Abele, Hunt Earn NEC Scholar-Athlete Honor
Central Connecticut men’s soccer goalkeeper Josef Abele and Northeast Conference men’s cross country champion Craig Hunt were both named NEC Fall Scholar-Athlete for their respective sports on Wednesday afternoon.
Central Connecticut men's soccer goalkeeper Josef Abele and Northeast Conference men's cross country champion Craig Hunt were both named NEC Fall Scholar-Athlete for their respective sports on Wednesday afternoon. The NEC also announced its Fall Academic Honor Roll and Commissioner's Honor Roll on Wednesday.
COMMISSIONER'S HONOR ROLL RELEASE
Hunt is the latest in a long line of Blue Devils to claim the men's cross country scholar-athlete award, joining previous honorees and former teammates Andrew Hill, Sam Alexander and Ry Sanderson. Hunt made a lasting impression in his senior season, setting a new course record (26:23) to claim the NEC individual championship and spark the Blue Devils to their fifth consecutive NEC team title.
In doing so he earned his fourth top-10 NEC finish and fourth All-Conference honor. The three-time NEC Athlete of the Week went on to place 25th out of 255 competitors at the NCAA regional meet, which earned him a spot at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Hunt became the first NEC harrier to qualify for nationals since the 2006 season.
He also recorded a fifth-place finish at the New England Championships, leading CCSU to its first-ever team title at the event. Hunt, who hails from New Milford, CT, majors in Physical Education.
Abele, a junior, claims scholar-athlete honors in men's soccer after helping lead the Blue Devils to the NEC regular season title in his first year as a starter. The second team All-NEC selection and two-time NEC Player of the Week posted a 9-5 overall record and 6-1 mark against NEC competition in the regular season.
He tied for the league lead with seven shutouts, and posted a 1.24 goals against average and .786 save percentage.
The Manchester, CT native was also named to the NSCAA Men's Scholar All-East Region second team in December. A three-time NEC Academic Honor Roll honoree, Abele was also tabbed to the NEC Commissioner's Honor Roll as a sophomore.
He is majoring in Mathematics.
The NEC Academic Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes that maintain a grade point average above a 3.20 on a 4.0 scale. CCSU's 49 student-athletes on the honor roll were spread across all six of the institution's fall sports. Leading the way was the CCSU women's soccer team with 17 student-athletes on the honor roll. Volleyball was represented on the honor roll by nine student-athletes and men's soccer was close behind with seven members recognized. The CCSU football team was also represented on the honor roll by seven student-athletes. For cross country, the women's program featured five selections and the men's program featured four, including Hunt.
To be named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll a student-athlete must maintain a 3.75 GPA through the completion of the most recent semester. Below are CCSU's nine student-athletes that earned a place on the Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Andrew Hill, Sr., Men's Cross Country, Mathematics
Krisztina Dearborn, Sr., Women's Cross Country, Physics
Elizabeth Eberhardt, Sr., Women's Cross Country, Marketing
Conor Qualter, Fr., Men's Soccer, Sociology
Stephen Walmsley, Jr., Men's Soccer, Physical Education
Jewel Robinson, Sr., Women's Soccer Marriage & Family Therapy
Amalia Ashley, Sr., Volleyball, Sociology
Nicole Dean, Fr., Volleyball, Biology
Brooke Schwab, Fr., Volleyball, Pre-Nursing