Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst Athletic Department hosted the Shamrock Awards Monday, May 1st, honoring the athletic accomplishments of their student-athletes, coaches, and staff. John Lydic of Erie News Now served as the host while the department hosted over 700 student-athletes.

Following a recap of the fall season, the Sister Mary Paul award was presented to Joshua Drabik from the Pep Band and Softball's Madison Fry for their commitment to the values instilled by the Sisters of Mercy.

The next award was presented by the SAAC President, Kate Hennessy. Hennessy presented the Distinguished Faculty Member award to Dr. Rajinikanth Mohan, Assistant Professor in the Zurn College of Natural and Health Sciences.

The Director of Strength and Conditioning, Tyler Travis, presented the next award for the Strength and Conditioning Teams of the Year which went to Field Hockey and Men's Basketball.

Every season there are student-athletes that will do anything to get back on the playing surface; this year was no different. After having a heart transplant, Men's Lacrosse's Ryan Scoble has fought his way back onto the field, earning him the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year.

Each year the athletic training department awards an Athletic Training Excellence award to a graduating senior that has excelled in the classroom and in the field. This year's winner was Madeline Stablein.

For the second year, Mercyhurst awarded the Male and Female Transfer of the Year awards for the student-athletes who have made the greatest impact since joining the Lakers as a transfer. This year, the awards went to Danielle Grim of Women's Basketball and Men's Soccer's Jonathan Gomes

Alongside naming the Strength and Conditioning Teams of the Year, Mercyhurst also awarded Strength and Conditioning Athletes of the Year. The male recipient of the award was Football's Rylan Davison while Sara Boucher of Women's Ice Hockey took home the honor as well.

Up next were the Female and Male Rookie of the Year awards which are handed out to the most outstanding newcomers. Wrestling grabbed the award for the second straight season as Jake Niffenegger was the first winner announced while Women's Ice Hockey's Thea Johansson was the second winner.

In August of 2021, the Mercyhurst community tragically lost longtime Water Polo coach Curtis Robinette and in his honor, Mercyhurst has continued the Curtis Robinette Unsung Hero Award; each team had a nominee. They were Colm Schultz, Isa McCaffrey, Ethan Chadbourne, Lucas Folmar, Jessica Clark, Ellie Schau, Abigail Kane, Matthew Ferraro, Hannah Mensch, Teagan Thomas, Maddy Burncheck, Trey Hoepner, Dustin Shoaf, Morgan Cole, Sarah Kelly, Jillian Spano, Grace Brzyski, Mary Kromer, Jason Golembiewski, Nicholas March, Ryan Scoble, Shane Kelly, and Marko Reifenberger. Grace Brzyski of Women's Water Polo and Lucas Folmar of Baseball ended up taking home the honors.

The next award handed out was the Sister Damien Honorary award, honoring the life of Sister Damien who embodied the Spirit of Mercy. This year's award winner was announced by the Director of Rowing Adrian Spracklen and was given to the Fleet Team of Tina Spano, John Timon, and Rick Garman.

Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Women's Administrator Stacey Gaudette presented the Scholar Athlete Awards given out to one male and one female senior. Jillian Blas of Field Hockey was the female recipient who is earning her Bachelor's of Science in Sports Medicine with a concentration in Pre-Occupational Therapy. Austin Cortopassi earned it on the male side after raising awareness for cancer research following his father's battle with the disease.

In April of last year, the Mercyhurst Community suffered a major loss when Dr. Heidi Hosey-McGurk, Dean of the Walker College of Business passed away. In honor of her, the Top Team GPA Award was renamed the Heidi Hosey-McGurk Team Excellence Award. Heidi's wife, Dr. Joanne McGurk presented the awards to Men's Cross Country and Softball.

The Sister Damien Primary award is given to a student who exemplifies the same spirit and support to the Mercyhurst athletes that Sister Damien had. This year's winner was Chris Streibich who could be found at a number of games offering his support to his favorite Lakers.

The next awards to be presented were the Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards, presented by the Assistant Vice President of Athletics, Brad Davis. This year's award winners were Wrestling's Eric Bartos who claimed All-American status once again while moving to fourth all-time in career wins and Bowling's Haley Youker who was named an All-American and led the Lakers to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
 

The final award handed out was the Athletic Director's Awards which was handed out to eight student-athletes who are truly Lakers and are leaders on and off the playing field. The recipients were Field Hockey's Katie Goodenow, Volleyball's Kate Hennessy, Softball's Allison Dejidas, Women's Soccer's Sydney Snyder, Football's Joe Carter, Men's Water Polo's Teagan Thomas, Men's Ice Hockey's Rylee St. Onge, and Men's Lacrosse's Myles Hamm.