Blue and Gold Awards honor student-athletes
By Brett Hebel
[email protected]
Beginning back in 2007, the Blue and Gold Awards is an award show to celebrate and honor the success by all of the Madonna student-athletes and Madonna Athletics.
Each year, the schools selects two students to host the award show. This year, the two students that were selected were Brett Hebel and Tim Forkin, both sports management majors. The duo was able to talk to the winners and get their reactions on their award-winning seasons.
The show kicked off with the volleyball team winning the BGA for Community Service Team of the Year as they racked up 448 hours of service.
The men’s and women’s BGA for Champions of Character were awarded to Antar Howard (men) and Nichole Chestnut (woman) as they both best represent the five core character values of the NAIA: respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership, and sportsmanship.
For the second straight year, the men’s bowling team won the BGA for Male Academic Team of the Year with an overall GPA of 3.12. Over on the women’s side, the award went to the golf team, as they finished with a team GPA of 3.60. The male and female Scholar-Athletes were awarded to Michael Kolodin of men's lacrosse and Taylor Suurmeyer of volleyball.
The Sr. Rose Marie Kujawa Leadership Award is given to a male and female student-athlete that exemplifies leadership both on and off the court for the Crusaders. This year's male winner is Jon Swift of men's basketball, while Olivia Kitz of women's soccer took home the female honor.
The Bernie Holowicki 3-7-12 award is named after Bernie Holowicki, a Michigan coaching legend. He always preached that if you work three hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months a year you will be successful. This year, it was awarded to Dana Haney of women's lacrosse and Ludvick Asigo of men's soccer. They both took home this honor for the second straight year.
The BGA for One Shining Moment went to the men’s soccer team for their 1-0 overtime victory over No. 10 Bellevue University, which sent them to the NAIA Quarterfinals. Asigo assisted on the game-winning goal with Yuri Farkas Guglielmi, while Marlon Freitas kicked home the game-winner. The team went on to win the NAIA National Championship quarterfinal contest, 1-0, to advance to the NAIA National semifinals for the first time in program history.
The BGA for Staff Member of the Year went to both Scott Kennell, athletic director, and Zachary Shore, sports information director, as they lead the athletic department to great success throughout the year, all while raising over $10,000 for the department.
The Assistant Coach of the Year award was given to men's basketball assistant, Adam Kerfoot. A 2008 graduate of Madonna athletics, Kerfoot's was had a major impact on the basketball program. Head coach Noel Emenhiser credits Kerfoot for helping recruit some of the most talented players the program has seen the past few seasons and praises his skill development work.
The BGA for Coach of the Year went to Head Coach of the Cross Country and Track teams, Patrick Daugherty. He led the women's program to a runner-up finish, saw the men qualify as a team for the first time in program history, and had the first three All-Americans in the women's program. Over on the track, the teams captured six All-American honors giving the Crusaders 10 on the season.
Tony Floyd was named Male Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season since he captured three NAIA All-American honors on the year. Floyd placed third in cross country, second in the indoor 5K, and third in the outdoor 10K while taking home a WHAC title in the indoor 3K.
The BGA for Female Athlete of the Year award went to Alison Shapic, who was the top runner on the second-place women's cross country team at the NAIA National Championships. She placed 13th in a program record 17:50.4 and also took home All-American honors in the outdoor 10K.
The BGA for Male and Female Freshman of the Year went to Victor Mencotti of the baseball team and Megan Verant of women's soccer. Mencotti led the Crusaders in wins (9) and strikeouts (89) last season and finished with a 9-1 record in 18 games, 14 starts. His 81.1 innings pitched were the second-most on the staff and he held hitters to a .272 batting average.
Verant finished tied for fourth on the team last season with 14 points as she scored four goals and had six assists on the season. She netted a pair of game-winning goals and played in 20 of the teams 21 games. She was also a key piece of a team that made it to the WHAC Championship.
The BGA for Newcomer of the Year, which are awarded to a male and female transfer student that made the biggest impact for Madonna Athletics, were awarded to Erica LaBaere of volleyball and Dwight Burton of men’s basketball. LaBaere joined the Crusaders by way of St. Clair Community College and made an immediate impact in the middle as she finished third on the team with 371 kills, averaging 2.79 per set. She also had 52 digs and 54 blocks which was fourth on the team.
Burton joined the Crusaders after playing at Macomb Community College and broke the single season scoring record at MU as he scored 731 points, 22.2 per game, in leading the Crusaders to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 2013. He shot nearly 47 percent from the floor and 39 percent from the 3-point arc, being named NAIA Second Team All-American and WHAC Newcomer of the Year.
The most prestigious award given out to a student-athlete is the Miss and Mr. Crusader awards honor a male and female student-athlete who have separated themselves both in the game, in the classroom, and in the community. These individuals best represent what Madonna Athletics stands for. Mr. Crusader was awarded to Devin Gibson for a second consecutive season while Karen Zambrano took home the Miss Crusader award. Both individuals were active on campus, were critical pieces to their teams, and took part in numerous community service endeavors.
Click the link below to check out Hebel and Forkin, who were able to catch up with most of the winners, as they talk about what it means to them to be awarded with this tremendous honor.
https://mucrusaders.com/news/2019/11/13/general-2018-19-mucrusaders-blue-and-gold-award-winners-announced.aspx
[email protected]
Beginning back in 2007, the Blue and Gold Awards is an award show to celebrate and honor the success by all of the Madonna student-athletes and Madonna Athletics.
Each year, the schools selects two students to host the award show. This year, the two students that were selected were Brett Hebel and Tim Forkin, both sports management majors. The duo was able to talk to the winners and get their reactions on their award-winning seasons.
The show kicked off with the volleyball team winning the BGA for Community Service Team of the Year as they racked up 448 hours of service.
The men’s and women’s BGA for Champions of Character were awarded to Antar Howard (men) and Nichole Chestnut (woman) as they both best represent the five core character values of the NAIA: respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership, and sportsmanship.
For the second straight year, the men’s bowling team won the BGA for Male Academic Team of the Year with an overall GPA of 3.12. Over on the women’s side, the award went to the golf team, as they finished with a team GPA of 3.60. The male and female Scholar-Athletes were awarded to Michael Kolodin of men's lacrosse and Taylor Suurmeyer of volleyball.
The Sr. Rose Marie Kujawa Leadership Award is given to a male and female student-athlete that exemplifies leadership both on and off the court for the Crusaders. This year's male winner is Jon Swift of men's basketball, while Olivia Kitz of women's soccer took home the female honor.
The Bernie Holowicki 3-7-12 award is named after Bernie Holowicki, a Michigan coaching legend. He always preached that if you work three hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months a year you will be successful. This year, it was awarded to Dana Haney of women's lacrosse and Ludvick Asigo of men's soccer. They both took home this honor for the second straight year.
The BGA for One Shining Moment went to the men’s soccer team for their 1-0 overtime victory over No. 10 Bellevue University, which sent them to the NAIA Quarterfinals. Asigo assisted on the game-winning goal with Yuri Farkas Guglielmi, while Marlon Freitas kicked home the game-winner. The team went on to win the NAIA National Championship quarterfinal contest, 1-0, to advance to the NAIA National semifinals for the first time in program history.
The BGA for Staff Member of the Year went to both Scott Kennell, athletic director, and Zachary Shore, sports information director, as they lead the athletic department to great success throughout the year, all while raising over $10,000 for the department.
The Assistant Coach of the Year award was given to men's basketball assistant, Adam Kerfoot. A 2008 graduate of Madonna athletics, Kerfoot's was had a major impact on the basketball program. Head coach Noel Emenhiser credits Kerfoot for helping recruit some of the most talented players the program has seen the past few seasons and praises his skill development work.
The BGA for Coach of the Year went to Head Coach of the Cross Country and Track teams, Patrick Daugherty. He led the women's program to a runner-up finish, saw the men qualify as a team for the first time in program history, and had the first three All-Americans in the women's program. Over on the track, the teams captured six All-American honors giving the Crusaders 10 on the season.
Tony Floyd was named Male Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season since he captured three NAIA All-American honors on the year. Floyd placed third in cross country, second in the indoor 5K, and third in the outdoor 10K while taking home a WHAC title in the indoor 3K.
The BGA for Female Athlete of the Year award went to Alison Shapic, who was the top runner on the second-place women's cross country team at the NAIA National Championships. She placed 13th in a program record 17:50.4 and also took home All-American honors in the outdoor 10K.
The BGA for Male and Female Freshman of the Year went to Victor Mencotti of the baseball team and Megan Verant of women's soccer. Mencotti led the Crusaders in wins (9) and strikeouts (89) last season and finished with a 9-1 record in 18 games, 14 starts. His 81.1 innings pitched were the second-most on the staff and he held hitters to a .272 batting average.
Verant finished tied for fourth on the team last season with 14 points as she scored four goals and had six assists on the season. She netted a pair of game-winning goals and played in 20 of the teams 21 games. She was also a key piece of a team that made it to the WHAC Championship.
The BGA for Newcomer of the Year, which are awarded to a male and female transfer student that made the biggest impact for Madonna Athletics, were awarded to Erica LaBaere of volleyball and Dwight Burton of men’s basketball. LaBaere joined the Crusaders by way of St. Clair Community College and made an immediate impact in the middle as she finished third on the team with 371 kills, averaging 2.79 per set. She also had 52 digs and 54 blocks which was fourth on the team.
Burton joined the Crusaders after playing at Macomb Community College and broke the single season scoring record at MU as he scored 731 points, 22.2 per game, in leading the Crusaders to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 2013. He shot nearly 47 percent from the floor and 39 percent from the 3-point arc, being named NAIA Second Team All-American and WHAC Newcomer of the Year.
The most prestigious award given out to a student-athlete is the Miss and Mr. Crusader awards honor a male and female student-athlete who have separated themselves both in the game, in the classroom, and in the community. These individuals best represent what Madonna Athletics stands for. Mr. Crusader was awarded to Devin Gibson for a second consecutive season while Karen Zambrano took home the Miss Crusader award. Both individuals were active on campus, were critical pieces to their teams, and took part in numerous community service endeavors.
Click the link below to check out Hebel and Forkin, who were able to catch up with most of the winners, as they talk about what it means to them to be awarded with this tremendous honor.
https://mucrusaders.com/news/2019/11/13/general-2018-19-mucrusaders-blue-and-gold-award-winners-announced.aspx