End of The Year Athletic Banquet
6/8/2024 9:00:00 AM | General
Santa Cruz, CA - On Friday afternoon the UC Santa Cruz Athletics & Recreation Department celebrated its student-athletes at its annual awards ceremony presented by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Below are the nominees and winners for all awards presented throughout the ceremony.
Scholar-Athlete Highest GPA
Awarded to the two student-athletes with the highest GPA
Winners:
Helena Janku: A second-year environmental studies and legal studies double major, excels both academically and athletically. As a Second-Year Women's Cross Country/Track and Field athlete, she was named the 2023 C2C Conference Runner of the Year and earned All-Region Honors with a 9th place finish at NCAA West Regionals. Helena's leadership propelled the women's team to their third-consecutive Cross Country Conference Championship Title and their second National's appearance in school history. In Indoor Track and Field, she dominated, setting records in the 3000m and 5000m Championships, scoring 20 points and leading the women to a 2nd place team finish. Outdoors, she broke the 5000m school record by 14 seconds, setting a new C2C Conference Record with a time of 17:01
Luke Holland: Luke, is a second-year MCD biology major. Alongside his academic achievements, he excels in both cross country and track and field, recently setting a PR of 14:57.21 in the 5000-meter race securing him first place finish in the C2C Indoor Track & Field Championships!
Highest Team GPA
Awarded to the two teams with the highest GPA:
Women's Tennis: 3.677 Team GPA
Men's Cross Country: 3.587 GPA
SAAC Slug of the Year Award
Awarded for demonstrating selfless motivation to give back to the community and shed a positive light on our athletics program.
Winner: Mikaela Paracuelles, Women's Golf
Mikaela is the epitome of excellence both on and off the golf course. With a swing that's as impressive as her game, she's been a stalwart member of our team throughout her four years at UC Santa Cruz. As a neuroscience major, her academic achievements speak volumes, earning her the Academic All-American Award three years consecutively. Beyond academics and athletics, Mikaela's leadership shines through her roles on the executive board of our SAAC team and as President of multiple campus clubs. Her compassion and dedication extend beyond the green, ensuring everyone feels valued and respected. Mikaela Paracuelles is not just a standout player but a true leader deserving of recognition of this award.
Most Inspirational Student Athlete
Nominated and voted on by Head Coaches, the award goes to an upperclassman individual student-athlete who stands out for their exceptional attitude, personal triumphs and unique enthusiasm about being on their team.
Nominees: Angela Bradbury, Lilli Hammons, Jeremiah Hust, and Mikaela Paracuelles
Winner: Mikaela Paracuelles, Women's Golf
Mikaela is the epitome of excellence both on and off the golf course. With a swing that's as impressive as her game, she's been a stalwart member of our team throughout her four years at UC Santa Cruz. As a neuroscience major, her academic achievements speak volumes, earning her the Academic All-American Award four years consecutively. This year she was named to the Second Team All-Conference for the American Southwest Conference for her excellent play. Beyond academics and athletics, Mikaela's leadership shines through her roles on the executive board of our SAAC team and as President of multiple campus clubs. Her compassion and dedication extend beyond the green, ensuring everyone feels valued and respected. Mikaela Paracuelles is not just a standout player, but a true leader deserving of recognition of this award.
Newcomer of the Year
An award nominated and voted on by the Head Coaches to go to a male and female First Year or Transfer student-athlete with exceptional athletic performance while earning a 3.75 GPA or above in their first year on campus.
Nominees: Alexa Litchev, Kristen Boyle, Chloe Wu, Elena Stanciu
Winner: Elena Stanciu, Track and Field/XC
Elena was named 2023 C2C Newcomer of the Year for Cross Country after placing 2nd at the C2C Conference Championships. At the NCAA West Regional Race, Elena was the 7th fastest freshman across the line. Elena became the 5th UC Santa Cruz freshman to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. In Indoor Track, Elena anchored the Distance Medley Relay to a Win at the C2C Championships setting a C2C Conference Meet record. Elena also placed 3rd in the C2C Indoor 3000m race. At the Wartburg Final Qualifier, Elena anchored the DMR to a new C2C Conference Record. Elena was named the C2C Indoor Rookie of the Year. In Outdoor Track, Elena is currently ranked top 4 in the C2C in the 800m, 1500m, and 5,000m.
Nominees: Ben Wang, Eric Dodge, Karsten Hsiao, Kyle Ownbey, Michael Braun
Winner: Kyle Ownbey, Volleyball
Kyle is a quiet and humble student-athlete who is on track to be one of the most prolific scorers in UCSC MVB history. As a first year, he shattered the school record in hitting percentage, hitting at .454, meaning close to half of the time he touches the ball he scores a point. At the end of the regular season, he sat in the top 4 of all of D3 in hitting proficiency with no other first-year coming close to him. For his accomplishments this past season, he was named Newcomer of the Year in our Region.
Student-Athlete of the Year
An award nominated and voted on by the Head Coaches to be presented to a male and female student-athlete for exceptional athletic achievement during the school year.
Nominees: Alexia Santos, Amanda Inserra, Emily Pasion, Helena Janku, Maddy Gruender
Winner: Maddy Gruender, Swim and Dive
Maddy had her best season to date, setting 9 school records in the following events 50 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back (set 4 different times), and 200 back (set twice), 200 free relay (set twice), 400 Free Relay (set twice), 800 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay. She qualified for the NCAAs in the 200 Free, 200 Back, and 400 Free Relay, as well as earned consideration times in the 200 Free Relay and 800 Free Relay. Her 200 Free time was the 18th fastest in Division III this season, and her 200 Back time was 34th. She was the PCSC Conference Champion in the 200 Back, 200 Free Relay, and 800 Free Relay, and third in the 200 Free, and 400 Free Relay. She led the Slugs in scoring at the PCSC Championship with 81 points, which was 6th highest in the meet, and helped the Slugs to their highest finish at PCSC since 2012.
Nominees: Andrew Tjoa, Eric Anderson, Massimo Reyna, Max Belder, Zino Okah
Winner: Eric Anderson Track and Field/XC
Eric competed well when it was most important and earned All-Region Honors at the NCAA West Region Championships with a 29th-place finish (his second straight honor). For Indoor Track and Field, Eric broke new ground for the Slugs and became the first distance athlete in UC Santa Cruz history to earn All-American status at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championship. Though he was ranked 18th out of 20 competitors going into the preliminary round of the Mile race, he PR'd to make it to the finals, and then he set a new PR and School record in the finals to place 2nd overall. Eric was the Outdoor Track & Field C2C Champion in the 800m setting a new C2C Conference Meet Record. He also set a UCSC School Record and C2C Record in the 1500m. Eric was also the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Runner-Up in the 1500m, earning All-American Honors for the second time in his career. During the ceremony, 108 outstanding scholar-athletes were highlighted for maintaining a 3.75 GPA or above throughout the year. 43 school records were broken throughout the year.
Photo Credit: Alexa FeuerÂ
