John Jay College’s Department of Athletics, Recreation and Intramurals celebrated the incredible achievements of our student-athletes at the 46th Annual Awards Banquet on May 15. The event’s theme was “Bloodhounds Digging Deep,” in recognition of the individual and team successes of our John Jay Bloodhounds, and the powerful spirit of determination and resiliency the student-athletes displayed year-round. “The Bloodhounds certainly ‘dug deep’ this year as our programs continued to reach new peaks of competitive success and academic accomplishment,” said Lynette Cook-Francis, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. She then highlighted the countless ways student-athletes have achieved success—from the women’s swim team’s training trip in Puerto Rico, to volleyball team member John (Anthony) François ’21 winning the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship.
Providing welcome remarks, President Karol V. Mason, told the students of how overjoyed and impressed she was with their accomplishments both on and off the field. “It’s great to be here tonight at the 46th Annual Athletics Awards Banquet to celebrate the wonderful achievements of our student-athletes,” said Mason. “I congratulate you on your many successes, and I look forward to seeing your 2019-2020 season unfold. For those of you graduating on May 29, I know that you will continue to dig deep, and be successful in everything you do.”
Representing the CUNY Athletic Conference was Commissioner Zak Ivkovic, who applauded the student-athletes on their incredible work ethic throughout the season. He recognized the accomplishments of several John Jay student-athletes with the CUNY Athletic Conference All Star award.
In total, 100 student-athletes were honored with awards—17 of which were four-year student-athletes, including cheerleader and cross-country team member Ayanna Miller-Smith and baseball player Zach Hyde. One of the most highly anticipated award presentations was for the Rookie of the Year Award. The accolade honors two of the College’s top performing players in their first season of play. This year’s John Jay Rookie of the Year winners were Katie Healy and Alejandro Gallardo.
The highly coveted John Jay College Athlete of the Year award went to Doug Levy and Jessica Barbaria. Beyond recognizing athletic prowess, high-achieving academic success was also highlighted at the event. Student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA took center stage, and the Men’s Cross Country team took the prize for highest team GPA, for their overall 3.399 GPA.
You can read the full list of this year’s winners and view interviews with team captains, as well as a blooper reel, on the Bloodhound’s Athletics page.
More scenes from the Event:
Photos by Denis Gostev
