OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD: GNAC Announces Major Award Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference unveiled its 2023 Outdoor Track & Field major award winners on Tuesday. The awards were voted on by the league's five head track & field coaches. 

On the women's side, Colby-Sawyer's Ashley Keleher and Lasell's Jasmine DePina took home the top honors as Track Athlete and Field Athlete of the Year, respectively. Meanwhile, on the men's side it was Chase Adams from Colby-Sawyer and Conrad Kalinowski from Regis who took home the top prizes.

Four first-year track & field student-athletes were also honored with Alexia Young and Taylor Garland from Saint Joseph's (Me.) being named Women's Track Rookie and Women's Field Rookie of the Year, while the Monks' Alexey Seredin was name Men's Track Rookie of the Year. Justin Thuott from Regis was the Men's Field Rookie of the Year.

For the complete list of major award winners, as well as our 2023 GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team selections, Coaching Staff of the Year honorees, and Institutional Sportsmanship winners please see below. 

Keleher had a historic season for the Chargers, winning the 100m and 200m at the GNAC Championships and has ranked at the top in the 100m, 200m, and 400m. At the time of voting, she was ranked 18th on the NCAA Division III Qualifying List. She also scored 46 of Colby-Sawyer's 119 points at the GNAC Championships.

DePina had two gold-medal performances at the GNAC Championships in throwing events. She placed first in both the javelin and shot put to earn the conference's top field honor.

Adams was once again honored as Track Athlete of the Year thanks to his performance at the GNAC Outdoor Championships. He swept the hurdle races and has been ranked at the top of the conference in the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles all season. He has five event wins throughout the season and ran the second-fastest 4x100m time in the GNAC this season.

Kalinowski was a three-time individual champion at the GNAC Championships, taking top prize in the pole vault, hammer throw, and shot put. He also finished third in the javelin to give him 36 points in field events.

WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Ashley Keleher, Colby-Sawyer
WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Jasmine DePina, Lasell
WOMEN'S TRACK ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Alexia Young, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
WOMEN'S FIELD ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Taylor Garland, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
WOMEN'S COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR - Regis
WOMEN'S TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Regis

MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Chase Adams, Colby-Sawyer
MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Conrad Kalinowski, Regis
MEN'S TRACK ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Alexey Seredin, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
MEN'S FIELD ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Justin Thuotte, Regis
MEN'S COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR - Saint Joseph's (Me.)
MEN'S TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Lasell & Regis

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM

Faith Mazzapica & Dean Miller, Colby-Sawyer College
Naomi Obenhaus & Kyle Antoine, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Mikayla Bokis & Nicholas Fernandes, Lasell
Elizabeth Stevenson & Aiden Charles, Regis
Tyler Ricker & Alexia Young, Saint Joseph's College (Me.)

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –