WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ - The Monmouth University Athletics Department recognized the achievements of its student-athletes with its annual Student-Athlete Awards, which were announced Tuesday inside Pollak Theater.
 
Among the prominent awards given were the Joan Martin Award, Bill Boylan Award, Parker Award and the Kelsey Award. In addition, Most Valuable Athlete Awards and Leadership Award winners were named for each team, as well as the Team Physicians' and Sports Medicine Award and Strength and Conditioning awards.
 
Nominees for the Paul G. Gaffney II Male Athlete of the Year were announced and include Ethan Lee (Golf), Abdi Bashir Jr. (Basketball), Derek Robertson (Football), Gabe Dahlin (Soccer), Mateo Bivol (Tennis), Declan McDonnell (Cross Country), David Strong (Indoor Track and Field), Ahmad Brock (Outdoor Track and Field), Jay Bant (Baseball), Victor Pottier Ibanez (Swimming).
 
Nominees for the Paul G. Gaffney II Female Athlete of the Year include Kailyn Bloch (Bowling), Damaris Rodriguez (Basketball), Jess Tucker (Field Hockey), Lauren Bruno (Soccer), Emily Simko (Cross Country), Yasmeen Tinsley (Indoor Track and Field), Veronica Chainov (Outdoor Track and Field), Ava Lozito (Golf), Katie Sullivan (Lacrosse), Faith Sadgrove (Tennis), Jensen Ritter (Swimming), Sam Staubach (Rowing).
 
The winners of the Paul G. Gaffney II Male and Female Athlete of the Year Awards will be announced this summer.
 
The Joan Martin Award, presented annually to the senior student-athletes who have shown dedication to their team while staying the course through adversity, was given to Ian Moore (Men's Cross Country) and Gabby Allen (Women's Soccer).

Nominees for the male Joan Martin Award included Colt Ingram (Golf), Sam Fagan (Basketball), Kadeem McKnight (Football), Ian Moore (Cross Country), Jan Volkmar (Indoor Track and Field), AJ Bailor (Outdoor Track & Field), Patrick Orapello (Lacrosse), Noah Ferker (Swimming).
 
Nominees for the female Joan Martin Award included Jenna Lehrer (Bowling), Rachel Kuhl (Basketball), India Shakespeare (Field Hockey), Gabby Allen (Soccer), Allie Pierontoni (Cross Country), Vanessa Wood (Indoor Track and Field), Meredith Updike (Outdoor Track and Field), Jess Brehm (Golf), Grace Curtin (Lacrosse), Lexi Castaneda (Softball), Kristen Gullickson (Swimming).
 
The Bill Boylan Award, presented annually to the senior student-athletes who demonstrate the traits of leadership, sportsmanship, scholarship and athletic ability that were so constant in the career of Bill Boylan, was awarded to Jack Neri (Football) and Belle Kranbuhl (Women's Basketball).
 
Neri began his career as a walk-on and steadily earned through his performance, positive attitude, and dynamic leadership ability, a full athletics scholarship. Over the last five years, he has been one of the most consistent performers on the field while proving to be an academic weapon in the classroom, collecting eight consecutive semesters on the Dean's List and serving as a tutor for finance classes. He set a career high in touchdowns scored this season and was a semi-finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy while maintaining a cumulative 3.8 GPA in the MBA program. 
 
Nominees for the male Bill Boylan Award included Colt Ingram (Golf), Jack Neri (Football), Diego Laporta (Tennis), Luke Riley (Cross Country), Dalton Yeust (Indoor Track and Field), Zay Battle (Outdoor Track & Field), Andrew Schmid (Baseball), Tommy Heller (Lacrosse), Gavin Loughlin (Swimming). 
 
Kranbuhl's commitment to both Academics and Athletics are truly remarkable. She has consistently demonstrated a dedication to excellence in the classroom and will be graduating this spring with a master's degree in education. She has been a dominant defensive force on the court and has solidified her place as one of the program's most influential players, breaking the program record this season for most games played. Beyond the numbers, she is a true leader who represents Monmouth University with pride, and her legacy at Monmouth will be felt for years to come.
 
Nominees for the female Bill Boylan Award included Sierra Poole (Bowling), Belle Kranbuhl (Basketball), Johanna Karlhuber (Field Hockey), Cassie Coster (Soccer), Marisa Kilgarriff (Cross Country), Annie Rutledge (Indoor Track), Yasmeen Tinsley (Outdoor Track), Ava Lozito (Golf), Caroline Brennan (Lacrosse), Lexi Castaneda (Softball), Lana Brezanin (Tennis), Alexa Houseknecht (Swimming). 
 
The Parker Award, presented annually to the teams with the highest grade-point average, went to the women's golf and men's tennis programs for the spring 2024 semester and field hockey and men's tennis for the fall 2024 semester.
 
The Kelsey Award, presented to the student-athlete with the highest individual GPA, was awarded to Alexa Houseknecht (Women's Swimming). Gretel Jelmert (Women's Track and Field) and John England (Football) were each given the Academic Resilience Award.
 
In addition, Harry Padden (Baseball) and Gen Mullervy (Women's Lacrosse) were named the Athletic Performance Award winners, while Andrew Ball (Men's Basketball), Sandrine Clesca (Women's Basketball) and Grace Curtin (Women's Lacrosse) were given the Team Physicians' and Sports Medicine Award.
 
Bill Boylan Award
Jack Neri (Football)
Belle Kranbuhl (Women's Basketball)
 
Joan Martin Award
Ian Moore (Men's Track and Field)
Gabby Allen (Women's Soccer)
 
Kelsey Award
Alexa Houseknecht (Women's Swimming)
 
Athletic Performance Award
Harry Padden (Baseball)
Gen Mullervy (Women's Lacrosse)
 
Team Physicians' and Sports Medicine Award
Andrew Ball (Men's Basketball)
Sandrine Clesca (Women's Basketball)
Grace Curtin (Women's Lacrosse)
 
Academic Resilience Award
John England (Football)
Gretel Jelmert (Women's Track and Field)
 
Marilyn Parker Award Spring 2024
Women's Golf
Men's Tennis
 
Marilyn Parker Award Fall 2024
Field Hockey
Men's Tennis
 
MSAAC Community Service Award
Women's Basketball 
 
Below is a list of the team MVA's and Leadership Award winners from this year:
 
Baseball
Most Valuable Athlete: Casey Caufield 
Leadership Award: Chris Andrews 
 
Men's Basketball
Most Valuable Athlete: Abdi Bashir Jr. 
Leadership Award: Jack Collins 
 
Women's Basketball
Most Valuable Athlete: Damaris Rodriguez 
Leadership Award: Taisha Exanor 
 
Bowling
Most Valuable Athlete: Kailyn Bloch 
Leadership Award: Sierra Poole 
 
Men's Cross Country
Most Valuable Athlete: Declan McDonnell 
Leadership Award: Luke Riley 
 
Women's Cross Country
Most Valuable Athlete: Emily Simko 
Leadership Award: Brianna Jucewicz 
 
Field Hockey
Most Valuable Athlete: Jess Tucker 
Leadership Award: Johanna Karlhuber 
 
Football
Most Valuable Athlete: Derek Robertson 
Leadership Award: Frankie Savino 
 
Men's Golf
Most Valuable Athlete: Ethan Lee 
Leadership Award: Colin McCullagh 
 
Women's Golf
Most Valuable Athlete: Ava Lozito 
Leadership Award: Delaney Nadeau 
 
Men's Lacrosse
Most Valuable Athlete: Nick Teets 
Leadership Award: Sean Ketchen 
 
Women's Lacrosse
Most Valuable Athlete: Katie Sullivan 
Leadership Award: Caroline Brennan 
 
Rowing
Most Valuable Athlete: Sam Staubach 
Leadership Award: Hailea Anderson 

Men's Soccer
Most Valuable Athlete: Erik Reis 
Leadership Award: Patrick Osiecki 
 
Women's Soccer
Most Valuable Athlete: Summer Reimet 
Leadership Award: Chloe Ferreira 
 
Softball
Most Valuable Athlete: Lexi Castaneda 
Leadership Award: Sammy Miller 
 
Men's Swimming
Most Valuable Athlete: Victor Pottier Ibanez 
Leadership Award: Ziv Cohen 
 
Women's Swimming
Most Valuable Athlete: Jensen Ritter 
Leadership Award: Edie Ancell 
 
Men's Tennis
Most Valuable Athlete: Mateo Bivol 
Leadership Award: Diego Laporta 
 
Women's Tennis
Most Valuable Player: Faith Sadgrove
Leadership Award: Hana McKinney 
 
Men's Indoor Track and Field
Most Valuable Athlete: David Strong 
Leadership Award: Jordan Ricketts 
 
Women's Indoor Track and Field
Most Valuable Athlete: Yasmeen Tinsley 
Leadership Award: Vanessa Wood 
 
Men's Outdoor Track and Field
Most Valauble Athlete: Ahmad Brock 
Leadership Award: AJ Bailor 
 
Women's Outdoor Track and Field
Most Valuable Athlete: Veronica Chainov 
Leadership Award: Abby Boggs