Vikings Honored at Year End Banquet

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CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, 518-629-7898
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Monday, May 14, 2018

The Hudson Valley athletics department held its annual end of the year awards banquet inside the Siek campus Center on Wednesday afternoon where the department recognized its team most valuable players and recognized its 2018 departmental awards.

Hudson Valley Director of Athletics Justin Hoyt opened the afternoon with remarks addressing the nearly 250 student-athletes, coaches, administrators and staff in attendance. Rensselaer County Executive Stephen F. McLaughlin followed with words of encouragement and congratulations to all of the student-athletes and expected graduates this weekend. President Drew Matonak offered his congratulations to the group for the final time as President of Hudson Valley.

Following the opening remarks, the individual team most valuable player awards were handed out beginning with the fall sports and followed up with the winter and spring teams.

The athletic department also awarded eight major awards given to student-athletes, coaches and athletics supporters.

Longtime employee Tom Rogan was awarded the John L. Buono Award for Citizenship, which is presented to a member of the Vikings community who has demonstrated a commitment to the College and the student-athletes. Coach Rogan is retiring after 50 years at Hudson Valley and he has continually given back to the community by working with the Special Olympics, training their track and field athletes for the regional and state games.

The Otto Guenther Memorial Award is presented each year to a female and male student-athlete who demonstrates an optimal combination of academic and athletic success. Women's basketball's Hannah Kreiger and men's track and field student-athlete Elijah Washington were awarded the Guenther Award for their overall success on and off the competitive playground.

The Lester Higbee Award for most outstanding female student-athlete was presented to Courtney Conover of the women's soccer team. Courtney helped guide the Vikings to its best record in over 12 years and is excited to continue her career at SUNY Brockport next season.

The Thomas Cahill Award for most outstanding male student-athlete was presented to Aaron Thorpe from the men's lacrosse program. Thorpe is one of the most prolific athlete to put on a lacrosse jersey as he finished fourth in the nation with 78 points and sixth in the nation with 48 goals. Thorpe finished his career second in the all-time record books for points and goals.

In honor of outgoing President, Dr. Andrew J. Matonak, the athletic department presented the inaugural Dr. Andrew J. Matonak Character Award to Asan Anarkulov from the men's soccer team. Asan was a two-year starter for Coach Travis Cooke and maintained a 3.83 grade point average. He has been invaluable with helping new students get acclimated to the College, both athletically and academically. Asan has worked as a tutor at the school and has been on the student athlete panel for the athletics department and most recently, he organized a voluntary campus clean up on Earth Day in April.

President Matonak returned to the podium to present the President's Award for the 2017-18 academic year. Alayna Fredenburg and Joshua McCart were awarded the 2018 President's Award. Fredenburg is a two=sport standout in volleyball and track and field. She was the volleyball team captain and led the team with 221 kills. Alayna earned All-Conference and All-Region honors in the Javelin Throw and last weekend she earned All-American status with a second place finish in the Javelin Throw.

Josh is the epitome of a team leader both on and off the bowling lanes, helping his teammates thrive and grow. He is a Business Administration major and has maintained a 4.0 grade point average during his career at Hudson Valley. Josh was recently named an Academic All-American by the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association.

The Paul Bishop Award is presented annually to the coach who exhibits the highest level of sportsmanship, leadership, professionalism and ethics and who demonstrates the highest level of commitment to his/her sport, the athletic department and, most importantly, to the student-athletes. The Paul Bishop Award was awarded to head bowling coach Joe Prest. The men's and women's bowling program qualified for Sectionals for the first time since 2014 with both teams finishing second in the Mountain Valley Conference standings. Coach Prest is calling it a career after 30 years as the head bowing coach at Hudson Valley.

The final award was the Willie A. Hammett Award for Excellence in Student Service and was presented to President Drew Matonak. President Matonak's tenure was marked by record growth in enrollment and the completion of a $200 Million Facilities Master Plan, which included the Vikings' Outdoor Athletic Complex. President Matonak has always been a major supporter of the Vikings athletic programs and student-athletes.

The awards banquet concluded a successful year for the athletics department, which included 11 teams qualifying for NJCAA postseason competition, a Conference Coach of the Year, programs ranked in the top-10 nationally and a few long-standing records that were broken.