SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State Department of Athletics gathered together in person on campus at the Student Life Events Center on Monday evening for the return of the annual Student-Athletes Awards Banquet.
Monday marked a return to normalcy for SF State student-athletes. The Gators saw the annual event moved to Zoom in 2019-20 and the season was canceled in 2020-21.
Jamil Sheared opened the ceremony and highlighted the Gators' accomplishments. Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President
Aria Mazroy fired up his fellow student-athletes as he discussed the growth that they've made this season. Director of Athletics
Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins followed with a heartfelt message to the student-athletes, followed by President Lynn Mahoney, who discussed the perseverance that the Gators have endured to get to this moment and the much-needed teamwork and life skills that student-athletes inherently learn as part of a team. Sheared returned to the stage to recognize the 22 student-athletes who earned conference honors, then welcomed the program's head coaches to the stage to unveil their team awards.
In addition to the
team awards presented per team and individual student-athletes honored, men's cross country was named men's team of the year while volleyball earned the women's honor after going 22-5, including 16-0 at home. Graduating student-athletes were presented with their student-athlete sashes to be worn at commencement, which will take place on Friday, May 27 at Oracle Park.
Women's soccer player Carissa Capinpin was named SF State's female Freshman of the Year. An All-CCAA Second Team selection, the midfielder appeared in 18 contests with 16 starts. The Concord native was tied for third on the team with a pair of goals – she netted the game-winner vs. Cal State Monterey Bay and the equalizer in the CCAA Tournament vs. Cal State LA.
Baseball player Daniel Santos was named the SF State male Freshman of the Year. He played in 44 games with 36 starts and led his team with a .386 batting average, which also ranks sixth in the CCAA. The outfielder from Hacienda Heights also led the Gators with 54 hits and 10 doubles, and hit two homers.
Izzy Issak was named the female Newcomer of the Year. An All-CCAA Honorable Mention, Issak was also named the CCAA Player of the Week for the Week of Sept 21-26 and to the CCAA All-Tournament team after registering a career-high 20 kills to lead the Gators in a win over Cal State San Marcos. Playing in all but two sets this season, she finished third on the team with 263 kills and 58 blocks. She was also a member of the Fall 2021 Academic Honor Roll.
On the men's side, cross country runner Kevin Lehr was named the male Newcomer of the Year. Lehr raced in five events and led the Gators in three of those events. After earning All-CCAA honors with a 15th-place finish at the CCAA Championships, he led the Gators at the NCAA Regionals, where he led the team with a time of 32:14.7.
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CCAA Hal Charnofsky Award |
The CCAA Hal Charnofsky Memorial Award recognizes CCAA student- athletes who had distinguished themselves in the classroom and their sport.
This year's female honoree was volleyball player Jessica Haynie. An AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and an All-CCAA First Team selection, she had a strong season in her final year in a Gators uniform. The Mechanical Engineering major from Temecula led the team with 346 kills, was third on the team with 163 digs and 35 service aces, and ranked fifth on the team with 34 blocks. Her 3.8 kills per game were second-highest in the CCAA. The senior had one of her best weekends in the regular season finale when she racked up 49 kills, including a career-high 26 en route to CCAA weekly honors and being named the program's first-ever AVCA National Player of the Week.
This year's male honoree was men's basketball player Sean Orr, who has an impressive 3.90 cumulative GPA. A CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selection, Orr started all 27 games for the Gators. The Daly City native averaged 9.8 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting from the field. He shot 34 percent from deep and was 79 percent effective from the free throw line.
The Arete Award is given to a student-athlete who has earned a 3.0 or higher grade point average at SF State, completed an average of 12 units per semester, performed community service and also had an outstanding career in his/her respective sport. This year's Arete Award winner was wrestler Mason Boutain, who missed the event to attend his brother's graduation. After six seasons as a Gator, Boutain earned a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championships this season as a redshirt senior. The Benicia native was named RMAC Champion at 157 pounds in 2017 and is a three-time All-RMAC selection. This season, he was an RMAC All-Academic First Team selection, was ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation at 157 lb. and finished in third place at Regionals and punched his ticket to Nationals with a 3-1 overtime victory.
Men's soccer player Gustavo Ferrari was named the male athlete of the year. Ferrari rewrote the record books by breaking a scoring record that has stood since 1980. In doing so, he racked up the accolades - he was named to the D2 CCA All-America Soccer Team and West Region First Team, to the United Soccer Coaches Men's West Region Soccer First Team, CCAA Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, and to the 2021 All-CCAA Men's Soccer First Team. The Canadian native broke San Francisco State's single-season program records with 14 goals and 35 points.
On the women's side, softball player
Brylynn Vallejos was named female athlete of the year. In just two and a half seasons, Vallejos has rewritten the SF State record books. Named the program's first-ever 2022 CCAA Softball Most Valuable Player this season, she started all 53 games in center field and led the CCAA in hits, doubles, home runs, and runs scored. She was named CCAA Freshman of the Year and to the First Team in 2019. In 2020, she was named a CCAA All-Star in the pandemic-shortened season. Additionally, she was named to the 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team, an NFCA All-American in 2019, and has been named to the NFCA Top 50 Watch List twice, in 2020 and again this season. Just today, she was named to the NFCA Top 25 Watch List. At .426, the Reno native is the first Gator to post a career batting average over .400. She is the program leader with 97 stolen bases, and is among the Top 10 career leaders in nearly every offensive category, and holds several single-season records.
Men's Cross Country
John Moreno Award: Kevin Lehr
Golden Gator: Lucas Vigil
Women's Cross Country
Jodi Dailey Award: Madeleine Liem
Golden Gator: Katya Candray
Women's Soccer
Offensive MVP: Glory Smith
Defensive MVP: Daesha Harper
Golden Gator: Kylie Schneider
Men's Soccer
Offensive MVP: Gustavo Ferrari
Defensive MVP: Danny Estrada
Golden Gator: Erik Ornelas
Volleyball
Freshman of the Year: Kimberly DeBoer
Newcomer of the Year: Izzy Issak
Golden Gator: Taylor Garcia
Women's Basketball
Freshman of the Year: Mya Blake
Newcomer of the Year: Jolene Armendariz
Golden Gator: Alexsandra Alvarado
Men's Basketball
MVP: Toby Okwuokei
Most Improved: Devon Jackson
Golden Gator: Sean Orr
Wrestling
Most Improved: Joshua Fuentes Norikiyo
Clutch Athlete: Josh Tolentino
Golden Gator: Mason Boutain
Softball
Best Defensive Player: Kai DeLeon
Best Offensive Player: Brylynn Vallejos
Golden Gator: Kira Nilson
Baseball
Player of the Year: Sammy Gonzales
Pitcher of the Year: Gary Grosjean
Golden Gator: Jordyn Eglite
Men's Track & Field
Track Athlete of the Year: Bailey Williams
Field Athlete of the Year: Parker Smith
Golden Gator: Gary Valle
Women's Track & Field
Track Athlete of the Year: Daisy Salinas
Field Athlete of the Year: Jazzlyn Matthews
Golden Gator: Madison Algarin
