Annual Award Winners | Freshman Athletes of the Year | Sophomore Athletes of the Year | Junior Athletes of the Year |
Senior Athletes of the Year | Outstanding Athletes of the Year | Scholar Athlete of the Year | James J. Poet Sportsmanship Award
Highest GPA Award | Team Academic Award | TALON Award
Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State Department of Athletics announced their Year-End Athletic Awards for the 2021-22 academic year during the "Student Athlete Welcome" Monday evening.
Senior Delaney St. Pierre, who became the second All-American in program history and third to gain New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors, was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year. St. Pierre is the first from volleyball to gain Outstanding Athlete of the Year honors. On the men's side, Amer Lukovic became the ninth to earn Outstanding Male Student-Athlete of the Year after notching All-American honors. Lukovic tallied 17 goals and 37 points during his rookie season.
Ian Chesney of men's soccer and Sidney Whetstone of the track & field team were tabbed as the Freshman Athletes of the Year. Chesney gained First Team All-Region and First Team All-NJAC last season and was part of the defensive core that surrendered just 13 goals during 22 games last year. Whetstone won the NJAC Outdoor Championship in the long jump, becoming just the third in program history to win that event.
Aileen Cahill from women's soccer and Carlie Van Tassel from field hockey were chosen as Co-Female Sophomore Athletes of the Year. Cahill was named First Team All-Region and First Team All-NJAC while earning NJAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. Van Tassel was Second Team All-Region and First Team All-NJAC after leading MSU with 12 goals. John Griffith of the track and field was the male recipient after qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the shot put. Griffith was an NJAC Champion in the shot put and discus during the Outdoor campaign.
After notching All-American honors, Nickie Carter of the women's basketball team was chosen as the Junior Female Athlete of the Year. Carter averaged 17.1 points per game, scoring 34 points against Rutgers-Newark, the second highest in the NJAC last season, and was chosen First Team All-NJAC. Tyler McCreery of the men's lacrosse team and Josiah Crawford of the men's soccer team gained Co-Male Junior Athletes of the Year. Crawford was named an All-American and was the NJAC Midfielder of the Year in his first season at Montclair, while McCreery broke the 20-year school record for points in a season as he tallied 105 points.
Allyn Lilien of the women's lacrosse team and Peter Cosentino of the baseball team were named the Senior Athletes of the Year. Lilien was a Third Team All-American selection, named to the IWLCA North/South Senior All-Star Game, and the NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year. Cosentino gained All-Region accolades from D3baseball.com and the ABCA/Rawlings and was a First Team All-NJAC selection. The first baseman also became the first in program history to earn Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA.
Carly Waterman from the women's volleyball team and Irving Callender IV were selected as the James J. Poet Sportsmanship Award recipients. The James J. Poet Award was established in 2001 in honor of James Poet, a member of the Montclair State Hall of Fame and an outstanding track and field competitor from the Class of 1941. This award was created to honor the Montclair State student-athlete who exhibits not only an exemplary amount of sportsmanship throughout their participation in their respective sport but also an exceptional display of citizenship in the campus community.
