POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Our Senior Awards presentation concludes today with the announcement of Sportsperson of the Year.
 
This year, each program had the opportunity to name its own Sportsperson. There is no overall vote, and each student-athlete will be honored.
 
The Sportsperson of the Year Award has been given annually since 1969, and is the longest standing award in Marist Athletics history.


 

2021 HONOREES

Water Polo – Justine Castro
Justine Castro returned her a fifth season at Marist in 2021 after her senior year was cut short due to COVID-19. Her return was triumphant, as she helped lead the Red Foxes to the program's first MAAC Championship since 2010. The California product had a very productive season in 2010, being named to the All-MAAC Second Team, MAAC All-Championship Team, and NCAA Championship All-Tournament Second Team. In one of the most successful seasons in program history, Castro totaled 13 goals and 8 assists to go along with eight drawn exclusions and five steals. For her career, Castro had totals of 116 goals, 81 assists, 45 drawn exclusions and 106 steals. She was also a stud in the classroom making the MAAC All-Academic team three times and receiving three separate ACWPC Academic honors.
 
Volleyball – Sarah Austin
Named a captain prior to the abbreviated 2021 campaign, Sarah Austin was a focal point of the Marist offense throughout all four of her years in the red and white. Austin's junior season was a breakout campaign, in which she was named to the South Bay Battle All-Tournament team, playing a part in the program's first in-season tournament win in over six years. Also in 2019, Austin collected 22 kills and 20 digs in a match against Saint Peter's becoming only the third Red Fox in the last 10 years to have a 20-20 game. A three-time member of the MAAC All-Academic Team, the outside hitter collected 583 kills in her career, along with 574 digs, 56 total blocks, and 62 service aces.
 
Women's Swimming & Diving – Esabelle Gervasio
Undoubtedly one of the most talented divers to ever step foot on the McCann Natatorium diving boards, Esabelle Gervasio had an incredible three-year career with the Red Foxes. Despite not competing in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Niskayuna, NY product has one of the most decorated resumes in program history. Her career accolades include three two MAAC Most Outstanding Female Diver awards, and one MAAC Rookie Diver of the Meet award. She also won the 1-meter dive at the MAAC Championships each of her three years. In 2019-20, she was named MAAC Women's Diver of the Week five times, an award she won 10 times in her career. She was also named to the MAAC All-Academic Team each of the past three years.
 
Men's Swimming & Diving – Jackson Klarsfeld
Jackson Klarsfeld had an excellent three-year career for the Red Foxes, which was unfortunately cut short due to COVID-19 restrictions cancelling the team's 2021 season. However, the breaststroker is still one of the top performers in program history, currently holding the school record in the 200-yard breast with a time of 2:02.59. In the 2019-20 season, Klarsfeld posted career-best finishes at the MAAC Championships taking home the silver medal in the 400-yard IM. The senior captain's ECAC Championship finishes in 2018-19 were also very impressive, finishing in fourth place in both the 200-yard breast and 400-yard IM.
 
Women's Lacrosse – Delaney Galvin
One of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the program, Delaney Galvin is currently second in program history in goalie wins with 23, and is also top-10 in career saves and goals against average. Despite a COVID-19 shortened 2021 season, Galvin made the most of it being named to the All-MAAC Second Team after a season in which she tallied double-digit saves in every game, for a total of 82, to go with a .506 save percentage and 10 ground balls. In the shortened 2020 season, Galvin also put up impressive stats, including a MAAC-high 82, but arguably more impressive Galvin led the entire NCAA in saves per game (13.67). Debatably her best season hasn't even been mentioned yet, which was her 2018 freshman campaign in which she was named MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year. Other accolades include All-MAAC Rookie Team Honors, All-MAAC First Team recognition, and four MAAC weekly awards after collecting a MAAC-high .539 save percentage. Galvin was also a two-time member of the MAAC All-Academic Team.
 
Men's Lacrosse – Vito Musso
A breakout player of the year candidate if such an award existed, Vito Musso took a giant leap in his 2021 senior season to become one of the most lethal players on Marist's attack. The senior started the first four games of his career in 2021 and scored a career-high 14 goals to lead the team, while also setting a career-high in ground balls and matching career-highs in assists and caused turnovers. In an emotional 2021 season opener against Detroit Mercy, Musso had a heroic fourth in which he scored four goals, including three unanswered, to propel the Red Foxes to their first win in almost exactly a year following the premature cancellation due to COVID-19 of the team's MAAC Championship title defense in 2020. For his career, Musso collected 24 goals, two assists, six ground balls, and three caused turnovers.
 
Baseball – Robbie Armitage
Robbie Armitage has had an excellent four-year career for the Red Foxes. 2021 was a solid season for the third baseman, as he reached base at a career-high clip (.400) due to matching his career-high in walks and setting a career-high in hit by pitches. 2019 was the best season of Armitage's career, as he smashed a career-high nine homers and collected a career-high 50 RBIs en route to being named to the All-MAAC First Team. The Maine product had a career slash line of .289/.367/.482 and totaled 15 homers and 87 RBIs in his four years. Armitage also scored 71 runs and stole 15 bases at Marist.
 
Men's Tennis – John Oxner
A 2020-21 team captain for the men's tennis program, John Oxner recorded 56 career wins in three seasons for the Red Foxes. The three-time MAAC All-Academic Team honoree helped guide Marist to two appearances in the MAAC Championships in his career. His best season came during his sophomore year, where he recorded 21 wins in singles play and 14 in doubles. In his junior year, he was the co-champion of the "C" flight at the Fordham Four-In-The-Fall tournament. Off the court, Oxner served as a team representative for Marist's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Women's Tennis – Julia Gabay
One of the most decorated Red Foxes in recent memory, Julia Gabay totaled 58 victories in her time at Marist, most of which came out of the first and second singles flight, as well as the top doubles spot. Gabay earned spots on the All-MAAC First and Second Team Doubles in her freshman and sophomore campaigns, respectively, while also adding an All-MAAC Second Team honor in her rookie year. She served as a team captain in her junior and senior seasons, and was named to the MAAC All-Academic Team in 2020-21.
 
Women's Rowing – Senior Class
The Women's Rowing Class of 2021 departs Marist as one of the most decorated groups in program history. The seven-member class, consisting of Sara Barker, Sydney Ford, McKenna Klineyoung, Selena Mildon, Jasmine Miller, Breana Pelliccio, and Marie Ryden, won two MAAC titles in 2019 and 2021, becoming the first class since 2008 to win multiple conference championships and first to appear in multiple NCAA Championships. Barker, Klineyoung, and Miller rowed in the Second Varsity 8 boat that had the highest finish ever for both a Marist and MAAC crew at the NCAA Championships in May, finishing 21st in the nation. Mildon and Ryden competed in the Club 4 at the 2018 Head of the Charles that became the first-ever Marist crew to win a gold medal at the regatta.
 
Women's Basketball – Willow Duffell
A 2020-21 team captain, Willow Duffell finished her Marist career seventh and 10th in the program history with 730 rebounds and a .472 field goal percentage, respectively. Duffell made three appearances in the MAAC Championship game in her career, taking home the 2021 title and winning Most Valuable Player after averaging 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in the tournament. She was selected to the All-Met and All-MAAC First Team in her senior campaign, and was named MAAC All-Rookie in 2018. Duffell plans to attend Harvard University in the fall to earn her Master's degree in Bio Statistics.
 
Women's Soccer – Nicole Sasso
A staple in Marist's starting XI in her four years, Nicole Sasso registered 11 goals and 26 points across 55 games as a Red Fox, starting in 52 of them. In the three full seasons that Marist played during her tenure, she was named to the All-MAAC Second Team each year, while adding MAAC All-Rookie accolades in 2017. In the 2020-21 campaign, she was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Team, and went on to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. Sasso served as a team captain in the 2019 season, and was a three-time MAAC All-Academic selection as well.
 
Women's Cross Country/Track & Field – Gianna Tedeschi
Gianna Tedeschi concluded one of the best careers in Marist women's cross country/track & field history this year. She led the Red Foxes with her fourth-place finish at the MAAC Cross Country Championships, as she was named All-MAAC in cross country for the third time in her career. She was then named Most Outstanding Performer at the MAAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships after winning the 10,000-meter run by nearly 20 seconds. A week later, she became the first athlete in school history to finish in the top two in both the 5,000 and 10,000 at the ECAC Outdoor Championships after a second-place finish in the 10K.
 
Softball – Ali Milam
After the 2020 season prematurely ended due to COVID-19, Ali Milam returned for a fifth season while pursuing her Master's degree. Her career was one of the finest in the program history. Milam was a three-time All-MAAC selection who earned Second Team honors in 2021. This season on April 24, she delivered a walk-off home run in Marist's 7-5 victory over Rider. She finished tied for third in program history in career runs batted in (136), tied for fourth in home runs (29), tied for eighth in doubles (34), and ninth in games played (205).
 
Men's Basketball – Jordan Jones
Jordan Jones provided great leadership as Marist enjoyed its first winning season in 14 years. Jones ranked third in the MAAC in blocked shots at 1.9 per game, and also led the team in rebounds at 5.4 per game. He was an efficient scorer in the post who shot .591 from the field and averaged 9.4 points per game. Jones is a two-year starter at center for the Red Foxes who improved his scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and blocked shots averages from the previous season. Jones had a streak of 15 consecutive games with a blocked shot during the 2020-21 season.