Blue Devil Choice Awards Highlight the 2023-24 CCSU Athletics Success

The annual Senior Awards for the Central Connecticut Department of Athletics were announced on Monday during the CCSU Blue Devil Choice Awards held in Alumni Hall. The awards program included the presentation of the major athletic and academic awards, while integrating a slate of awards chosen by the Blue Devils' student-athletes to recognize their peers and teams.

PHOTOS | 2023-24 CCSU ATHLETICS HIGHLIGHTS

The Frederick M. Gladstone and Gail Rutz Awards are presented to honor the top male and female athletes in the senior class and are among the most prestigious a student-athlete can win in their CCSU career. Past winners of these awards include CCSU Hall of Famers, professional athletes, and successful business men and women.

The Gail Rutz Award was presented to Ashley Dana (cross country/track and field) and Shannon Welcome (women's swimming & diving). On the men's side, Hunter Pasqualini (baseball) was honored with the Frederick M. Gladstone Award. Dana completed a decorated running career at CCSU that included being named the Most Oustanding Distance Performer, twice, at the indoor championships and winning the 2020-21 NEC Cross Country Individual crown. Welcome helped CCSU to back-to-back NEC team titles and earned All-NEC honors over a half-dozen times. Pasqualini has helped the Blue Devils to a pair of conference titles, while batting better than .300 for his career and ranking among the program's all-time leaders in runs scored.

Along with the Gladstone and Rutz awards, seniors Meghan Kenefick (women's basketball) and Matt Jenner (football) were honored with the Kevin Oliva Memorial Academic Awards for having the highest grade point averages among graduating female and male senior student-athletes, respectively. The men's soccer team was recognized for having the highest team GPA among CCSU's 16 Division I sports. The academic awards are given in honor of the former Director of the Academic Center for Student-Athletes. Kevin Oliva was a beloved and loyal Blue Devil with a deep-rooted connection to the University. He was beloved by staff and student-athletes at CCSU for his devotion to their well-being and his mantra of "Be nicer to one another," serves as a reminder that everyone matters.

In addition, all senior student-athletes from the sports teams, the dance and cheerleading squads, and athletic training program were recognized for graduating and for their commitment to Blue Devil Athletics. Student-athletes with a GPA above 3.20 over the past two semesters were also recognized with the Academic Award.

The Blue Devil Choice Awards included nine awards voted on and presented by CCSU student-athletes recognizing the accomplishments of their peers. The award winners were:

Unsung Hero Award (Given to the male and female student athletes who brings positivity, excitement and good vibes to the locker room, practice and competition.): Belle Lanpher (women's basketball) and Joe Ostrowsky (men's basketball)
Most Supportive Team Award (Given to the one team that  voluntarily showed up to support their fellow Blue Devils many times throughout the year. .): Women's Soccer
Play of the Year Award (Awarded to the moment that will go down in history books and last in our student athletes' memories forever.): Kaylee Whittaker
Record Breaking Performance Award (Given to individuals or team accomplishments that have been solidified in the record books.): Men's Basketball
Iron Devil Award (Given to one male and one female student athlete who is always on time for their training, demonstrating leadership by pushing their teammates. Chosen by Sports Performance Staff): Belle Lanpher (women's basketball) and Jake Neuman (baseball)
Rookies of the Year (Given to one male and one female freshman student athlete who displayed athletic excellence in their sport this past year.): Liz Hamilton (softball), Sam Hutchinson (baseball)
MVP Award (Presented to one male and one female student athlete who positively impacted theirr program this year—whether it was in competition or behind the scenes, or both.): Meg Gorman (softball) and Brady Short (softball)
Brian Moore Award Given to CCSU cheer coach Brian Moore who is departing CCSU after 15 years
SAAC Coach of the Year Award Patrick Sellers (men's basketball)

The Blue Devils have posted another successful season, winning five Northeast Conference team championships thus far (men's cross country, women's soccer, women's swimming and diving, women's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field) with two teams still competing for spring championships. Since 2014-15, CCSU has won an NEC-high 38 team championships.