PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The 2025-26 Plattsburgh State Athletics Student-Athlete Recognition & Awards Ceremony will occur on Monday, May 4 at 6 p.m. The ceremony will be streamed live and will include academic recognition, and several awards will be presented to student-athletes. The live stream link can be found here.

Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society inductees will be honored to begin the event, while numerous awards will be presented throughout the event as follows:

Richard D. Semmler Awards: 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.

Cardinal Awards: Selected based on outstanding athletic skills, team leadership, personal development as a player, or for any combination of reasons. A member from each program is selected.

Record-Breaking Performance Award: This award will be selected from any of the varsity sports and is selected by judging the best single play, game, or season that is a record-breaking (and setting) performance. Teams and individuals are eligible for this award. This award will also be retroactive to our spring sports after the nomination deadline, as the date to be considered for the following year. The nominees are:

• Men's Hockey - Set program record for most overtime wins in a single season (6 OT victories) 

• Men's Outdoor Track & Field - At the RPI Under the Lights Meet, Jeremiah Smith broke the outdoor long jump school record (7.24m), which had stood since 2007, ranking 10th nationally in his first season competing in track & field. 

• Women's Indoor Track & Field - At the AARTFC Regional Championships, the women's 4x400m relay team (Bella Scott, Emma Mahoney, Bri Wise, and Grace Yarkosky) broke the school record by cutting three seconds off the previous mark set in 2020. 

• Women's Lacrosse - Cynthia Barnosky scored her 100th career goal, becoming the first player in program history to reach the milestone. She now holds the program records for most career goals, assists, and points. 

• Men's Basketball - Reem Welch sets the single-game scoring record with 49 points in a 100–98 victory, scoring the final five points while playing 4-on-5, including the game-winning layup with 2 seconds remaining. 

• Women's Basketball - Imani Walcott became the program's all-time rebounding leader with 823 career rebounds, surpassing Kathleen Payne's previous record of 759. 

• Men's Lacrosse - Following the 2025 season, Jimbo Farrelly set the program's single-season faceoff win percentage record at .671, surpassing the previous mark of .630 set by Ryan Cavanagh in 2007.  

Rookie of the Year Awards: This award is presented to an individual competing in their first year of eligibility in their respective sport, and only accomplishments from this year can be included in the nomination. The nominees are:

• Female:

  • Softball, Jaylyn Linderman

  • Women's Soccer, Alana DeLaCruz

  • Women's Hockey, Bailey MacKellar

  • Volleyball, Emily O'Brien 

  • Track & Field, Jaelynn Lacey 

• Male

  • Men's Hockey, Beau Lane 

  • Baseball, Braeden Calkins

  • Track & Field, Collin Pringle

Senior Achievement Awards: 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. The nominees are:

• Female:

  • Softball, Morgan Ormerod 

  • Women's Basketball, Imani Walcott

  • Women's Lacrosse, Cynthia Barnosky

  • Women's Hockey, Taya Balfour

  • Women's Tennis, Kristy Cantwell 

  • Volleyball, Bridget Ryan

  • Women's Track & Field, Marissa LeDuc

  • Women's Cross Country, Marissa Colvin

• Male:

  • Men's Hockey, Jake Sacratini 

  • Track & Field, Charles Cypress

  • Men's Lacrosse, Tim Keenan

Athlete of the Year Awards: These can come from any class year, and only accomplishments from this year could be included in a nomination. The nominees are:

• Female:

  • Softball, Sara Isaacs

  • Women's Soccer, Sydney Myers

  • Women's Basketball, Julia Greek 

  • Women's Lacrosse, Ashley O'Hara

  • Women's Hockey, Taya Balfour 

  • Women's Tennis, Jacklin Mitchell

  • Volleyball, Liya Girma

  • Track & Field, Grace Yarkosky 

• Male

  • Men's Basketball, Reem Welch 

  • Track & Field, Isaiah Ritter

  • Men's Lacrosse, Peter Urso

  • Men's Soccer, Randall Ashong

Play of the Year Award: The Play of the Year can be any single play (goal, homerun, basket, race, etc), and the award will recognize the most outstanding or memorable play of the year. This award will also be retroactive to our spring sports after the nomination deadline, as the date to be considered for the following year. This could overlap with the record-breaking performance, but the award will recognize the play over the record-breaking aspect. This award winner is chosen by popular vote, as conducted on social media. The nominees are:

• Women's Soccer - Sydney Myers draws and converts a penalty kick to send Plattsburgh to the SUNYAC Final vs. Fredonia

• Men's Basketball - 5-on-4 defensive stop followed by a Reem Welch game-winning basket vs. Morrisville

• Women's Hockey - Bailey MacKellar scores the overtime game-winner vs. No. 3 Middlebury

• Men's Hockey - Colin Callanan nets the overtime game-winner vs. Stevenson

• Men's Soccer - Game-tying goal with 28 seconds remaining vs. Clarkson

• Baseball - Colin Ross delivers an extra-inning walk-off home run vs. Oneonta

• Women's Track & Field - Grace Yarkosky places second in the 400m at the Indoor NCAA Championships

• Men's Track & Field - Isaiah Ritter long jump at the SUNYAC Championships, qualifying for the Indoor NCAA Championships

• Men's Lacrosse - Dylan Ruland scores the game-sealing goal vs. Oswego

Cardinal Community Service & Leadership Award: Honorees are 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. The nominees for this award are:

• Spencer Bellina, Men's Ice Hockey

• Kyleigh Ganz, Women's Volleyball

• Kayla Johannesen, Women's Basketball

• Marissa LeDuc, Women's Track & Field

Cardinal Team Community Service Award: This award is given to the team with the most community service hours.

Cardinals Supporting Cardinals Award: Cardinals Supporting Cardinals was created by the 2019 SAAC to showcase and honor the team that shows the most School pride and Support of their Fellow Cardinals.  This award recognizes the team that showed the most Cardinal Pride by attending and reporting the most Cardinal Supporting Cardinal Games.

Cardinal Cup Award: Cardinal Cup was created by the 2024 Student Athletic Advisory Committee to showcase and honor the team with the highest Overall involvement in Cardinal Athletics. This award is reflective of the highest Overall Score for the Cardinal Cup, which is tallied by Athletes Supporting Athletes Attendance, Community Service hours, Athlete Adventure, Meeting Attendance, Fundraising, and other SAAC-sanctioned events throughout the year. Winners of this prize will be awarded the possession of the "Cardinal Cup Trophy" for a year and the cash prize donated directly to their program for the purchase of their annual gear.

Cardinal AD Recognition Award: Presented to an individual in recognition of their outstanding support of Plattsburgh State student-athletes and the entire department.