FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Suffolk sweeps mens major awards
WINTHROP, Mass. – Suffolk University has taken home all four 2020 GNAC Men's Indoor Track & Field major awards, as announced by the conference office on Thursday afternoon. The individual honors, which are voted upon by the league's six head coaches, come after the Rams won the GNAC team title at the conference championship back on February 16.
Each event winner from the first-ever GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships nearly two months ago automatically receives 2020 GNAC All-Conference honors.
To view the All-Sportsmanship selections, please see below, meanwhile Saint Joseph's College of Maine was voted to receive the prestigious GNAC Men's Institutional Sportsmanship Award.
Suffolk sophomore Matyas Csiki-Fejer, a St. Louis, Mo. native who also was the GNAC Cross Country Athlete of the Year back in the fall, was named the 2020 Men's Track Athlete of the Year.
Teammates Michael Balestra and Connor Baston were named the GNAC Men's Field Athlete and Rookie of the Year, respectively, while Rams head coach Will Feldman garnered Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Rams to the inaugural GNAC Championship nearly two months ago.
Csiki-Fejer qualified for New Englands in the mile, 1,000 and 3k and had the best GNAC time in each of these events this season. He ranked 15th in New England in the 3000 with a time of 8:36.62, and competed at regionals for the second time in his career and second time in as many years, the first male Ram to participate in two New Englands. The two-time GNAC Champion and All-GNAC honoree in the mile and 3000 was also the anchor of the GNAC title clinching Distance Medley Relay team, which not only won the event, but secured the inaugural GNAC Champion crown for Suffolk and went on to run at regionals.
Balestra made his regional debut early last month as the first-ever Rams' fielder to do so in program history. His 14.96-meter toss was good for 12th, with the sophomore four places shy of all-region honors. He collected All-Conference status as the league champion in the weight throw with a 15.45-meter weight throw toss to take the title. He captured four GNAC weekly honors this winter as well.
Baston was the GNAC Champion & All-GNAC in the 200 and a member of the GNAC Champion 4x400 Relay Team. He holds the conference-best time this season in the 200, which is 46th regionally, with his 23.39 conference championship performance. This winter, he garnered five weekly awards from the conference – one track athlete of the week and four rookie of the week nods.
Information Courtesy of Suffolk Athletics Communications.
MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Suffolk
MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Michael Balestra, Suffolk
MEN'S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Connor Baston, Suffolk
MEN'S COACH OF THE YEAR – Will Feldman, Suffolk
MEN'S INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Saint Joseph's College of Maine
M/W ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Nina Hills & Michael Bullen, Colby-Sawyer
Cara Martin & Joey Reed, Emmanuel
Matt Holden & Allie Clancy, Lasell
Emily Fagundo & JJ Pedersen, Regis
Ricky Reyes & Kaylee Todisco, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Cassandra Kuechler & Tristan Smith, Suffolk
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
– #TheGNAC –