PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – On Monday, May 8, the Plattsburgh State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation hosted its annual Student-Athlete Recognition & Awards Ceremony at E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium in Hawkins Hall.
 
The evening began with a welcome by seventh-year Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Mike Howard, while academic coordinator Tom Thompson and faculty athletics representative Mila Su handed out awards during the academic awards portion of the program. Plattsburgh State announced its newest class of Chi Alpha Sigma inductees, which included:

Janey Adams, Women's Lacrosse
Tara Bendsak, Women's Soccer
Katie Bergé, Women's Track and Field
Andrew Braverman, Men's Soccer
Michael Brockway, Men's Cross Country/Men's Track and Field
Paul Bryer, Men's Ice Hockey
Ryan Butler, Men's Ice Hockey
Natalia Castro, Women's Cross Country/Women's Track and Field
Ben Catrambone, Baseball
Jack Defayette, Baseball
Levi Delaney, Men's Basketball
Alicia Fisher, Women's Volleyball
Nora Fitzgerald, Women's Soccer
Sam Gentile, Softball
Sean Grady, Men's Cross Country/Men's Track and Field
Sophia Hatziyianis, Women's Soccer
Mussa Kone, Men's Track and Field
Kira LaBarge, Softball
Sam Lombardi, Women's Lacrosse
Sean Malamud, Baseball
Johanna Malone, Women's Lacrosse
Julia Masotta, Women's Ice Hockey
Jacob Modry, Men's Ice Hockey
Cam Morin, Men's Lacrosse
Rivers Morris, Women's Ice Hockey
Justin Osborn, Baseball
Frankie Palumbo, Men's Soccer
Jasmine Piper, Women's Track and Field
Matthew Pitarresi, Men's Soccer
Samantha Rachon, Women's Soccer
Dylan Shalvey, Men's Soccer
Sam Spear, Women's Soccer
Katie Stevenson, Women's Soccer
Bennett Stockdale, Men's Ice Hockey
Jackie Svantner, Women's Tennis
Nicole Svantner, Women's Tennis
Samantha Svantner, Women's Tennis
Danielle Torres, Softball
Lily White, Women's Volleyball
Payton Zophy, Women's Volleyball
 
Second-year Chi Alpha Sigma honorees were then recognized, and that group included:

Cydney Bond, Women's Tennis
Tatem Cheney, Women's Ice Hockey
Rebecca Diller, Softball
Christian Garner, Men's Soccer
Julia Golino, Softball
Lindsay Guzzetta, Women's Lacrosse
Mitchell Hale, Men's Ice Hockey
Ryan Hogg, Men's Ice Hockey
Nicole Kingsley, Women's Soccer
Kristen Langdon, Softball
Kristina Maggiacomo, Softball
Aidan Masten, Men's Track and Field
Anna McDuffie, Women's Soccer
Ryan Nista, Baseball
Caroline Noia, Women's Lacrosse
Kara Oatman, Women's Basketball
Gustav Rugg, Men's Lacrosse
Nikki Scioscia, Women's Lacrosse
Mya Smith, Women's Basketball
Adam Tretowicz, Men's Ice Hockey
Kendall Wasik, Women's Ice Hockey
 
Third-year Chi Alpha Sigma honorees were then recognized, and that group included:

Matt Araujo, Men's Ice Hockey
Kaitlyn Bjelko, Women's Volleyball/Women's Track and Field
Ashley Davis, Women's Ice Hockey
Sara Krauseneck, Women's Ice Hockey
Aislyn McDonough, Women's Cross Country/Women's Track and Field
Kieren Ritter, Women's Soccer
Hanna Rose, Women's Ice Hockey
Allison Seidman, Women's Soccer
Kirsten Villemaire, Women's Soccer

Fourth-year Chi Alpha Sigma honorees were then recognized, and that included:

Janyll Barber, Women's Track and Field
  
Richard D. Semmler Award
 
Next came the prestigious Richard D. Semmler Award, which is given to the male and female seniors with the highest cumulative grade-point averages through the fall semester of their senior year. The Semmler Award is named in honor of Richard D. Semmler, one of the College's top philanthropists and a 1968 SUNY Plattsburgh graduate. The Semmler Award recipients included:
 
Female:
Kara Oatman, Women's Basketball (3.94 GPA, Biology)
 
Male:
Aidan Masten, Men's Track and Field (3.89 GPA, Adolescence Education)
 
Senior Achievement Awards
 
The Senior Achievement Awards were handed out next, with one going to a female and another going to a male. The Senior Achievement Award is given annually to a senior or junior who has completed academic requirements and plans to graduate in May. Athletic accomplishment from the entire career is considered.
 
Female:
Janyll Barber, Women's Track and Field

Barber is in the midst of perhaps her most successful season yet as a member of the Plattsburgh State track and field program in a career that has seen her compete at the national championships on two occasions and almost certainly a third time later this month. She holds the outdoor program record in the 100-meter hurdles (14.97), the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.70), the 4x100-meter relay (49.35) and the 4x400-meter relay (3:51.10) in addition to holding the indoor program record in the 4x200-meter relay (1:44.90) and the 4x400-meter relay (3:59.19). Barber currently ranks third in NCAA Division III in the 400-meter hurdles. The Dannemora, N.Y., native is a four-time All-SUNYAC honoree in the 400-meter hurdles, which includes three runner-up finishes in an event where the SUNYAC is consistently among the fastest in Division III.

and

Sara Krauseneck, Women's Ice Hockey
Krauseneck helped her team win four conference championships and one national title during her tenure as a Cardinal. She is a two-time CCM/AHCA All-America selection, a three-time First-Team All-NEWHL honoree, a two-time NEWHL Tournament MVP and a 2022-23 All-USCHO choice, and she recorded 138 career points on 62 goals and 76 assists. The Saginaw, Mich., native finished as the 2022-23 NCAA Division III statistical champion in game-winning goals with eight, led the NEWHL in points with 41 and was named the 2022-23 SUNY Women's Ice Hockey Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In the program's career record books, Krauseneck is tied for fifth in game-winning goals with 17, tied for ninth in assists with 76 and tied for ninth in power-play goals with 19. 

Male:
Matt Araujo, Men's Ice Hockey
 
Araujo has been a critical member of his team the past five years both on and off the ice, helping the Cardinals win their 24th SUNYAC championship in program history this past season. In addition to being a team captain for three years, he is a four-time All-SUNYAC honoree, earning Second-Team recognition in 2022-23, 2021-22 and 2018-19 and Third-Team distinction in 2019-20. The Brookhaven, N.Y., native recorded 57 points on 13 goals and 42 assists during his four years on the blue line, and he also helped Plattsburgh State win a pair of regular-season tournament championships. 

Athletes of the Year
 
The Athletes of the Year were presented next. The Athletes of the Year can come from any class year, and only accomplishments from this year could be included in a nomination.
 
Female:
Sierra Benjamin, Women's Ice Hockey
 
Benjamin helped lead her team to its 10th consecutive conference championship and its 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals. She earned CCM/AHCA First-Team All-America honors, First-Team All-NEWHL laurels and First-Team All-USCHO recognition after a year in which she helped guide the Cardinals to a 26-3-0 overall record. The Palm Coast, Fla., native led the NEWHL in assists with 25 and had the most points among defensemen in the league with 30 on five goals and 25 assists. She also ranked fourth in NCAA Division III in assists per game with 0.96 and tied for seventh nationally in assists.

Male:
Jacob Modry, Men's Ice Hockey
 
Modry helped lead Plattsburgh State to its 24th SUNYAC championship in program history, earning CCM/AHCA Third-Team All-America honors, Honorable Mention All-USCHO recognition and First-Team All-SUNYAC kudos. He finished the season as the SUNYAC leader in points among defensemen with 23 in addition to tying for second in the conference in assists with 19 and ranking second in the SUNYAC in +/- with a +18 rating. The Albany, N.Y., native also blocked 20 shots and was selected to both the FirstLight Shootout and Comfort Inn Complex Winter Classic All-Tournament Teams.
 
Cardinal Community Service/Leadership Award

The next award that was handed out was the Cardinal Community Service/Leadership Award. These honorees were nominated by department staff and selected by the department administrative team and are presented to the student-athlete who went above and beyond to serve the campus and/or the Plattsburgh community at large.
 
Kara Oatman, Women's Basketball
 
Oatman logged a total of 58 volunteer hours throughout the course of this past year, all while performing well in the classroom, as evidenced by her Semmler Award honor. The Honeoye Falls, N.Y., native served as the lead mentor for the Shine On! Girls Conference and worked as an I've Been Admitted to College Student Tour Guide and Mentor in addition to serving as a CFES Student-Athlete Mentor. She also helped lead a basketball clinic through the Clinton County Youth Bureau and partook in various SAAC and women's basketball-sponsored events.

Cardinal Team Community Service Award

The next special recognition award that was handed out was the Cardinal Team Community Service Award. This award is given to the team with the most community service hours.

Men's Ice Hockey











Cardinal AD Recognition Award

The final special recognition award that was handed out was the Cardinal AD Recognition Award. This is presented to an individual outside the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation in recognition of their outstanding support of Plattsburgh State student-athletes and the entire department.
 
Michele Carpentier, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success/Director of Special Programs
 
Carpentier has had an immeasurable impact on several generations of Cardinal student-athletes. In her role as the assistant vice president for enrollment and student success and the director of special programs, she has had a far-reaching impact for students on SUNY Plattsburgh's campus. Her student-first approach and advocacy on behalf of students has helped every student she has mentored unlock potential within themselves that they may not have known existed previously. A fixture at Cardinal Athletics events, she can often be seen in the stands cheering on the Cardinals. Furthermore, Carpentier remains in touch with many former student-athletes that she helped mentor, taking the same amount of enjoyment out of those former students hitting life milestones as she did when they were students. While she is retiring after this academic year, her devotion to SUNY Plattsburgh and Cardinal Athletics in particular has been unwavering over the course of the past several decades.