ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- The Elizabethtown College Department of Athletics recognized the academic and athletic accomplishments of its student-athletes, announcing the 11th annual STAR Award Winners on Sunday in an in-person gathering at the Bowers Center fieldhouse. Awards given out included: male and female Team GPA, Team Service award, male and female Rookie of the Year, male and female Most Outstanding Student-Athlete, male and female Dr. Clair R. McCollough Award recipients (most improved), and male and female Distinguished Student-Athletes.
TEAM GPA AWARD (highest cumulative team GPA)
2022-23 MALE TEAM AWARD WINNER: MEN'S TENNIS (3.69)
2022-23 FEMALE TEAM AWARD WINNER: WOMEN'S SWIMMING (3.70)
TEAM SERVICE AWARD
This award recognizes the Elizabethtown College Athletics program that has participated in the MOST IMPACTFUL service project this year
2022-23 WINNER: WOMEN'S SOCCER
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The award goes to the outstanding first-year female and male student-athlete who exhibit talent; a high level of competitiveness; and consistent mental, physical, and emotional toughness in executing his/her team role. The award is not given on just talent alone. Due to the circumstances of this past year, nominees must be a spring sport first-year or sophomore student-athlete.
2022-23 MALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: GANON SMITH, WRESTLING
Ganon Smith went 30 and 12 this season for the Blue Jays as the team's starting 174-pounder. He placed 2
nd at the Ken Ober Tournament, 4
th at the Messiah Invitational, 5
th at the Blue Jays Classic, and 3
rd at the NCAA Div. III Mideast Regional to become the first freshman NCAA Qualifier for Elizabethtown since Tyler Erdman.
2022-23 FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: JENNA HOFFMANN, WOMEN'S SOCCER
Jenna Hoffmann started all 16 games for the Blue Jays this season and scored in her collegiate debut, a 1-0 win against Muhlenberg to put her name on the Ira R. Herr Field scoreboard for all of eternity. Jenna tied for the team-lead in goals and was second in points with 9 and was also named to the All-Landmark Conference Second Team as a midfielder.
MOST OUTSTANDING STUDENT-ATHLETE
This award recognizes the top female and male student-athletes who are deemed to have compiled the most distinctive and/or extraordinary athletic record in the current academic year. Talent, competitiveness, toughness, and sportsmanship are qualities that should be consistently evident.
2022-23 FEMALE MOST OUTSTANDING STUDENT-ATHLETE: SUMMER McNULTY, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Only a sophomore,
Summer McNulty had an exceptional season for the Blue Jays, helping lead Etown to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and first NCAA Tournament win since 2001. She is only the 9
th player in program history to score at least 500 points in a single-season and 1 of 8 all-time to hit at least 189 field goals in a season. Summer was a 20-22, 20-23 All-Landmark First Team Guard, D3hoops.com All-Region 5 First Team Guard, WBCA Div. III Coaches All-America Honorable Mention, and D3hoops.com All-America Fifth Team Guard selection.
2022-23 MALE MOST OUTSTANDING STUDENT-ATHLETE: BEN WATSON, BASEBALL
Ben Watson is putting together one the most impressive hitting seasons for a Blue Jay in years, batting FIVE-THIRTEEN going into Sunday's doubleheader with nationally-ranked Catholic. He has recorded 59 hits, 15 doubles, 8 triples, 6 home runs, and 34 RBIs and recently hit the 100-career RBI mark for the program. Ben leads the Landmark and is 3
rd in NCAA Div. III in batting average, while also leading the conference in hits, doubles, and triples, and will be a Landmark & Regional Player of the Year candidate as well as an opportunity to become an All-American for the first time in his career.
DR. CLAIR R. McCOLLOUGH AWARD
The Dr. Clair R. McCollough Award was established in 1970-71 to honor the most-improved male and female senior student-athlete. Per the original award description, the most-improved student-athlete "exemplifies a maturity in the skills, knowledge, and competitive spirit of the game." For an athlete to reach this maturity, he or she must be dedicated to practice, accept coaching and apply it to the game, realize that contributing to the team effort is more important than self-gratification, understand that competitiveness is linked only to aspiring to perform at the highest level you are capable, possess a positive attitude which allows him/her to rise to the occasion physically, mentally, and emotionally and be a courteous winner, gracious in defeat, and an encouraging teammate and leader.
2022-23 DR. CLAIR R. McCOLLOUGH AWARD MALE RECIPIENT: BEN O'CONNOR, MEN'S LACROSSE
Ben O'Connor has gone from scoring only 11 goals over the previous three seasons total to a team-high 52 this season after yesterday's win over Drew, which is currently the second-most in the Landmark Conference. He tied a single-game school and conference record on Saturday, April 15 at Juniata with 11 points, and with 16 goals that week, was named the Landmark Conference Men's Lacrosse Offensive Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career.
2022-23 DR. CLAIR R. McCOLLOUGH AWARD FEMALE RECIPIENT: MADISON WEBBER, WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY AND TRACK & FIELD
Over the past three seasons of track & field,
Madison Webber has been able to cut 2 full minutes off her 10k time from the 20-21 outdoor season and a minute-50 off her 5k time from 20-20 indoor season. In cross country, she's progressed from 46th at the Landmark championship, to 8
th, which is All-Conference positioning. She's gone from being unable to qualify for the regional meet in 2019 to placing 40th and missing All Mid-Atlantic region honors by a scant 9 seconds last fall.
DISTINGUISHED STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD
The Blue Jay Athletic Association Distinguished Student-Athlete Award recognizes Elizabethtown College student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in the areas of academic excellence, athletics achievement, service, and leadership. The recipient of this award demonstrates the ideals of citizenship and sportsmanship, and personifies the College motto "Educate for Service."
2022-23 FEMALE DISTINGUISHED STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD WINNER: HANNAH CRESSMAN, WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Hannah Cressman has set number single-game, single-season, and career records for the women's lacrosse program over her four years. She holds the single-game records for most points and most assists, the single-season assists record, and is number one in career assists at Elizabethtown. An All-Landmark Conference Second Team selection a season ago, Hannah leads the Landmark Conference in total assists, assists per game, and points per game, and prior to injury, led NCAA Div. III in assists and assists per game. She is a Dean's List student while also being a Landmark Conference Fall and Spring Academic Honor Roll selection and two-time IWLCA Academic Honor Roll selection.
2022-23 MALE DISTINGUISHED STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD WINNER: JALEN BELGRAVE, MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Jalen Belgrave is a two-time All-Landmark Conference First Team selection, running a leg on the winning 4x100m relay in 2021 and the winning 4x200m relay in 2023, while also making the program's Top 10 all-time list in the 4x200m relay, 60m dash, and 4x100m relay. Jalen has made the Dean's List every semester, is an Emergent Scholar at Etown, and USTFCCCA All-Academic Team for three years. He has been involved in a variety of service opportunities at the College and is committed to the University of Pennsylvania Masters in Science for Social Policy & Practice.
