Penn State York honors student-athletes with virtual event

YORK, Pa. — The sports awards banquet had to be canceled, but that didn’t stop Penn State York from honoring its athletes through a Zoom presentation on Thursday, April 16, the same date there would have been a banquet. Dinner was on their own, presumably at home, given the current social distancing required to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"Our student-athletes work very hard to achieve both academic and athletic goals, and it so important that we recognize those who achieve those goals,” said Jeff Barkdoll, athletic director at Penn State York. “Even though we did that in an unconventional venue this year, we were able to at least publicly announce these students and applaud their accomplishments," said Barkdoll.

Barkdoll, led the program on Zoom, and along with athletics staff and coaches, announced the award winners for 2019-20 in the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) and the United State Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) to an online audience. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the baseball season was cancelled for spring 2020.

PSUAC All-Academic Awards

Twenty-seven student-athletes earned this award, which is presented to those who have a semester grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher during the semester of competition or the completion of 24 credits.

The recipients are: Aaron Beach, York, Pennsylvania, golf; Deriq Brown, New Oxford, Pennsylvania, men’s basketball; Bryan Bullen, Hunt Valley, Maryland, baseball; Cameron Caple, Glenville, Pennsylvania, soccer; Sahnel Day, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, men’s basketball; John “JP” Dyson, Hanover, Pennsylvania, baseball; Bryce Finch, York, Pennsylvania, soccer; Jonathan Gillespie, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, men’s basketball; Makenna Hopta, York, Pennsylvania, women’s basketball; Abigail Hornberger, Mt. Wolf, Pennsylvania, volleyball; Raymond “RJ” Kozen, Manchester, Pennsylvania, golf; Janelle Kress, Littlestown, Pennsylvania, women's basketball; Austin Lehman, Millersburg, Pennsylvania, baseball;  Lilian LeVan, York, Pennsylvania, women’s volleyball; Savannah London, Abingdon, Maryland, women’s volleyball; Zoe Luedtke, East Berlin, Pennsylvania, women’s volleyball; Kartik Pairkh, Mumbai, India, soccer; Yesh Patil, Mumbai, India, soccer; Alyson Reese, Hanover, Pennsylvania, women’s basketball; Corina Rivera, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, women’s basketball; Jose Ignacio Salazar Zuniga, Lima, Peru, soccer; Nicole Sharpe, Baltimore, Maryland, women’s basketball; Maxwell Smith, Manchester, Maryland, baseball; Dishank Thakkar, Mumbai, India, soccer; Christopher Verderame, Hershey, Pennsylvania, soccer; Cole Wentz, Dover, Pennsylvania, soccer; Carter Williams, Wolmelsdorff, Pennsylvania, baseball; and Madison Winkowski, Red Lion, Pennsylvania, women’s volleyball.

USCAA Academic All-American

Ten student-athletes earned this award, which is presented to students who have earned a 3.5 GPA or higher during the semester of competition or at the completion of 24 credits.

Those honored are: Bryan Bullen, Hunt Valley, Maryland, baseball; Cameron Caple, Glenville, Pennsylvania, soccer; Jonathan Gillespie, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, men’s basketball; Austin Lehman, Millersburg, Pennsylvania, baseball; Savannah London, Abingdon, Maryland, women’s volleyball; Yash Patil, Mumbai, India, soccer; Jose Ignacio Salazar Zuniga, Lima, Peru, soccer; Christopher Verderame, Hershey, Pennsylvania, soccer; Cole Wentz, Dover, Pennsylvania, soccer; and Carter Williams,Wolmelsdorff, Pennsylvania, baseball.

John Fritz Sportsmanship Award

This award is given in recognition of former PSUAC Commissioner John Fritz, who continually displayed good sportsmanship as well as ethical, fair, appropriate, and polite behavior while he competed as a Penn State athlete and worked as an administrator. An award is given to an individual in each sport.

The honorees are: Jose Ignacio Salazar Zuniga, Lima, Peru, soccer; Abigail Hornberger, Mt. Wolf, Pennsylvania, women’s volleyball; Raymond “RJ” Kozen, Manchester, Pennsylvania, golf; Daniel Jackson, York, Pennsylvania, women’s basketball; Tarajae Davis, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, men’s basketball; and Austin Lehman, Millersburg, Pennsylvania, baseball.

PSUAC Awards

Richard Grant, York, Pennsylvania, and Michael Coleman, York, Pennsylvania, were named to the PSUAC All-Conference 1st Team in men’s basketball.

Jonathan Gillespie, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was named PSUAC Defensive Player of the Year East

Four players were awarded PSUAC All-Conference Honorable Mention in their sports:  Jonathan Gillespie, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, men’s basketball; Sky Warner, Red Lion, Pennsylvania, women’s basketball; Cole Wentz, Dover, Pennsylvania, soccer; and Madison Winkowski Red Lion, Pennsylvania, women’s volleyball.

Special awards and recognitions

Men’s Basketball — Trimmer Award

Connor Hostetter, Manheim, Pennsylvania, is the winner of the 2019-20 Trimmer Award. The Trimmer Award recipient is selected by the coach and given to the player who has shown the most improvement. The award is named in honor of the late Ron Trimmer, who coached the men’s basketball team at Penn State York for eight seasons, retiring in 1981.

Women’s Basketball — The Character Counts Award

This is a new award in women’s basketball and winners are selected by their fellow teammates. The award recognizes the student-athlete whose character is outstanding and who upholds the five core values of Penn State York Athletics: accountability, courage, diligence, integrity, and respect. The first winners of this award are Makenna Hopta, York, Pennsylvania, and Nicole Sharpe, Baltimore, Maryland.

Soccer — The Christopher C. Miller Sportsmanship Award

This award is given to the athlete who displays sportsmanship on the field and in everyday life. It was established in 2002 in honor of the late Christopher C. Miller, the son of former Penn State York Soccer Coach George Miller. Christopher Miller died on July 9, 2001, at the age of 16. During his soccer career, he played in more than 350 games and never received a yellow or red card for unsportsmanlike play. His love of the game of soccer and his outstanding sportsmanship will always be remembered through this award. The 2019-20 recipient is Jose Ignacio Salazar Zuniga, Lima, Peru.

Dr. Bruce Broadbent Award

This award is given to the soccer player who, in the eyes of the coach, has made the most improvement and is given in honor of Bruce Broadbent, former division head, health and human development, Commonwealth College, and former faculty member at Penn State York. The award began in 1994 in recognition of Broadbent’s contribution to the soccer program and the summer camp program, which he directed for 11 years, The 2019-20 recipient is Harley Winters, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

To learn more about athletics at Penn State York, and the sports offered, visit the athletic website. York campus offers six collegiate sports:  baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, golf for men and women. soccer, and women’s volleyball.