Annual SUNYAC Awards Dinner Honors Six
The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) held its annual awards ceremony on May 16th at the Embassy Suites in Syracuse, NY. It was a night to celebrate coaches, administrators and student athletes for their contribution to SUNYAC and beyond.
The evening started off with two retirement honorees. Ken Peterson was honored for his longtime commitment to Oswego Athletics as a soccer coach. Peterson guided the men’s program from 1968-2004 and was named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year three times (1988, 89 and 94). He also was hired as the women’s coach from 1997-2003, which was no easy task to be in charge of two programs in the same season but somehow he made it work. Peterson continued to teach in the Health and Wellness Management Program until his retirement this year.
Former Director of Athletics Marilyn Moore spent more than 30 years at SUNY Geneseo. As head athletic trainer, assistant director of athletics and finally as the first female director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation since 1999, Moore has been committed to achieving success on and off the field. Moore was active in many annual community service programs including the Section V Sportsmanship Summit that brought awareness to high school students about hazing and other issues. During her tenure, Geneseo won 69 SUNYAC championships, the women's cross-country team won the first national championship in 2005 and the Knights claimed the Commissioner’s Cup in 2002-03.
Three student-athletes were presented with the SUNYAC Award of Valor. The award is given to an individual(s) for their ability to overcome obstacles and serve as an inspiration to others. The recipients used perseverance, dedication and determination to overcome a life-altering event. The inaugural award was given in 2002-03.
SUNY Potsdam senior Rosie Shrout, a captain of the 2010-11 Bears swimming & diving team, underwent a procedure in July of 2011 to extract bone marrow to donate to an 11-year-old girl with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She found out she was a match for the child after having her DNA collected at the Be The Match Registry drive held on the SUNY Potsdam campus in October 2009. After being told in March 2010 that she was a potential match for the patient, Shrout had her blood drawn and tested. Finally in June, the student was informed that she was the donor of choice to help the girl. Shrout, who was unable to attend the banquet due to her final exam schedule, is the first Potsdam student-athlete to earn the honor.
Shrout wasn’t the only student-athlete to give the gift of life as Michael Connors of SUNY Oswego also was a bone marrow donor. Connors was recruited to compete for the Lakers on the wrestling mat but prior to enrolling in his freshman year he found out he was matched to be the donor of bone marrow to his brother. So Connors did what any brother would do and he had the surgical extraction in early September of 2010. The marrow donation was ultimately successful but delayed due to a few complications but worth the wait as Connors saved his brother’s life.
Buffalo State men’s basketball player Jake Simmons was the final award of valor recipient of the evening. Simmons is the second Buffalo State student-athlete to receive the award and third representative from the college. Track & field athlete Curtis Bachek was honored in 2003, and softball coach Sandra Hollander was also recognized in 2008.
Simmons received the honor for his inspiring story that was documented in the Buffalo News front page story by Amy Moritz on February 21, 2011. Full Story
The final award of the evening was the Dr. Patrick Damore Distinguished Service Award which was bestowed upon Dr. Neil Johnson. Dr. Johnson’s association with SUNYAC began in 1963 with his initial service as the Head Wrestling coach. In 1963, he also began his tenure as a Professor of Health and Physical Education. From 1990 until retirement in 2000, while he continued to coach and teach he also chaired the department of health and physical education. Full release on Award
