By Collin Bolebruch
AWARDS
Plattsburgh State Athletics hosted the Student-Athlete Recognition Awards & Ceremony for the 2022-23 school year May 8. Multiple speakers took the stage, including Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Mike Howard, Academic Coordinator Tom Thompson and Faculty Athletics Representative Mila Su. A variety of awards were handed out throughout the night.
The ceremony started with the induction of 40 new members to Chi Alpha Sigma, a national non-profit honors society for student-athletes. Current honorees, totalling 31, were also acknowledged.
Plattsburgh recognized the senior male and female team members with the highest cumulative GPAs with the Richard D. Semmler Award. It was given to Kara Oatman of women’s basketball, a biology major with a 3.94 GPA and Aiden Masten of men’s track and field, an adolescence education major with a 3.89 GPA.
The Senior Achievement Award is awarded to a senior male and female athlete, highlighting career achievements with the Cardinals. Honorees include Janyll Barber of women’s track and field, Sara Krauseneck of women’s hockey and Matt Araujo of men’s hockey.
Athletics then presented the Athlete of the Year award, given to a male and female athlete who had the best individual season during the prior academic year. It was given to Sierra Benjamin of women’s hockey and Jacob Modry of men’s hockey.
Plattsburgh then honored athletics members that served the community over the course of the 2022-23 academic year. The Cardinal Community Service/Leadership Award is given to an individual athlete that logged the most community service hours. Oatman took home the honor with 58 hours. The Cardinal Team Community Service Award recognizes the team with the most total hours and was given to men’s hockey.
WLAX
Three Plattsburgh Cardinals — Lindsay Guzzetta, Emma McLaughlin and Janey Adams — were named to the women’s lacrosse Third-Team All-SUNYAC yesterday, May 11. Three selections is the most for Plattsburgh in a single season.
Guzzetta led the team in three scoring categories this season, recording 37 goals and 15 assists for a total of 52 points. Guzzetta also added 33 ground balls. McLaughlin was second to Guzzetta in all three categories with 26 points and 13 assists for 39 points. Adams started 15 of 15 games.
SOC ALUMNI
The Plattsburgh Cardinals men’s and women’s soccer teams hosted back-to-back alumni tournaments last Saturday, May 6. Head Coaches Chris Taylor and Whitney Frary put on the events, respectively. The competing squads featured both current and former players, getting together to share memories of their time on the pitch in Plattsburgh. The games were catered by Aleka’s, a Greek restaurant downtown. The teams met for drinks later in the day.
The women’s tournament featured a round robin style of play, with the top two teams meeting in the final game. The men’s tournament also practiced round robin, but then played a semifinal before the championship game. The alumni team came out victorious in both the men’s and women’s sides. The day was a success and both programs hope to continue the event for years to come.
TAYLOR
Men’s soccer Head Coach Chris Taylor traveled back to his hometown of Liverpool, England this week, visiting the coaching staff at Liverpool F.C. Academy. Taylor used the opportunity to discuss training methods and soccer philosophy. As a young man in Liverpool, Taylor tried to break the ranks into professional football.
Taylor watched training sessions of the U18 and U21 academy teams. He spent multiple days with the club, also learning about developing professional players and teams. Taylor intends to return to Plattsburgh next week.
