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Stony Brook University's Department of Athletics held its annual Awards Ceremony Monday night at the Student Activities Center on campus with more than 475 people in attendance. Headlining the honorees were Stony Brook Male Athlete of the Year Brock Jackolski (Shirley, N.Y.) of the football team and Stony Brook Female Athlete of the Year Lucy Van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand) of the women's track & field team.
Jackolski had a season for the ages in 2011, helping lead the Seawolves to their third consecutive Big South championship and to the second round of the NCAA Div. I Football Championship. He recorded a Big South record 2,441 all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns en route to first-team All-Big South honors as a running back and second-team honors as a kick returner. He was named an All-American by three different organizations and finished his career 16th all-time in Football Championship Subdivision with 6,394 all-purpose yards.
Van Dalen made Stony Brook history when she became the school's first-ever national champion by winning the mile at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship. Not only did she earn first-team All-America honors in the mile, she also competed in the 3000 less than two hours later and placed 10th to earn second-team All-America honors. This year, she has been named America East Most Outstanding Track Performer both at the indoor and outdoor championships and was named the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Mike Rooney (East Islip, N.Y.) of the men's lacrosse team and Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif.) of the softball team were named recipients of Stony Brook's Rookie of the Year Award. Rooney currently leads all freshen in the nation with his team-best 32 goals. He is part of a Seawolves team that captured the 2012 America East Championship and is playing in the NCAA Tournament this weekend. Cukrov had put together one of the best seasons in program history. She is 24-8 with 1.60 ERA and 220 strikeouts this season, broke the program record for single-season shutouts with 13 and pitched two no-hitters this season, including a perfect game.
Hayley Green (Wellington, New Zealand) of the women's cross country team and Kyle Moeller (South Setauket, N.Y.) of the men's lacrosse team were the recipients of the Stony Brook Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards, given to the male and female student-athletes with the highest GPAs among the senior class. Green, who had a 3.90 GPA, graduated in December with a degree in Psychology while also minoring in Biology. Moeller is majoring in Business Management and minoring in Technological Systems Management while sporting a 3.88 GPA. The pair led a senior class that had 43 student-athletes with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Miguel Maysonet (Riverhead, N.Y.) of the football team and Greta Strenger (Woodbury, Minn.) of the volleyball team were each named recipients of the Athletic Director's Award for their contributions to their teams and their representation of the ideals of Stony Brook Athletics. Roope Kailaheimo (Helsinki, Finland) of the men's tennis team and Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) of the volleyball team were both honored with the Faculty Athletic Represenative Award for their contributions to their teams and to the Stony Brook community.
Men's & women's swimming & diving head coach Dave Alexander was the recipient of the Courage Award, which is given to a member of Stony Brook Athletics who has overcome personal tragedy or serious injury and has demonstrated uncommon bravery in the face of adversity. Pat Cantwell (West Islip, N.Y.) of the baseball team and Holly Van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand) of the women's track & field team were named the Swagger Award winners, which was voted on by their fellow student-athletes, for fitting the definition of swagger.
Green, Moeller, Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) of the men's basketball team and Salome Mkervalidze (Brewster, N.Y.) of the women's tennis team were recipients of the SUNY Chancellor Awards for outstanding achievement in athletics and academics among SUNY's Div. I schools in their respective sports.
Barbara Chernow, Senior Vice President for Administration at Stony Brook was named the recipient of the Shirley Strum Kenny Service Award for outstanding service towards Stony Brook Athletics and its student-athletes.
In addition to individual awards, Most Valuable Player and Coaches Awards were handed out to each of Stony Brook's 20 varsity teams.
