Megafu and McNamee Named Student-Athletes of the Year as Athletic Department Celebrates Awards Night

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) athletics department concluded its 2013-14 athletic calendar by celebrating the successes and achievements of their student-athletes hosting their Annual Awards Night on Tuesday evening in the Tuohy Hall Auditorium. Men's basketball sophomore forward Michael Megafu and multi-sport senior Kelly McNamee were named the Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year in the inaugural presentation of the award.

Sports Information Director Anthony Macapugay served as the emcee for the evening as coaches from the 15 varsity and club teams presented special individual achievement awards to their players.

The Athletic Department also recognized those who received major accolades from its respective affiliations. In total, 33 student-athletes received All-Academic honors, 23 were named to the AD3I All-Independent Teams, 25 were selected to the Hudson Valley All-Conference Teams and nine garnered USCAA accolades, four received AD3I Player/Rookie of the Year honors and two coaches were tabbed Coach of the Year. (The list of award winners are expected to grow as AD3I All-Independent Baseball and Softball teams and spring All-Academic Teams are still to be announced.)

The announcement of the inaugural Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year by Athletic Director Frank P. Carbone capped off the night's major awards.

Megafu had a tremendous season for St. Joseph's on the hardwood becoming the first men's basketball player in St. Joseph's history to be named to the D3hoops.com 2014 Men's Basketball All-Atlantic Region Team – as a second team selection – and was a USCAA Second Team All-American and All-Academic honoree. The AD3I Co-Player of the Year finished with a team-high 17 double-doubles on the year and averaged a career-high 17.0 points per game and corralled a team-high 10.5 boards per game.

McNamee excelled at multiple sports for St. Joseph's during the year, competing on the women's cross country, tennis and basketball teams. The senior was a HVIAC All-Conference selection in each sport, achieving her best seasons in all three sports. McNamee helped the women's tennis team finish third in the season-ending HVIAC Championships, their best finish since 2009. McNamee ran in all four meets for the women's cross country team finishing first for the Lady Bears in each race. The senior also saw her hard work payoff on the hardwood averaging a team-leading and career-best 12.8 points per game on 33.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc and was recognized by being named to the AD3I All-Independent First Team and a USCAA All-American honorable mention.

Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations Mary Jo Chiara conferred the Alumni Athletic Achievement Award to seniors Javier Bosque and Haley Betancourt. Poised to be one of the top country runners in SJC history, Bosque suffered a traumatic cardiac arrest during practice as a freshman, which ended his running career, but overcame that adversity to continue his athletic pursuits by taking up two sports he had never played competitively – tennis and volleyball. In addition to being an active leader in student clubs outside of athletics, Bosque also excelled in the classroom and was a USCAA All-Academic Team member. Betancourt, a two-year captain of the women's swimming team, received multiple All-Academic Team awards and a multi-dimensional swimmer who competed in seven different events over her tenure – including the grueling 500-yard and 1000-yard distance events – and received All-HVIAC Team honors this season.

Carbone presented the Academic Excellence Awards to baseball's Mike Cundari and softball's Christina Quintana. Both were three-time USCAA All-Academic Team honorees and held one of the highest GPA's among this year's graduating student-athlete class, with Quintana also among those nominated to serve as this year's valedictorian. Cundari was recently named a D3Baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-New York Region Third Team selection.

Junior Dickson Tan was presented the Outstanding Service Award for his commitment and dedication as a student-worker in the Athletic Department.

Student-athletes who were unable to attend the Awards Night can pick up their awards from the Athletic Office during normal business hours.

View the Full List of Award Recipients
View the Awards Night Photos (courtesy of Robert Napolitano)

Watch 2013-2014 Year in Review (in HD)