INDIANA, Pa. — The IUP Athletics Department announced the 59 finalists for the third annual Crimson & Gray Awards, Wednesday morning.
 
The initial 116 nominees were voted on by a committee made up of members from the IUP Athletics Department and the Sports Information Office to choose three finalists in each category.

In the event of a tie, those nominees with the same number of votes were all selected as finalists. Four categories had ties during voting including, Women's Freshman of the Year, Men's Freshman of the Year, Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Men's Senior of the Year.

The teams with the most finalists include men's basketball (10) and women's basketball (eight). Other top programs include men's track & field and women's lacrosse (seven each), and men's golf and women's swimming (six each).

Student-athletes with the most combined finalist category appearances included Dante Lombardi (four), and Carolyn Appleby, Matt Cocorikis and Derek Noll (three each). 
 
The Crimson & Gray Awards consist of 18 total categories - nine women, nine men. For the third year, awards are given to a member of both an IUP men's and women's team, and include: Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 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.
 
Winners of each award will be announced over a two-week period, beginning June 17, on IUPAthletics.com and IUP Athletics social media accounts. ­

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2018-19 Crimson & Gray Awards Finalists


Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Ana Hollen – Basketball

• Graduated with 4.0 cumulative GPA in Exercise Science.
• PSAC Champion Scholar for Women's Basketball for second straight year.
• Played in 28 games with six starts for national semifinalists; averaged 3.3 PPG and shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range.

Sam Christman – Cross Country

• Graduated with 3.9 cumulative GPA in Management Info Systems.
• All-Academic Team by USTFCCCA in 2016-18.
• IUP's top runner, finishing first on the team in all six meets; finished 34th at PSAC Championships, 37th at Atlantic Region Championships.

Claire Mikesell – Swimming

• Junior has 3.82 cumulative GPA in Health & Physical Education.
• 1st team All-American in 200 breaststroke with 7th place finish at NCAA Championships.
• IUP's first 1st team All-American since 2014.

 
Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Dante Lombardi – Basketball

• Graduated with 3.67 cumulative GPA in Finance.
• PSAC Winter Top 10 team for second straight year.
• 2nd team All-Atlantic Region, 1st team All-PSAC West.
• Only player in PSAC to average 17+ points and 5+ assists per game.

Matt Cocorikis – Golf

• Graduated with 3.50 cumulative GPA in Accounting.
• Google Cloud Academic All-District Men's At-Large.
• PING All-Atlantic Region; No. 1 ranked player in region.
• Led PSAC with 73.5 stroke average, 2nd most event wins in IUP single season history with four.

Colter Long – Swimming

• Graduated with 3.89 cumulative GPA in Computer Science.
• Five semesters with 4.0 GPA.
• Five first place finishes; finished in top-8 in three events at 2019 PSAC Championships.

Derek Noll – Track & Field

• Graduated with 3.71 cumulative GPA in Criminology.
• 2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.
• Earned All-American honors (8th place) in 800 meters at NCAA Outdoor Championships.
• Won indoor and outdoor PSAC titles in 800 meters, indoor 4x800 relay.

 
Women's Coach of the Year
 
Tom McConnell – Basketball

• 2019 PSAC West Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
• Led the team to their fifth straight PSAC semifinal game, the program's sixth conference championship title, second consecutive Atlantic Region championship title, and the second consecutive Elite Eight national semifinal berth.
• Became the program's all-time winningest coach with an all-time record of 148-38 over six seasons.

Brenna Gallagher – Lacrosse

• Led the team to a 10-7 overall record and a 8-4 conference record during her first season as head coach.
• Made PSAC quarterfinal appearance.
• Defeated #9 East Stroudsburg on April 6, marking the program's first win over a top-10 opponent since 2016.

Chris Villa – Swimming

• Finished second in the PSAC Championships.
• 200 medley relay team broke the school and meet record at the PSAC championships; Team finished 24th overall at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
• Coached four All-Americans.

 
Men's Coach of the Year
 
Joe Lombardi – Basketball

• NABC Atlantic District Co-Coach of the Year.
• PSAC Tournament and PSAC West regular season champions.
• IUP finished regular season No. 2 in NABC Top 25.
• Had All-American and PSAC West Athlete of the Year Jacobo Diaz.
• IUP earned hosting responsibilities as No. 1 seed in Atlantic Region.

Joey Zins – Cross Country/Track & Field

• XC: IUP finished 5th at PSAC Championships, 5th at NCAA regionals.
• MTF: 7th at PSAC Indoor, 6th at PSAC Outdoor Championships.
• MTF: DJ Horton and Christian Jones earned All-American honors at NCAA Indoor Championships; Hrton and Derek Noll earned All-American honors at NCAA Outdoor Championships.
• MTF: PSAC champions include Horton (I/O) in the pole vault, Noll (I/O) in the 800, Jones (I/O) in the high jump and 4x800 relay (I).

Frederick A. Joseph – Golf

• Team finished 2nd at PSAC Championships in the fall before retiring at end of semester; assistant coach in the spring.
• Put together team that posted two 1st place and one 2nd place finish this spring.
• Four players were ranked in Top 25 of Atlantic Region rankings and earned PING all-region honors.

 
Women's Performance of the Year
 
Lauren Wolosik – Basketball
vs. Edinboro on Jan. 21

•  Scored career-high 33 points with 10 assists, three rebounds and four steals; named PSAC West Athlete of the Week.
• Recorded her first-career double-double.
• Went 14-of-18 from the floor, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range.
• IUP 97-73 and improved to 15-0 and 10-0 in the PSAC at that time.

Shannon Hartigan - Lacrosse
vs. #9 East Stroudsburg on April 6

• Notched career-highs of four assists, six points, seven ground balls and four caused turnovers in 12-10 win over #9 ESU.
• Performance helped her earn PSAC Athlete of the Week.
• The win marked IUP's first win over a top-10 opponent since 2016.

Claire Mikesell - Swimming
at NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, March 13-16

• Earned first team All-American honor in the 200 breaststroke on the final day of the championship.
• Broke the school record in the breastroke during the morning prelims (2:14.80); finished 3rd to advance to the championship final. Her time beat Allyson Mitidieri's time of 2:16.46 set during the 2013-14 season.
• Finished 7th in the championship final.
• Became the first IUP women's swimmer to earn a first team All-American honor since 2014.

 
Men's Performance of the Year
 
Dante Lombardi - Basketball
vs. West Chester on Mar. 9 (PSAC Semifinals), W 90-69

• Tied a career-high with 33 points in 90-69 victory over West Chester.
• Shot 10-16 from the field including 7-11 from 3-point range.
• Went 6-6 from the foul line, added 4 assists and 3 rebounds.

Lenny Williams Jr. - Football
vs. Gannon on Oct. 20, W 43-34

• Totaled 352 yards and four touchdowns in game that featured inclement weather and four delays.
• Went 18-28 for 232 yards and 3 TDs through the air, 15 carries for 120 yards and a TD on the ground.
• Became 8th player in PSAC history with 100 total touchdowns.

Matt Cocorikis - Golf
at Crofton Invitational on April 22-23, IUP 2nd of 9

• Won 3-round Crofton Invite with a -2 (214).
• Shot tourney best 3-under 69 in final round; Shot -2 in 2nd round. 
• It was Cocorikis' third straight individual win.

 
Women's Freshman of the Year
 
Carly Mansur - Lacrosse

• Saw the field in all 17 games, including 13 starts in the goal
• Finished the season ranked 7th in the PSAC with 8.76 saves per game
• Totaled 149 saves, recording the fifth-best save percentage in the conference (.493)

Mahogany Willis - Soccer

• Started all 18 games for the Crimson Hawks
• Named 3rd team All-PSAC
• 3rd in PSAC in goals (14) and points (29)
• 2nd most goals by a freshman in Division II

Jenna Rhue - Softball

• All-PSAC Central selection at catcher
• Batted .264 with eight doubles and 24 RBI
• Had nine multi-hit games and tied for the team lead with six multi-RBI games

Paige Mikesell - Swimming

• Team MVP; led team in points scored during season
• Had 9 first place finishes; Top 8 finisher at PSAC Championships in four events and NCAA qualifer in three
• Broke three IUP freshman records, part of two school record relay teams, including one hon. mention All-American relay

 
Men's Freshman of the Year
 
Nick DiAndreth – Baseball

• Led team in batting average (.340).
• 3rd on team with 24 runs scored.
• Started 31 of 35 games played in the outfield.

Armoni Foster – Basketball

• Top reserve for PSAC Champions as a redshirt freshman, finishing 4th on the team with 28.0 minutes per game.
• 5th on team with 7.6 points per game, 3rd with 41 made 3-pointers.
• 12 double-figure scoring games, including 24 points vs. West Chester.

Qashah Carter – Football

• 1st team All-PSAC West as a returner after walking on team.
• 15th in Division II with 28.6 kick return average.
• 95-yard KOR TD and PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week after loss at Cal U.

Nicholas Ward - Golf

• PING All-Atlantic Region Team.
• 2nd on team with 75.9 scoring average, best by an IUP freshman since 2012-13 season.
• 9th-ranked player in Atlantic Region; five top-10 finishes.

Dre Carr – Track & Field

• Finished 13th in 60 meters at NCAA Indoor Championship with personal best 6.82 seconds; only PSAC freshman to compete.
• Finished 4th in 60m at PSAC Indoor.
• Won 4 individual, 3 relay events during indoor and outdoor seasons.

 
Women's Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
 
Lexi Griggs - Basketball

• Started 33 games as a junior; fourth on team with 10.9 PPG and led national semifinalists with 57.5 FG percentage.
• Posted career-high scoring efforts in back-to-back games - 24 points vs. Clarion and 28 points vs. Cal U; named PSAC West Athlete of the Week.
• Last season, played in 34 games off the bench, averaging 9.4 minutes and 2.7 points per game.

Shannon Hartigan - Lacrosse

• Started in all 17 games for the Crimson Hawks.
• Led the team in assists (23) and ranked second in points (59) and goals (36).
• Played in three games in 2018 and 10 games in 2017 due to injuries.

Kallie Conte - Soccer

• 2nd team All-Atlantic Region, 3rd team All-PSAC.
• Tied for PSAC-lead with 12 assists, second most in IUP history.
• Four points, including IUP single game record three assists in 4-1 win over Mansfield.
• Just two career starts prior to senior season.

 
Men's Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
 
Ben Teplin - Baseball

• Started 36 of 37 games played as a sophomore.
• 5th on team with .303 batting average, 4th with 36 hits.
• Had 17 RBI and .395 slugging percentage.
• As freshman played in 11 games and hit .176 with three hits.

Malik Miller - Basketball

• 1st team All-PSAC West in first year as a starter.
• 3rd on team with 16.4 PPG; also had career-highs of 72 3-pointers, 145 rebounds, 106 assists and 34.8 minutes/game.
• 2nd on team with nine 20-point games, season-high 26 twice.
• Had three combined starts with 7.5 PPG previous two seasons.

Michael Dautlick - Cross Country

• IUP's second best runner at both championship meets.
• 2nd team All-PSAC with 21st place finish at league championships.
• Finished 35th at NCAA Atlantic Region Championships.
• Previous season finished 47th at PSACs and was left off squad for regional meet.

 
Women's Postseason Performer of the Year
 
Carolyn Appleby - Basketball

• PSAC Tournament MVP and Atlantic Region All-Tournament Team.
• Averaged 19.4 points in eight games to help IUP to PSAC and Atlantic Region titles.
• Season-high 28 points vs. Seton Hill in PSAC quarterfinals; 26 points vs. Kutztown in PSAC title game; 24 points vs. Cal U in region title game.

Nicole Smith - Swimming

• Led team in scoring at PSAC Championships with 107.5 points; had three top-3 individual finishes and three top-3 relay finishes.
• Team finished 2nd of 12 at PSACs.
• Three honorable mention All-American honors at NCAA Championships; 13th in 200 free, 15th in 500 free, part of record breaking and 13th place 400 medley relay.

Nickeela Austin - Track & Field

• PSAC Champion in the long jump at indoor meet and triple jump at outdoor meet.
• Both titles came with personal best jumps.
• Responsible for 18 of IUP's 33 points at PSAC Outdoor Championships; 15 of 16.3 points at PSAC Indoor Championships.

 
Men's Postseason Performer of the Year
 
Dante Lombardi - Basketball

• Named 2019 PSAC Tournament MVP.
• Averaged 19.0 points in three tourney games; made 13 3-pointers, dished out 10 assists, and had 10 rebounds.
• Tied career-high with 33 points in PSAC semifinal victory over West Chester.
• Averaged 21.0 points in 2 NCAA tournament games, including 25 points in regional semifinal loss to Mercyhurst.

Sam Lenze - Cross Country

• All-Atlantic Region with 8th place finish at regional championship.
• 1st team All-PSAC with 14th place finish at conference meet.
• Led Crimson Hawks top 5th place team finishes at both meets.

Derek Noll - Track & Field

• 1st team All-American (8th place) in 800 meters at NCAA Outdoor Championships.
• 3-time PSAC Champion: 800m (ind/out) and 4x800 relay (ind).
• Responsible for 24 of 52 of IUP's points at PSAC Indoors and 23 of 61 points at PSAC Outdoors.

 
Women's Senior of the Year
 
Carolyn Appleby - Basketball

• Division II Bulletin honorable mention All-American.
• 2nd team All-Atlantic Region; 1st team All-PSAC West.
• PSAC Tournament MVP, Atlantic Region All-Tournament Team.
• Averaged 17.8 points and 3.2 assists for national semifinalists.
• 666 points are 5th most in IUP single season, 133 assists are 7th.

Katie Martyn - Lacrosse

• 1st team all-region and 2nd team All-PSAC midfielder.
• Broke her own IUP single season draw controls record with 129.
• Her 7.59 draws per game ranked 10th in Division II, 2nd in PSAC.
• Posted career-highs of 26 goals, 15 assists, 41 points

Kallie Conte - Soccer

• 2nd team All-Atlantic Region, 3rd team All-PSAC
• Tied for PSAC-lead with 12 assists, second most in IUP history
• Four points, including IUP single game record three assists in 4-1 win over Mansfield
• Second on team with career-high 20 points

 
Men's Senior of the Year
 
Jacobo Diaz - Basketball

• Unanimous 1st team All-American.
• 1st team All-Atlantic Region/District and 1st team All-PSAC West.
• PSAC West Men's Basketball Athlete of the Year.
• FInished year ranked in top 10 in the PSAC in 11 statistical categories, including points (18.0), rebounds 99.2) and FG% (.526).
• Selected to 2019 Reese's Division II College All-Star Game.

Dante Lombardi - Basketball

• 2nd team All-Atlantic Region/District.
• 1st team All-PSAC West; PSAC Tournament MVP.
• Only player in PSAC to average 17+ points and 5+ assists per game.
• Became IUP's all-time assist leader (567).
• Led PSAC and set school record for made 3-pointers in a season (106).

DJ Horton - Track & Field

• Indoor and outdoor 2nd All-American in pole vault at NCAA Championships with 10th place finishes at both.
• Won PSAC pole vault title at both indoor and outdoor championships.
• Indoor and outdoor All-Atlantic Region selection for pole vault.
• PSAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.
• Won pole vault in 7 of 12 meets during indoor/outdoor seasons.

Derek Noll - Track & Field

• 1st team All-American (8th place) in 800 meters at NCAA Outdoor Championships.
• 3-time PSAC Champion: 800m (ind/out) and 4x800 relay (ind).
• Indoor and outdoor All-Atlantic Region selection for 800 meters.
• Won combined 11 events during ind/out seasons (8 ind/3 relay).
• Broke 18-year old Lock Haven stadium record with 1:50.35 in 800m.

 
Women's Team of the Year
 
Basketball

• NCAA National Semifinalists; NCAA Atlantic Region Champions.
• PSAC Tournament and PSAC West regular season champions.
• Finished the season 30-4 overall, tying a program record for most wins in a season.
• Earned No. 1 national ranking for first time in program history; spent 15 weeks inside the top-5 (most in DII) and finished year No. 4.

Lacrosse

• Went 10-7 overall and 8-4 in the conference; earned No. 4 seed in PSAC tournament.
• Had three named to the All-PSAC and All-Region teams.
• Spent two weeks ranked in Top 25.

Swimming

• Finished 2nd at PSAC Championships for first time since 2014.
• 4-1 record in dual meets.
• Finished 24th at NCAA Championships.
• Four All-American honors including one first team All-American.

 
Men's Team of the Year
 
Basketball

• PSAC Tournament and PSAC West regular season champions.
• No. 1 seed for Atlantic Region tournament.
• Finished with 30-3 record; third 30-win season in program history.
• Ranked No. 2 in final regular season poll, tying program record.

Cross Country

• Finished 5th of 15 teams at PSAC Championships.
• Finished 5th of 17 teams at Atlantic Region Championships, missing out on NCAA Division II meet by one spot.

Golf

• Finished 2nd of 8 teams at PSAC Championships and tied for 6th of 20 teams at Atlantic/East Region Championships.
• No. 2 seed in Atlantic Region heading into postseason.
• Won four of 10 tournaments, finished 2nd in two others.

 
Women's Athlete of the Year
 
Carolyn Appleby - Basketball

• Division II Bulletin honorable mention All-American.
• 2nd team All-Atlantic Region; 1st team All-PSAC West.
• PSAC Tournament MVP, Atlantic Region All-Tournament Team.
• Averaged 17.8 points and 3.2 assists for national semifinalists.
• 666 points are 5th most in IUP single season, 133 assists are 7th.
• 2nd all-time in IUP history with 1,723 points, 4th with 406 assists.
• Three-time All-PSAC West selection; two-time PSAC Tournament MVP; 2018 Atlantic Region Tourney MVP; 2018 Elite Eight All-Tourney Team; 2019 Atlantic Region All-Tourney Team.

Ally Burrows - Lacrosse

• 1st team All-Atlantic Region, 1st team All-PSAC.
• 1st in PSAC with 3.35 goals/game, 2nd with 4.41 points/game.
• 57 goals is tied for 3rd in IUP single season history.
• Broke IUP all-time record with 219 goals; 5th most goals in PSAC history.
• 266 career points is 3rd in IUP history, 22nd in PSAC history.
• Three straight 1st team All-PSAC selections.

Renee Wall - Softball

• PSAC Central Athlete of the Year; All-PSAC Central for second straight season as a sophomore.
• Led the team in almost every offensive category; Hit a team best .339 with 13 doubles and had career-highs in runs, hits, triples, homers, RBI, slugging percentage, walks, and on-base percentage.
• Reached base in 22 straight games, the longest streak in IUP recorded history.
• Also had team-best 13-game hit streak.

Men's Athlete of the Year
 
Jacobo Diaz - Basketball

• Unanimous 1st team All-American.
• 1st team All-Atlantic Region/District and 1st team All-PSAC West.
• PSAC West Men's Basketball Athlete of the Year.
• FInished year ranked in top 10 in the PSAC in 11 statistical categories, including points (18.0), rebounds 99.2) and FG% (.526).
• Only player in IUP history to be named PSAC West Athlete of the Year and All-American twice in career.
• 2nd in IUP history with 1,747 points and 1,105 rebounds.

Matt Cocorikis - Golf

• PING All-Atlantic Region Team; shoe-in for PSAC Golfer of the Year.
• No. 1 ranked player in Atlantic with 73.5 stroke average.
• 4 event wins is 2nd in IUP single season history; 3 straight wins is most singe national champ Gavin Smith in 2009-10.
• Eight top-10 finishes in 10 events; eight rounds below par.
• Tallied the seven best rounds by an IUP golfer this season.
• 2-time All-Atlantic Region player; 75.39 career average is 5th best in IUP history.

DJ Horton - Track & Field

• Indoor and outdoor 2nd All-American in pole vault at NCAA Championships with 10th place finishes at both.
• Won PSAC pole vault title at both indoor and outdoor championships.
• Indoor and outdoor All-Atlantic Region selection for pole vault.
• PSAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.
• Won pole vault in 7 of 12 meets during indoor/outdoor seasons.

 

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Definition of awards
Below is a list of the nine awards selected to be given for the 2018-19 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 student-athletes who put together the most significant combined performances in a PSAC or NCAA championship tournament.
 
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.