Norwich's Stark Named GNAC Athlete of the Year for Men's Sports
2024 GNAC ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
WINTHROP, Mass. – Norwich Swimming & Diving student-athlete Benjamin Stark was named the 2023-24 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Athlete of the Year for Men's Sports on Thursday (July 25) afternoon by the conference office.
As the GNAC Athlete of the Year, Stark will also be the conference nominee for the Division III Commissioners Association (D3CA) Men's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year Award. Both awards recognize graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
Stark was selected amongst eight candidates throughout the conference, excelling in the pool, in the classroom, and in the community.
Inside the pool, Stark's resume was stellar, illustrating himself as one of the most decorated swimmers in Norwich's history. The multiple all-conference selectee earned GNAC Rookie of the Year in 2022 and amassed 13 GNAC Athlete of the week selections throughout his career. He was a part of two GNAC Swimming & Diving Championship teams and won 14 event championships both as an individual and on relay teams. Stark holds several Norwich pool records and holds three conference records both individually and with relay teams.
The Norwich graduate holds other school awards such as the Norwich University Male Athlete of the Year, swimming and diving team's Athlete of the Year Award (twice), the Michael Zemanek Mental Toughness Award and was the recipient of The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War award at Norwich University's year-end Joint Service Awards for the Corps of Cadets and ROTC; awarded in recognition of graduating seniors in each branch who demonstrated patriotism and service to the community. Stark also participated in the 2022-23 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Open Water National Championships at Florida International University (along with teammate Martin Adlianitski), becoming the first Norwich swimmers to ever participate in the CSCAA Open Water National Championships.
In the classroom, Stark was a two-time College Sports Communicators (CSC) All-District Team selectee while also landing on the GNAC Academic All-Conference Team three times over his career. His efforts in the classroom earned him an undergraduate degree in electrical and computer engineering, finishing with a 3.58 grade point average.
Outside of his student-athlete life, Stark commissioned into the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer for Nuke Placement on the USS Howard (DDG 83) in Japan. He has earned recognitions from Norwich's Tri-Service Awards and Joint Service Awards the last two years, including receiving The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War distinction, awarded in recognition of graduating seniors in each branch who demonstrated patriotism and service to the community.
He was also in the Corps of Cadets at Norwich, serving as the Corps-Athletic liaison for the swimming and diving teams. During 2023-24, he was the officer in command of S-2, while the year before he was the squad leader in Delta D3 cadre. He also participated in summer cruises with the U.S. Navy.
Personal Statement:
"At Norwich I was fortunate to always have someone to learn from. The people I met, especially on the swim team guided and encouraged me to not just follow in their footsteps, but to find my own way and see what success looked like for me. Their example led to my success in academics, athletics, and beyond.
For me being a student-athlete was a huge boon to my academic success as it was always made clear that my ability to train and compete would be limited if I faltered in the classroom. An immediate benefit of this academic success was it allowed me to pursue leadership positions in both the Corps of Cadets and on the swim team. In turn these leadership positions motivated me to accomplish more academically as I always wanted to set a positive example for my peers and teammates. Whether it was as a captain of the swim team or as one of the handful of roles I sampled in the corps of cadets, I always had the example of my friends and mentors who previously held those roles to look up to.
Swimming alone had a massive impact on me and how I wish to interact with the world. I swam for almost 18 years, and I loved every second of it. I loved the comradery of the team, I loved watching the team achieve its goals, I loved racing, I even loved the constant grind of training. More than this though I loved the effect swimming had on the trajectory of my life. On a personal level swimming taught me lessons like the importance of time management and discipline, success isn't given freely, and how to handle failure (repeatedly). More than this, swimming surrounded me with a group of talented hard-working people, who mentored and inspired me to work hard to achieve goals in and out of the pool. From going best times at swim meets to earning an NROTC scholarship, I owe my success to the guidance and support of those coaches and teammates who showed me the way.
In summary, my experience as not just a student-athlete but as a leader has left me motivated to continue becoming better, and hopefully to help people around me. I believe the experiences I have had and lessons I learned as a student athlete will help me do just that. Thank you to my coaches, teammates, and family for the support throughout my time in college, and thank you for the nomination."
The GNAC Athlete of the Year is selected by a committee of GNAC staff members following the NCAA Woman of the Year selection guidelines. As the Conference nominee for the D3CA Male Sport Student-Athlete of the Year, Stark will be placed in a pool along with the nominees from other DIII conferences.
Once conference nominees are submitted, the commissioners will vote on the nominees within their region to select the 10 Student-Athlete of the Year regional honorees. Those regional honorees will be eligible for selection as D3CA Student-Athlete of the Year.