WILKES-BARRE, PA (May 14, 2024) -- As the conclusion of finals week and the 2023-24 academic calendar approaches, the King's College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the winners of their annual awards on Tuesday afternoon. The winners were unveiled last Tuesday, May 7 at the Senior Send Off gathering as graduating seniors and members of the department gathered to honor and recognize the 2024 senior class.
Teone Sherrod of the King's men's track and field and football teams was named the 2023-24 Male Senior Athlete of the Year. Sherrod made his mark on the King's College athletics record books. He came off a gold medal and program-record mark of 1.96 meters in the high jump at the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 3. Sherrod also holds two silver medals and an indoor gold medal, 2023 Indoor All-Region honors, and all top 10 indoor marks and 9 out of 10 of the top outdoor marks in the high jump, including both the indoor and outdoor records. Additionally, he was the football program's first All-American since 2006 as he collected AFCA First Team and D3football.com Second Team honors in 2022 along with a D3football.com All Region First Team, All-MAC First Team, and a Cliff Harris Award Finalist. This season, he was a D3football.com Preseason Third Team All American and finished his career as both the career pass break up record holder.
The 2023-24 Female Senior Athlete of the Year was presented to
Aspen Wallin of the King's women's ice hockey, women's golf, and women's soccer teams. Wallin was a leader on and off the ice this season for the Monarchs who reached the UCHC Playoffs for the first time in program history while setting the single-season wins record. An All-MAC Second Team defensemen, she led the team in assists, ranked second in points, and set a new record for most short-handed goals in a game and a season this year. She was also a two-time MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week and a MAC Academic Honor Roll recipient as a member of the women's soccer team and finished second on the team at the MAC Women's Golf Championships earlier this month.
The Male Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year award winner was
Mike Bizzoco of both the men's volleyball and men's tennis teams. The exercise science major achieved a 3.83 GPA over the course of his time at King's, was on the dean's list all seven semesters, and received MAC Academic Honor Roll all three years. He is the Secretary on the Executive Board for the Delta Epsilon Sigma Honor Society, the Historian of the Sports Medicine Society, and a member of the Aquinas Honor Society. A team captain for the men's volleyball team, Bizzoco also completed an internship this semester at Elite Spine and Sport Physical Therapy here in Wilkes-Barre. After graduating, he plans to take a gap year before applying to medical school to become a doctor specializing in primary care family medicine or pediatrics.
Sam Kulman of the women's ice hockey team was named the Female Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year. Kulman posted an impressive 3.99 GPA over her time at King's, was a three-time MAC Academic Honor Roll and UCHC All-Academic Team recipient, and a two-time Krampade/AHCA All-American Scholar. The political science and criminal justice double major with a sociology minor was also secretary of the Pre-Law Society, President of the Model United Nations, and a SAAC rep. After graduation, she plans to pursue her Master's Degree and attend law school.
The Monarch Mission award is presented to a student-athlete from the senior class who was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The student-athlete not only represented their respective team well on and off the field, but also exemplified the King's College mission – King's teaches its students not only how to make a living, but how to live. This year marks the first time ever that two recipients will be sharing the award.
The first recipient was
Zach Barber of the football team. He served as a campus SAAC representative, actively participated in Leo's Leaders programs, served as a Monarch Mentor, and dedicated time to Special Olympics practices by attending every weekly session in both 2023 and 2024.
The second student-athlete honored was field hockey's
Ashley Thalassinos. She held positions as a MAC SAAC and campus SAAC representative, engaged consistently in Leo's Leaders events, served as a Monarch Mentor, and actively participated in various events such as Special Olympics, Read Across America, and the National Girls and Women in Sports Day clinic. Additionally, she showed exceptional dedication to the local community by organizing a field hockey stick drive for BRAVE Field Hockey this past fall, which collected hundreds of sticks for young girls interested in the sport but faced financial challenges.
For the second year, the King's Athletic Department handed out several new awards, and those recipients can be found below:
- Championship Performance
- Men's Winner: Men's Ice Hockey in the program's first bid to the UCHC Playoffs at Stevenson
- Women's Winner: Women's Ice Hockey in the program's first bid to the UCHC Playoffs at Nazareth
- Record-Breaking Performance
- Men's Winner: Owen Foytack's Indoor Mile and 3,000 Meter and Outdoor 1,500 Meter Records
- Women's Winner: Aspen Wallin's Short Handed Goals in a Game and Season Record
- Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
- Play of the Year
King's seniors will join their classmates at Commencement this Friday, May 17 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.
--MONARCHS--
