MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College Department of Athletics recognized and celebrated the academic and athletic accomplishments of its student-athletes during the 2019-20 academic year on Tuesday evening with its annual End of the Year Highlights & Awards Presentation.
VIDEO: 2020 Saint Anselm College Athletics End-of-the-Year Awards Presentation
An annual event traditionally conducted in-person at the Dana Center Theatre on campus, this year's celebration was virtual in nature, broadcast via the Saint Anselm Athletics Facebook and YouTube accounts.
Among the awards handed out were the Charles J. Quinn Sportsmanship Awards, the Hawks Soar Higher Student-Athletes of the Year, and the Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
The Charles J. Quinn Sportsmanship Award honors a male and female student-athlete who best exemplifies and demonstrates the values of sportsmanship on and off the playing surface. Voted on by the department's head coaches, the 2019-20 recipients were seniors Amanda Conger (Swanton, Vt.) of the women's ice hockey team and Anthony Galasso (Reading, Mass.) of the men's cross country program.
The awards for Male and Female Hawks Soar Higher Student-Athletes of the Year were based on athletic accomplishments, conference and sport-specific awards and nominations, regional and national awards and nominations, as well as sportsmanship. Head coaches made nominations and voting was conducted among coaches and administrators.
CJ Miller (Clinton, Md.) was named this year's Male Student-Athlete of the Year. As a senior member of the Hawks football team, Miller was a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, earning All-America honors from both the American Football Coaches' Association and the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) after a standout season on the Hilltop in 2019.
He became only the third student-athlete in team history to be honored as All-Region by Hansen's Football Gazette and the first since the 2009 season. Miller picked up D2CCA First Team All-Region honors and All-New England merits from the New England Football Writers Association after capturing NE10 Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors after the season.
He also led the league in sacks with 10.5, racking up a total of 93 yards lost on quarterback takedowns. He logged at least six solo tackles in each of his final four career games and notched 30 tackles against Assumption across two games on the season. Miller led the NE10 with 9.7 tackles per game, on average, and finished with 107 to his credit in 2019. He also executed 14 tackles for a combined loss of 100 yards while forcing three fumbles and logging two interceptions.
For the second time in her career, Shannon Ryan (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) of the women's basketball team was named the Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Ryan put together an outstanding senior campaign for Saint Anselm, averaging exactly 23 points and 15 rebounds per game, helping the team to a NCAA Division II East Region appearance. Throwing up 2.1 blocks per game for the Hawks, Ryan was also named to the NE10 First Team for the third-consecutive season after posting the league's second-most rebounds (419) ever in a single-season.
To date, Ryan has earned All-America honors from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, Women's Division II Bulletin newsletter (WD2B), and the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA). She has also collected D2CCA East Region Player of the Year in March after her selection as the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year at the end of the regular season.
The program's all-time leading scorer, Ryan established new single-season records for Saint Anselm this season in point scoring (643) and rebounding (419) while leading all active NCAA Division II student-athletes in defensive rebounds per game (11.0), double-doubles (26), field goals made (271), career double-doubles (64) and career rebounding average (12.1). Ryan becomes the first female student-athlete in Hawks history to earn multiple Student-Athlete of the Year awards.
The Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards are given to seniors who have demonstrated excellence in the classroom and on the playing field. Candidates must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.30, have significant academic credentials, evidence of a solid athletic career, and a community service component.
Dave Almeida (Bristol, R.I.) of the Saint Anselm men's ice hockey team was awarded the Male Senior Scholar-Athlete accolade. A business major at Saint Anselm, Almeida received NE10 Academic All-Conference honors for the second time in his career. He was one of 77 student-athletes from the conference to earn the recognition. Almeida was the only winter sport student-athlete from Saint Anselm to gain recognition.
The Bristol, R.I. native wrapped up the 2019-20 season, playing in all 28 games for the Hawks, tallying 11 points. Due to his performance this year, Almeida was named a Second Team All-NE10 honoree, the second such award of his career. Almeida registered two multi-assist performances during his senior campaign.
He concluded his collegiate career at Saint Anselm with four career goals and 22 assists for 26 points (4-22=26). He totaled 107 career games played, which ranks third on the program's all-time list.
Breda Holland (Londonderry, N.H.) of the women's lacrosse team was this year's Female Senior Scholar-Athlete award recipient. A history and secondary education major, Holland received a spot on Saint Anselm's Fall and Spring Dean's List last year while also earning Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll both semesters. She was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Education Club at Saint Anselm while also volunteering with Hope Happens Here, Teal the Field, Yards for Yeardley, and the Special Olympics.
On the field, Holland played a crucial part of the Hawks' attack, totaling nine goals and an assist for 10 points through four games as a senior. She became the 18th student-athlete in team history to reach 100 career points, doing so against Wingate on Mar. 5. Just in her junior year, she tallied 42 points (31 goals and 11 assists) off 62 total shots. Holland recorded two six-point performances against American International and Franklin Pierce.
The Londonderry, N.H. native, set a new career-best five goals in a single game against American International. Holland finished her career with 79 goals with 26 assists for 105 career points (79-26=105) through 55 games at Saint Anselm.
The department also recognized the newest inductees into Chi Alpha Sigma, the national college athlete honor society. In order to receive the honor, a student-athlete must achieve a grade point average of 3.4 as a junior or senior. Ten new members were honored and the complete list reads as follows (BOLD signifies new inductees).
- Kaley Campbell, women's ice hockey
- Zach Elliot, men's soccer
- Grace Guachione, women's basketball
- Allison Irish, women's lacrosse
- Lauren Lockard, women's lacrosse
- Roshelle Morrison, women's soccer
- Abbie Murrell, softball
- Becca Shea, women's lacrosse
- Julia Thissell, women's basketball
- Payton Wildrick, women's soccer
- Dave Almeida, men's ice hockey
- Nicholas Fiorillo, football
- Jamie Gottwald, women's ice hockey
- Breda Holland, women's lacrosse
- Kiley Larocque, women's soccer
- Kaleigh Scoville, softball
For the fourth consecutive year, the strength and conditioning department presented the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-American awards to one male and one female student-athlete for their exemplary efforts in the weight room. Senior Joseph Hartigan of the men's lacrosse team and sophomore McKenna Smith (Old Town, Maine) of the softball program were this year's honorees.
The sports medicine department selected junior Gustav Suhr-Jessen (Virum, Denmark) of the men's basketball team to receive its Golden Crutch Award, given to a student-athlete who believes their athletic trainer's only purpose is to treat them, counsel them or help them with their homework, and visits the training room almost daily, mainly to socialize instead of getting treatment.
