MIDDLESEX COLLEGE HOLDS FOURTH ANNUAL COLTS ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Middlesex College hosted its annual Colts Achievement Awards on May 20 and this year, they expanded on the event by inducting five individuals and one team into the Middlesex College Athletics Hall of Fame.
The event was held on campus and was supported through donations from Provident Bank, which sponsors many events on campus.
"We really wanted to link our past and present in one great evening to celebrate Middlesex College Athletics," said Director of Athletics Rocco Constantino, who served as host for the evening. "I thought it was wonderful for our Hall of Fame inductees and their families to hear about all the great accomplishments we had this year and it's important for our current athletes and coaches to learn and appreciate the athletes and coaches who laid the groundwork here for their success."
At the event, a total of 32 awards were handed out, including the five major departmental awards, which were the headline awards of the night.
The first major award of the night was presented to Men's Volleyball sophomore Rohim Chhetri, who was named the recipient of the Vincent DeSario Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence. The award was named for DeSario, who passed away in 2010 while an active member of the Middlesex College Golf team.
Chhetri was an outstanding student, garnering one of the highest GPAs among student-athletes, while also starring for the Men's Volleyball team. In addition, Chhetri volunteered his time in the department to assist with the Colts Women's Volleyball team.
Jalena Santiago received the next major award, capturing the Shannon Williams Colts Spirit Award. Named for the beloved former Equipment Aide who passed away in 2022, the Shannon Williams Colts Spirit Award is presented to the athlete who best captured the pride, dedication and enthusiasm that Williams showed for Middlesex College.
Santiago was a member of both the Women's Basketball and Softball teams and was a key contributor on both squads. Santiago's positive attitude on both squads was uplifting to her teammates and coaches and she always carried a welcoming presence in the athletic department.
The Male and Female Athletes of the Year were the next awards to be presented. Voted on by the department's coaches and staff, any athlete who was named an MVP in his or her sport was eligible to capture the department's Athlete of the Year Award.
The Male Athlete of the Year went to Jon Braun, a sophomore wrestler who capped an outstanding career at Middlesex College with a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament in Iowa. A strong student, Braun captured the Gulf District Championship by knocking off the #1 seed and a returning champion from last year. That clinched a spot in the NJCAA National Tournament for Braun, where he won one match.
The other MVPs who were nominated for Male Athlete of the Year were Ryan Acquisto (Baseball), Nick Maglienicki (Men's Volleyball), Joseph Tucker (Men's Soccer) and Tristin Harcourt (Men's Basketball).
Isabelle Marin from the Women's Soccer team was voted as the Female Athlete of the Year after a fantastic career on the pitch. Marin, a two-time First Team All-Region 19 honoree, was sixth in the country in both goals (16) and assists (11). She led Middlesex to an 8-6-1 record and a berth in the District Championship Game. Marin had goals in 10 of the 15 games she played and had five multi-goal games. She will continue her career at Caldwell University on the NCAA Division II level.
The other nominees who were MVP of their sports were Maryann Lourenco-Rivas (Women's Volleyball), Alyssa Rice (Women's Basketball) and Madison Rackett (Softball).
The final major award for the evening was the Coach of the Year and that went to first-year Head Softball Coach Matt Mehalick.
Mehalick led the Colts to a 27-10 record and had Middlesex ranked in the top 10 NJCAA National Poll nearly all season. The Colts achieved a high ranking of #8 this year and finished third in the Region 19 Tournament. The 27 wins recorded by the Colts were the most in recent history by Middlesex College. Among those 27 wins were five victories over nationally ranked teams.
"This was a tremendous evening and I couldn't be more proud of our athletes and coaches," said Constantino. "We also have to recognize that you can't have this kind of success without the support of so many people. From our College President Dr. McCormick, to the Board of Trustees and College Administration, they have given us their unwavering support. In addition, we have a tremendous staff here in our department. We hosted 106 games this year and played even more than that on the road. That means setup, coordinating game day staff, scheduling officials, coordinating travel and meals and paying all of the bills for that. It's a huge undertaking and our athletes are lucky that we have a tremendous staff to give them a great experience here."
In addition to the individual awards, a number of other Colts were recognized for honors they received throughout the year. Softball pitcher Madison Rackett was recognized for being named the NJCAA National Pitcher of the Week. Ryan Rzepinski was honored for being named the Region 19 Pitcher of the Year as well. The Colts had four players receive First Team All-Region honors in their sport: Isabelle Marin (Women's Soccer), David Pereira (Men's Soccer), Makenzie Marsh (Softball) and Rzepinski. Middlesex had an additional 13 student-athletes receive Second or Third Team All-Region accolades as well.
Head Baseball Coach CJ Mooney was recognized for his 250th career win and Constantino acknowledged the five Colts teams who qualified for the Region 19 playoffs this year.