WINTER 2025 BURGHIES

By Justin Rushia

With the conclusion of the 2024-2025 winter sports season, it’s time for the Cardinal Points Burghies. These awards honor stand-out and teams across six categories, highlighting their exceptional performances in the Winter 2024-2025 season. 

The awards include:

Most Valuable Cardinal (MVC): Awarded to the athlete whose performance, leadership and impact drove their team’s success.

Rookie of the Season: Recognizing a first-year athlete who made an immediate, standout impact on their team.

Most Improved Cardinal (MIC): Awarded to an athlete who showed outstanding growth from last season, refining their skills and performance.

Senior Achievement: Celebrating a senior whose leadership, dedication and talent left a lasting mark on their respected team.

Best Coaching Staff: Recognizing coaches who provided exceptional leadership, strategy and led their team to a successful season.

Game of the Season: Awarded to the team who played the best game all season. 

MVC: Charles Cypress 

During the 2024-2025 indoor track and field season, Cypress established himself as one of the greatest sprinters in the program’s history. Throughout the season, the junior sprinter set school records in the 60-meter dash, the 200-meter dash (twice), and the 55-meter dash. He also tied his 60m record on two occasions.

Cypress concluded his 2024-2025 campaign by winning the SUNYAC 60m dash with a time of 6.83 March 1. He capped off his remarkable 2024-2025 campaign by competing at regionals, where he achieved a personal best and broke his own school record in the 200m dash for the last time that season.

Most Improved Cardinal: Chloe Lewis 

Lewis had an outstanding 2024-2025 campaign for the Cardinals. The sophomore went from being the backup in 2023-2024 to the full-time starter for the nationally ranked Plattsburgh women’s hockey team.

She started all 28 games and led the conference with a goals-against average of 0.89, which ranked third in the NCAA DIII. She also finished second in the SUNYAC for save percentage with an impressive .953, a top-ten mark nationally. Additionally, she ranked second in the SUNYAC for win percentage, achieving a .732 win rate with a record of 20 wins, seven losses, and one tie. 

Notably, she recorded 11 shutouts, including a standout performance against Nazareth on January 5, where she made 16 saves and earned the Norwich East-West Classic Tournament MVP award. 

In the postseason, Lewis achieved shutouts against both Cortland and Oswego in the SUNYAC Tournament, making 37 saves and earning the SUNYAC Tournament MVP award.

Rookie of the Season: Tyler Ramm

Ramm couldn’t have asked for a much better start to his career as a Plattsburgh Cardinal.

The first-year forward appeared in all 28 games of the season, tying for the team lead with 11 goals and adding five assists for a total of 16 points. He led the team with a .314 shooting percentage on 35 shots and recorded four power-play goals. Additionally, he tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals.

Ramm had a goal in four consecutive games from February 8 to February 21, which included his third two-goal performance against Fredonia on February 15. During this streak, he was named SUNYAC Rookie of the Week on Feb. 17.

Senior Achievement: Kevin Weaver-Vitale

During his five years as a Cardinal, graduate student defender Weaver-Vitale played a key role in keeping the Plattsburgh men’s hockey team among the top competitors in the SUNYAC and the nation. He earned All-SUNYAC First Team honors during his graduate seasons and Second Team honors in his senior season.

As co-captain, he led the team with 27 points, including 20 assists and seven goals. He boasted the highest plus-minus rating at +13 and blocked 25 shots throughout the season. In his final year, Weaver-Vitale was named SUNYAC Athlete of the Week twice. 

During the playoffs, he recorded two assists against Potsdam and two more in the SUNYAC semifinals against Cortland, helping the team make the SUNYAC Championship.

Weaver-Vitale will continue his hockey career with the SPHL team, the Huntsville Havoc.

Best Coaching Staff: Women’s Hockey 

Head coach Kevin Houle and assistant coach Emma Killeen led the Cardinals to their first-ever SUNYAC Championship and their thirteenth overall conference title during the 2024-2025 season. 

The Cards finished their regular season 20-7-1 and won the SUNYAC championship against the Oswego Lakers. 

Houle achieved the prestigious milestone of 500 career wins and finished the season with 517 wins. He holds the record for the most wins of any coach in Plattsburgh history.

Houle holds the highest career win percentage in all of NCAA women’s hockey. 

Game of the Season: WHKY vs. Oswego – SUNYAC Championship 

After a successful regular season, finishing with a record of 20-7-1, the Plattsburgh women’s hockey team advanced to the SUNYAC Championship against the Oswego Lakers. They took their spot by shutting out the Cortland Red Dragons in the semi-finals. In the finals, the Cardinals defeated the Lakers by a score of 2-0.

Junior forward Molli Riggi and first-year forward Tessa Morris both scored for Plattsburgh, assisted by Sydnee Francis and Emily Kasprzak, respectively. 

Lewis was named the SUNYAC Tournament MVP after achieving shutouts in both of the Cardinals’ playoff games. She was joined on the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team by Morris, Riggi, and senior defender Mattie Norton.