GMercyU Announces Scholar-Athlete Awards, Donahue-Elliot Award
Original Articles Published on gwyneddathletics.com
The Gwynedd Mercy University Athletic Department usually announces the following awards during its annual Senior Banquet, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and campus closure, the following awards were announced via Zoom. Click the links below to watch the recipients accept their awards.
Senior Female Scholar-Athlete
Sarah Gray
Nursing, 3.6 GPA
Track & Field
Sara Gray was awarded Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the year.
Sara was inducted into the Psi Chi National Psychology Honors Society last spring for her Psychology minor; this spring, she will be inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honors Society. She is a three-time Dean's List member and soon to be fourth once grades are finalized.
Sara is also a two-time member of the All-American Academic Team for Winter Track in 2017 and Outdoor Track in 2016. As a high jumper, she was a two-time qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championships. Her first trip to nationals was in May during the 2016 Outdoor Season in Waverly, Iowa. Last season, she qualified in the 2019 Indoor Season.
She was the first Atlantic East Conference Champion in High Jump in the outdoor season of 2019. Months earlier, she was an ECAC Indoor Track and field Champion as well. She is two-time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region Honoree and CSAC Weekly Honors.
She currently holds the school record at Gwynedd Mercy University for Indoor Women's Track and Field with a jump of 1.68 meters and Outdoor Women's Track and Field with a jump of 1.62 meters.
"Thank you all for everything you've done for me throughout my athletic career, you made it possible," Sara said after receiving her award.
Watch Sara receive her award here.
Senior Male Scholar-Athlete
Armani Rivera
Computer Science, 3.8 GPA
Cross Country and Track & Field
Armani Rivera was named Senior Male Scholar-Athlete of the year.
Armani made Dean's List on seven occasions and the all-academic teams of both the CSAC (2016 & 2017) and the AEC (2018 & 2019) for holding a GPA above 3.3. He also is involved in GMercyU's E-STEM Program as a member and as a peer mentor this previous academic year. The E-Stem Program follows the Mercy tradition, where students build the ethical framework needed to make a positive difference in STEM fields, thus the term E-STEM (Ethics in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
He is a three-time all-conference selection in Cross Country. In 2017 as a sophomore, he was a Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Second-Team selection. After GMercyU joined the Atlantic East Conference in 2018, Rivera notched back-to-back first-team all-conference nods in the AEC. On the track, he has captured a first-team All-CSAC in the 5000 meters in 2017.
Last spring, Rivera took home two first-team awards at the AEC Championships in both the 5000 and 1500 meters. His successes also include All-ECAC selections in the spring of 2019 in the 5000 and 1500 meters as well as this past winter as he was the ECAC Indoor Champion in the 3000 meters. As a freshman, he was named to the All-CSAC Sportsmanship Team.
"I'm truly grateful for this award. It's not only an honor to accept this award, but to accept it as a Gwynedd Mercy athlete," Armani said.
Watch Armani receive his award here.
Donahue-Elliott Award
Alyson Sharkey
Accounting, 4.0
Track & Field
Alyson Sharkey was named the recipient of the 2019-20 Donahue-Elliot Award, presented to the graduating senior-athlete with the highest GPA majoring in Business Administration. The award is named after Joe Donahue and Tom Elliot, two former Griffin Student-Athletes.
Alyson is an Accounting/Business Administration major and member of GMercyU's Cross Country and Track & Field Teams. At the 2019 Atlantic East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship, she collected a pole vault title, then took second in the 400 meters and finally third in 400 hurdles (1:12.07) and in the 200 meters final (27.95) to score four all-conference honors.
"Thank you! It was a lot of work, but I was happy to have done it at Gwynedd," Alyson said.