By: Scott Eddy, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications
The 2023 Bonnies Choice Awards were held Monday, May 1 inside the Reilly Center.
The Bonnies Choice portion of the program was comprised of awards that were nominated by the St. Bonaventure Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and coaches and voted on by all Bonnies student-athletes through an online vote.
In continuing with a decades-long tradition, the Athletics Department's Senior Awards were also announced at the ceremonies.
Below are the winners of this year's awards:
SENIOR AWARD WINNERS
The Ray Dee Leadership Award is named for the 1964 Bona graduate who was the Chair of the University's Board of Trustees, as well as a generous donor to our athletic programs. Sadly, Mr. Dee passed away in January 2021 – and we remember him and his family through this award.
The Ray Dee Leadership Award is presented to the senior who, through his or her leadership skills, sets a positive example for others to follow and builds pride for St. Bonaventure Athletics. The person will have maintained the highest standards of performance, integrity, sportsmanship, and respect.
This year's winner shows integrity, sportsmanship, and leadership on and off the field. Her performance includes a combination of stats, awards and playing records. She has appeared 120 career games, making 114 starts as the Bonnies' primary catcher over the last five seasons. She has registered 46 career hits, including 10 doubles and four home runs. Last season, she posted career highs in hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs and walks. Off the field, she is a four-time member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll. She served as the softball team captain in 2023, and she was invaluable to the softball team through the COVID years as both a leader and a calming voice. Away from the field, she is a volunteer firefighter in her local community.
The winner of the Ray Dee Leadership Award is Madison Stewart
The Brian Moretti Service Award is presented for outstanding service, dedication, and commitment to the Department of Athletics. It may be awarded to a student-athlete or a non-athlete. This award is dedicated to the memory of assistant sports information director Brian Moretti who passed away unexpectedly on March 5, 2014. Brian was only here for a short time, but he left an unforgettable impression through his work ethic, enthusiasm, and love of his craft, in particular the work he did with the women's basketball team. We are thrilled to present this award in his name.
The winner of this award lives for St. Bonaventure Athletics and will always go the extra mile to help others out. He is always participating in SBU's athletic programs no matter the sport. He attends almost every basketball game, helping department staff in the Hall of Fame room during the games. He also is a captain of the men's swimming and diving team and is dedicated to the growth and development of the program within the athletics department. He also gives a large portion of his time to other community service events that show off how important being a part of St. Bonaventure Athletics is. He is a model athlete when it comes to giving his all to the St. Bonaventure Athletics Department and that is why we believe he is most deserving of this award.
The winner of the Brian Moretti Service Award, Griffin Witte
The Merit Award goes to one senior female and one senior male student-athlete for outstanding academic achievement, significant athletic achievement, and meaningful contribution to the St. Bonaventure community.
A member of the women's lacrosse team, our women's Merit Award recipient is an integral part of the program both athletically and academically. She has been on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the past three seasons. She is currently a senior captain and carries a 4.0 GPA. Following an injury earlier this season that impacted her ability to play, she has made a great recovery and has started and played in every game since. She received the Chemistry Promise Award presented by the American Chemical Society acknowledging her undergraduate accomplishments and prospects for a bright future.
The winner of the Women's Merit Award, Caroline Yoder
The men's Merit Award winner has been a success in competition and in the classroom. He graduated with a near 4.0 in his undergraduate studies and currently owns a 4.0 in graduate school while serving as a team captain.
His career has been full of awards in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country. Some of his notable awards include running top-10 school times in the 5K, 8K, and 10K for cross country. For track, he placed top 10 in the 800, 1000, 1500, mile, 3000, steeplechase, 4K relay, and 5000 meters. In his career, he participated in 13 different events and is in the top 10 in school history for every single one. Academically, he is one of the most decorated athletes in Bonnies history, having won All-Academic Team honors from the Atlantic 10 for cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track in each of the last two years.
His contribution to the community is also impressive. He organized a comedy show in his hometown benefiting St. Bonaventure Veterans, organized Earth Day trash pick up in Alleghany River, volunteered at the Warming House, volunteered at Children's Clothing drive in Olean and more.
The winner of the men's Merit Award is Darion Gregory
Our final Senior Award is the Letterwinner Award, which is presented every year to one senior female and one senior male student-athlete. These student-athletes have assembled outstanding records of athletic accomplishments over their careers and have proven instrumental to their teams' success.
Our women's recipient has been an integral part of the women's lacrosse program throughout her four years at Bonaventure. She has played in 50 games, starting 35. Currently, she has 48 goals and 18 assists in her career along with 57 draw controls. She has been someone that is extremely versatile and goes where the team needs her. She embraces the different positions she may play throughout the season or game and excels in those positions.
She has been on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll her freshman, sophomore, and junior years while also making the 2022 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team.
The winner of the Women's Letterwinner Award is Nora Anderson
Our men's Letterwinner Award recipient has been an instrumental player for the men's lacrosse team. Over the past five seasons, he is the only Bonnie to play in every game, scoring the program's first-ever Division I goal in 2019. A two-time All-Conference selection, he was named the MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year last spring.
He continues to break the record book for the lacrosse program as the Bonnies all-time points leader, finishing his career with program records for points (156), goals (93) and assists (63). As a three-time captain, he has exuded all of the qualities that the Bonnies coaching staff have valued in building the program. In the classroom, he earned Academic All-America honors last year, the first player in program history to do so.
His on-field success, academic standing, and position within the St. Bonaventure community make him an example of what every lacrosse player and student-athlete strives to be.
The winner of the men's Letterwinner Award is Sean Westley.
WOMEN'S ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Chiara Gottinger, Soccer – Pirching am Traubenberg, Austria
- The NCAA Division I statistical champion with 163 total saves
- Led all A-10 goalkeepers in save percentage (.881)
- Posted four shutouts and played every second in net
MEN'S ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Maxwell Murray, Swimming - Penfield, N.Y.
- Earned a silver medal at 2023 Atlantic 10 Championships by touching the wall in a time of 4:22.92 in the 500-freestyle, setting a new program record
- Broke a school record that had stood for over 25 years in the mile at A-10 Championships with a time of 15:27.81 to earn a bronze medal
- Set a school and pool record in the 1000-freestyle with a time of 9:16.31, breaking the mark posted by George Eversmann when he swam a time of 9:28.08 in 1997
WOMEN'S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Ami Komori, Soccer - Otsu, Japan
- Named to the 2022 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team
- Led team in points during freshman season
- Played over 1,100 minutes and was an A-10 Rookie of the Week selection
MEN'S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Ben Giera, Diving - Rockford, Mich.
- Earned gold at Atlantic 10 Championships in the 3-meter dive
- Finished with a score of 302.65 to notch a bronze medal in the 1-meter dive at the A-10 conference championships
- Set a program record in the 1-meter dive with a score of 342.98
WOMEN'S BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Jessica Notaro, Lacrosse - Lancaster, N.Y.
- Ranks second on the team with 40 points and 35 goals
- Ranks third in the Atlantic 10 and 10th in the nation in shot percentage (.593)
- Third in the A-10 with a .600 free position percentage
MEN'S BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Chad Venning, Basketball - Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Played in all 32 games, starting 29 in his first season with the program, averaging 12.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in over 28 minutes per game to shatter his previous career Division I statistics
- Scored in double figures 24 times during the year, tying for the team lead
- Stood third in the Atlantic 10 for blocks (46) and second in field goal percentage (58.1%)
WOMEN'S RISING STAR
Fiona McGovern, Lacrosse - Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.
- Leads the team with 67 points on 45 goals and 22 assists
- Ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and fourth in the nation in free position goals per game (1.29)
- Ranks sixth in A-10 goals and fifth in conference points, and has scored at least one goal in 16 of 17 games including eight games of three or more goals
MEN'S RISING STAR
Clay Peets, Cross Country/Track - Akron, Ohio
- Owns the top times in program history in cross country 5K and 8K, breaking own records four times this season
- Set the program record in the 3000 with a time of 8:35.59 at this year's A-10 Indoor Track Championships
- Recorded the program's outdoor track records in 1500, 3000 and 5000 meters and second in school history with an indoor mile time of 4:20.94 at RIT
WOMEN'S COURAGE AWARD
Juanita Wolak, Softball - Scranton, Pa.
- Battled back from two ACL tears to earn a starting role
- Started 37 of 38 games played this season
- Recorded three doubles and two triples
MEN'S COURAGE AWARD
Davis Hutchinson, Diving - Huntersville, N.C.
- Returned to the diving boards this season after a potential career-ending neck injury
- Placed 14th in the consolation final of the 1-meter dive with a score of 228.00 at the 2023 A-10 Championships
- Notched a sixth-place finish in the 3-meter dive, diving a score of 298.65 on the final day of A-10 Championships
WOMEN'S CO-INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Brit Colangelo - Lacrosse - Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
- Leads the team with 25 caused turnovers, ranking sixth in the Atlantic 10
- Scooped up a team-high 38 groundballs, also ranking sixth among all A-10 players
- Started all 17 games this season
WOMEN'S CO-INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Beth Thomas, Swimming - Staffordshire, England
- Named to the 2022-23 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Women's Swimming and Diving Team
- Swam a personal best time of 1:04.53 in the 100-breaststroke at championships
- Won three individual events and was a part of a relay victory against Gannon
MEN'S INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Alexander Behr, Swimming - Letzendorf, Germany
- Notched a silver medal in the 200-butterfly final at Atlantic 10 championships, registering a time of 1:45.41, and now owns the top two times in program history
- Broke his own program record in the 100-butterfly for a fourth-place finish with a time of 47.44 on day three of A-10 championships
- A member of the 200-medley team that finished fourth at the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championships with a time of 1:28.52
WOMEN'S UNSUNG HERO
Sylvi Jenner, Lacrosse - Victoria, British Columbia
- Recovering from season-ending injury last season; creates team's social media content
- Saw action in seven contests as a freshman last year
- Scored first collegiate goal vs Saint Joseph's in 2022
MEN'S UNSUNG HERO
Clay Smith, Soccer - Chesapeake, Va.
- Started all 16 games this season on defense
- Played 1,431 of possible 1,440 minutes during the year
- Played full time in final 14 games of the season
WOMEN'S REILLY AWARD
Claire Cody, Basketball - Carmel, N.Y.
- Appeared in 27 games, making one start and averaging 10.5 minutes per game
- Scored a career-high 12 points on a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc at UMass
WOMEN'S CO-REILLY AWARD
Amy O'Rourke, Swimming - Roodepoort, South Africa
- At Atlantic 10 Championships, was a member of the 200-freestyle relay team that set a new program record with a time of 1:32.81
MEN'S REILLY AWARD
Melian Martinez, Basketball - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Redshirted this season as a freshman, but immediately made a positive impact on the campus community. He earned the university's Integrity Award for his embodiment of the values of being a Bonnie.
