Gray Awards is the men's and women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Those honorees are selected by members of the IUP Athletic Department administration.
A full list can be seen below.
NOMINEES FOR 2017-18 CRIMSON & GRAY AWARDS
Coach of the Year
Men's: Frederick A. Joseph – golf;
Joe Lombardi – basketball;
Anthony Rebyanski – baseball;
Paul Tortorella - football;
Chris Villa – swimming;
Joey Zins – cross country/track & field
Women's: Gary Agard – field hockey;
Michelle Burgher-Duncan – track & field;
Bill Graham – softball;
Adel Heder – soccer;
Tom McConnell – basketball;
Scott Pennewill – volleyball;
Larry Peterson – tennis;
Mindy Richmond – lacrosse;
Chris Villa – swimming;
Joey Zins – cross country
Performance of the Year
Men's: Ted DeSanti vs. Clarion;
Anthony Glover, Jr. vs. Slippery Rock;
Austin Cooper at Paul Short Run;
Samir Bullock at Seton Hill;
Joshua Bartley at PSAC Championships;
Colter Long at Mangus Cup;
DJ Horton at CalU Early Bird Invitational
Women's: Megan Smith vs. Pitt-Johnstown;
Ally Burrows vs. Slippery Rock/Millersville;
McKenna Keffel vs. Kutztown;
Renee Wall vs. Clarion;
Regan Chalk at Pidgeon Memorial
Freshman of the Year
Men's: Sam Lenze – cross country;
Justice Evans – football;
Lucas Bellier – swimming
Women's: Lauren Piecknick – lacrosse;
Madeline Smakulski – soccer;
Renee Wall – softball;
Paige McCullough – swimming;
Nicole Beidacki – tennis
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
Men's: Ted DeSanti – baseball;
Dalton Trump – cross country;
JR Stevens – football;
RJ Hammond – swimming;
Derek Noll – track & field
Women's: Lexie Griggs – basketball;
Kathryn Zeiler – lacrosse;
Alaina Montgomery – softball;
Nicole Smith – swimming;
Mariana Valenzuela – tennis;
Jada Wilson – track & field;
Katie Miller – volleyball
Postseason Performer of the Year
Men's: Greg Beaudette – cross country;
Lenny Williams, Jr. – football;
Joshua Bartley – golf;
Noah Brockway – swimming;
Julius Rivera – track & field; 4x800 relay – track & field
Women's: Carolyn Appleby – basketball;
Nicole Smith – swimming;
Jarka Petercakova and
Luise von Agris – tennis;
Katie Miller – volleyball
Senior of the Year
Men's: Ted DeSanti – baseball;
Anthony Glover, Jr. – basketball;
Austin Cooper – cross country/track & field;
Jemal Averette – football;
Joshua Bartley – golf;
Shane Hallett – swimming
Women's: Megan Smith – basketball;
Madelyn Mullen – field hockey;
Riley Greenleaf – lacrosse;
Beatriz Gonzalez – swimming;
Luise von Agris – tennis;
Heather Sternby – track & field;
Natalie Cignetti – volleyball
Team of the Year
Men's: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Swimming, Track & Field
Women's: Basketball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball
Athlete of the Year
Men's: Ted DeSanti – baseball;
Anthony Glover, Jr. – basketball;
Greg Beaudette – cross country;
Max Redfield – football;
Joshua Bartley – golf;
Colter Long – swimming;
Austin Cooper – track & field
Women's: Megan Smith – basketball;
Emma Smiley – field hockey;
Adriana Greco – lacrosse;
Kaitlyn Beers – softball;
Nicole Smith – swimming;
Luise von Agris – tennis;
Natalie Cignetti - volleyball
Definition of Awards
Below is a list of the nine awards selected to be given for the 2017-18 year, along with the eligibility definitions. Each of the nine awards will be given to a member of a men's and women's team, for 18 total awards.
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Presented to senior men's and women's student-athletes who have displayed a combination of success both on the playing field and in the classroom during their time at IUP.
Coach of the Year: Presented to the men's and women's coaches who did the most outstanding job leading his or her team.
Performance of the Year: Presented to the student-athletes who had the most significant or extraordinary performance in a single game, event, or outing.
Freshman of the Year: Presented to a true freshman or redshirt freshman men's and women's student-athlete who put together the best all-around season for a first-year college player.
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year: Presented to a first-year starter or first-time key contributor who has improved their season performance dramatically over the last year.
Postseason Performer of the Year: Presented to the men's and women's student-athletes who put together the most significant combined performances in a PSAC or NCAA championship tournament/event.
Senior of the Year: Presented to senior eligible men's and women's student-athletes who had the most successful individual seasons.
Team of the Year: Presented to the men's and women's teams who had the most outstanding seasons.
Athlete of the Year: Presented to the men's and women's student-athletes, regardless of class eligibility, who had the best individual seasons.
History of IUP's year-end awards
The Crimson & Gray Awards were announced in April 2017 and first awarded for the 2016-17 season.
Prior to the current format, year-end athletic awards consisted of the Athletes of the Year and Scholar-Athletes of the Year. A singular Athlete of the Year honoree was first announced after the 2012-13 season and was determined by fan voting. For the 2013-14 season, both men's and women's Athletes of the Year were named, with fan voting eliminated, with that format running for three years.
Scholar-Athletes of the Year were announced in April at the President's annual All-American Banquet, with varying selection qualifications each year.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Athletics on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.
