St. John’s Athletic Awards Recap

The 73^rd Annual Athletic Awards Celebration was hosted on Monday May 6^th at Carnesecca Arena. The ceremony was a celebration to highlight the conclusion of the sports year for the student athletes and all athletic staff.

Thirty-six awards were handed out to members of 18 teams present at the banquet. The awards ranged from MVPs to special recognition for service off the field and for academics.

The ceremony began with AD Mike Cragg addressing the St. John’s Athletic Department as a whole for the first time.

• The Herbert V. Hess Award was given to Track and Field Head Coach Jim Hurt. The award is given annually to a coach who shows integrity for the game and concern for their athletes.
• The Frank C. Haggerty Memorial Award and the John W. Kaiser Award — to the most outstanding male and female athletes, respectively, each year — went to Andrei Crapcenco of Men’s Tennis and Karolina Cieslar, NCAA Fencing champion.
• The Rickard F. McSwiney Awards, given to a male and female athlete each year who demonstrate team spirit and leadership among their teammates, went to Wyatt Mascarella from the baseball team and Mecara Bruce from Women’s Soccer.
• Baseball pitcher Jeff Belge received the John DaSilva award for his performances while dealing with an eye issue.
• Another award given out to one male and female athlete each year is the Dr. Peter Vitulli Award for courage and selflessness to the team. Track and Field’s Antonia Howard and Baseball’s Nick Mondak were given the award.
• The women’s Track and Field and Cross Country teams were presented with the Community Service Award for their efforts in the community.
• LJ Figueroa was the recipient of the Christian Thomsen Memorial Award as the MVP of the men’s basketball team.
• Tiana England received the Victoria Porter MVP Award as MVP of the Women’s Basketball team.