GORHAM, Maine  – Two-hundred fifty nine University of Southern Maine student-athletes will be recognized for their outstanding academic achievements during the annual William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet presented by Saco Bay Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy.  Moving to a virtual format for the 2020 honor, Wise Scholar-Athlete Banquet will feature student-athlete speakers Shannon Colbert (Manomet, Mass.) of the women's ice hockey team, and Raul Gierbolini (Carolina, Puerto Rico) of the wrestling team as well as remarks from Athletic Director Al Bean, Associate Director of Athletics Kimberly Turner and University Administration. The virtual presentation will be available on Monday, December 21 (5 pm)  through the Huskies' website southernmainehuskies.com and its various social media channels.  I
            In addition to the lead sponsorship from Saco Bay Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, University Credit Union (UCU Maine) and Maine Army ROTC has given support in honoring the numerous Southern Maine student-athletes who have achieved academically during the 2019-2020 year.
            Created during the 1987-1998 academic year, the William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete Award is named in honor of William B. Wise, a retired USM administrator and friend of athletics.  A graduate of the University of Maine, Wise came to USM in 1966 as assistant dean of academic affairs and director of the evening college.  In the ensuing years, he served USM tirelessly in a variety of roles, including acting dean of the College of Education, assistant to the vice president for academic affairs, executive assistant to the president, and executive assistant to the vice president for student affairs.
            " Our student-athletes continue to get it done in the classroom and raise their level of achievement each year.  The group's overall academic performance last year, collectively, was truly outstanding," said USM Director of Athletics Al Bean.   "Facing the challenges brought forward by Covid-19, moving to remote learning in March and staying focused was a challenge for all students.  However, moving the overall GPA needle from 3.09 the previous year to 3.22 in 2019-2020 was an incredible performance by our student-athletes.  Once again, a record number of student-athletes (259) have earned recognition as William B. Wise Scholar-Athletes and I couldn't be happier with their focus on academic achievement and the balance that our student-athletes continue to display in all facets of their lives."
            During the 2019-2020 academic year, 259 Huskies met or exceeded the criteria to receive Wise Scholar-Athlete recognition, besting the previous record of 223 student-athletes honored in 2019, marking the ninth consecutive year that the number of student-athletes earning the academic distinction has risen.  To earn William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete accolades, a Southern Maine student-athlete must have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative grade point average for the fall and spring semesters, be a full-time student both semesters and be a member of varsity team for a full season.  Each of the Huskies' 22 intercollegiate programs has representation among the 259 student-athletes to be honored. 
            An outstanding 24 student-athletes were honored with their fourth Wise Award, while one Husky earned the academic honor for the fifth time: men's track & field standout, NCAA All-American and Academic All-American CJ Moody (Old Town, Maine).  The Huskies' 25 student-athletes who have earned the academic honor for the fourth or fifth time presented a broad range of academic pursuits (14 in total) including Athletic Training, Liberal Studies, Linguistics, Business Management, Finance, Environmental Policy and Planning, Criminology, Nursing and more.
            Included among the four-year winners are three-sport student-athlete Tristan Dundas (Abbotsford, British Columbia). A member of the Huskies' golf, men's ice hockey and lacrosse teams, Dundas helped lead the golf team to its first GNAC Championship as the tournament's individual medalist honor and was named the 2019 GNAC Player of the Year. Dundas is a Business Management major.
            Women's basketball senior Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.), the 2020 Paula D. Hodgdon Leadership award winner, is also among the four-year recipients.  An All-Little East Conference guard, Luckhardt, an Athletic Training major, is presently pursuing her Master's degree in Leadership Studies and is a Graduate Assistant at the University. 
            Forty-five Huskies are earning the distinction of William B. Wise Scholar Athlete for the third time, while 73 will receive their award for the second time.  Wrestling All-American Peter Del Gallo (Gardiner, Maine) is one of USM's 45 third year winners – a three-time participant in the NCAA Division III National Championship, Del Gallo earned national honors academically as a NWCA Division III Scholar All-American as a senior.  Junior field hockey forward Samantha Ellis (New Vineyard, Maine), a nursing major, is among the two-year recipients. The 2018 LEC Rookie of the Year, two-time All-LEC pick and National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Academic Squad selection is steadily climbing up Huskies' scoring records.
            Along with the many individual achievements of USM student-athletes, two teams received the Remo Riciputi Award.  The Remo Riciputi, given annually to the team sport, and the individual team sport with the highest collective grade-point average, was presented to the 2018 women's tennis team and the 2018-2019 women's ice hockey team during the 2019 William B Wise banquet.  This year's recipients will be announced as part of the virtual honors night. 
 

Name	Major	Sport(s)
First-Time Recipients (115)
Jackson Bean	Undeclared	Baseball
Rodney Bean	Undeclared	Baseball
Ethan Brown	Accounting	Baseball
Matthew Burnett	Business Management	Baseball
Janek Luksza	Undeclared	Baseball
Dylan Miner	Undeclared	Baseball
Andrew Olszak	Sports Management	Baseball
Tyler Parke	Business Management	Baseball
Cameron Seymour	Sports Management	Baseball
Kegan Silovich	Environmental Science	Baseball
James Sinclair	Sports Management	Baseball
Cameron Slicer	Health Science	Baseball
Donato Tocci	Undeclared	Baseball
DJ Anderson	Business Management	Men's Basketball
Cody Hawes	Finance	Men's Basketball
Greg Madore	Self-Designed Major	Men's Basketball
Jaire Roberts	Leadership & Organizational Studies	Men's Basketball
Matthew Sherburne	Undeclared	Men's Basketball
Cameron Wood	Finance	Men's Basketball
Samantha Averill	Health Science	Women's Basketball
Katelynn Bagley	Health Science	Women's Basketball
Brittany Desjardin	Business Management	Women's Basketball
Margaret Kelly	Marketing	Women's Basketball
Megan King	Mathematics	Women's Basketball
Mary Toman	Nursing	Women's Basketball
Tristan Butterfield	Psychology, Social & Behavioral Sciences	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Jacob Gamache	Political Science	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Landon Heidrich	Marketing	Men's Cross Country
Nate Henry	Business Management	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field
Yahya Nure	Biology	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Maddie Fornasier	Nursing	Women's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Savannah Valle	Psychology	Women's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Taylor Woodward	Biology	Women's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Mackenzie Banks	Undeclared	Field Hockey, Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Julianna Kiklis	Business Management	Field Hockey
Marlaina Stickney	Nursing	Field Hockey
Matt Fuller	Business Management	Men's Ice Hockey
Tanner McClure	Sports Management	Men's Ice Hockey
Josh Petrucci	Communication	Men's Ice Hockey
Nick Ritmo	History	Men's Ice Hockey
Hanna Aveni	Biology	Women's Ice Hockey
Jordan Colbert	English	Women's Ice Hockey
Peyton Dukas	Health Science	Women's Ice Hockey
Julianne Nelson	Exercise Science	Women's Ice Hockey
Kailey Robert	Athletic Training	Women's Ice Hockey
Madeline Young	Environmental Science	Women's Ice Hockey
Daniel Chenard	Criminology	Men's Lacrosse
Cody Daigneault	Business Management	Men's Lacrosse
Jeeremy Daigneault	Athletic Training	Men's Lacrosse, Men's Indoor Track & Field
Alek Grimes	Social and Behavorial Sciences	Men's Lacrosse
Tanner Hebert	Mechanical Engineering	Men's Lacrosse
Colin Kinney	Health Science	Men's Lacrosse
Noah Regalado	Environmental Policy and Planning	Men's Lacrosse
Hunter Rushing	Business Management	Men's Lacrosse
Kyleigh Alt	Nursing	Women's Lacrosse
Alex Farley	Criminology	Women's Lacrosse
Madalyn Fishkin	Mathematics	Women's Lacrosse
Hannah Gorham	Sociology	Women's Lacrosse
Morgan Leblanc	Biology	Women's Lacrosse
Maeve McGarrity	Undeclared	Women's Lacrosse
Rachel Shanks	Communication	Women's Lacrosse
Cameron Atherton	Media Studies	Men's Soccer
Colby Brown	Exercise Science	Men's Soccer
Sean Brueninghaus	Engineering	Men's Soccer
Alex Cousins	Athletic Training	Men's Soccer
Ronan Hume	Nursing	Men's Soccer
James Hutchinson	Sports Management	Men's Soccer
Wyatt Keller	Environmental Science	Men's Soccer
Tom Pinette	History	Men's Soccer
Macaleb Reinhard	Business Management	Men's Soccer
Matthew Robichaud	Mechanical Engineering	Men's Soccer
Badir Saadoon	Business Management	Men's Soccer
Kevin Voter	Mechanical Engineering	Men's Soccer
Samantha Hauck	Linguistics	Softball
Lauren Miller	Undeclared	Softball
Kaitlyn Nelson	Recreation and Leisure Studies	Softball
Grace Sanborn	Social and Behavioral Sciences	Softball
Ireonna Scott	Biology	Softball
Hannah Shields	Nursing	Softball
Grace Blackwell	Biology	Women's Soccer
Alyssa Cottrell	Nursing	Women's Soccer
Emma Dennison	Biology	Women's Soccer
Yaya Dunn	Leadership & Organizational Studies	Women's Soccer
Meghan Galante	Biology	Women's Soccer
Allie Gross	Athletic Training	Women's Soccer, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Katie Lynch	Marketing	Women's Soccer, Lacrosse
Grace Steady	Undeclared	Women's Soccer
Caleb Richard	Health Science	Men's Tennis
Max Tuttle	Electrical Engineering	Men's Tennis
Emma Nassif	Computer Science	Women's Tennis
Annika Patterson	Undeclared	Women's Tennis, Outdoor Track & Field
Ciara Richards	Health Sciences	Women's Tennis
Loukas Coussoule	Criminology	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Alex Mahon	Health Science	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Brian Niznik	Mechanical Engineering	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Andrew Pendleton	Engineering	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Ami Beaumier	Nursing	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Catherine Close	Nursing	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Mikayla Fletcher	Nursing	Women's Indoor Track & Feld
Ana Hewett	Nursing	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Briana Houser	Undeclared	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Cassandra Kane	Athletic Training	Women's Indoor Track & Field
Izzy Lewis	Recreation and Leisure Studies	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Olivia Richmond	Art Education	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Kacey Foerster	English	Volleyball
Cassidy Gibb	Biology	Volleyball
Kim Grant	Social and Behavioral Sciences	Volleyball
Sophia Lindsay	Athletic Training	Volleyball
Andy Almonte	Political Science	Wrestling
Jacob Garcia	Marketing	Wrestling
David Kurker	Exercise Science	Wrestling
Kevin Moore	Sports Management	Wrestling
Dominic Pelletier	Physics, and Computer Science	Wrestling
Jeremy Sendrowksi	Undeclared	Wrestling
Juan Vernaza	Exercise Science	Wrestling
Second-Time Recipients (72)
Cody Braga	Recreation and Leisure Studies	Baseball, Men's Ice Hockey
Joshua Joy	Business Management	Baseball
Jason Komulainen	Business Management	Baseball
Sam Troiano	Liberal Studies	Baseball
Thomas Vesosky	Athletic Training	Baseball, Men's Indoor Track & Field
Derek Haney	Exercise Science	Men's Basketball
Maddie Pullen	Nursing	Women's Basketball
Michelle Rowe	Nursing	Women's Basketball
Daniel Flaherty	History	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Masho Gebremikael	Athletic Training	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Jonathan Murphy	Exercise Science	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Ethan Ray	Cyber Security	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Taylor Chamberlain	Biochemistry	Women's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Emily Colby	Health Science	Women's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Toia Francis	Nursing	Women's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Anna Hill	Business Management	Women's Cross Country
Rachael Raymond	Art	Women's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Emily Skvorak	Health Science	Women's Cross Country
Jacob Currie	Business Management	Golf
Brendon Croteau	Sports Management	Golf, Men's Tennis
Mikayla Bourassa	English	Field Hockey
Samantha Ellis	Nursing	Field Hockey
Lindsay Pych	Environmental Policy and Planning	Field Hockey, Women's Ice Hockey
Abbie Sprague	Nursing	Field Hockey
Oskar Bjurstrom	Business Management	Men's Ice Hockey
Peter Ciccarelli	Undeclared	Men's Ice Hockey
Brendan Dowler	Sports Management	Men's Ice Hockey
Tyler Gardiner	Athletic Training	Men's Ice Hockey
Michael Green	Business Management	Men's Ice Hockey
Jesse Kestenbaum	Finance, and Economics	Men's Ice Hockey
Bobby Kinsey	Business Management	Men's Ice Hockey
Johnny Kyte	Tourism and Hospitality	Men's Ice Hockey
Derek Tillotson	Engineering	Men's Ice Hockey
Adam Withers	Accounting	Men's Ice Hockey
Mikayla Butkus	Nursing	Women's Ice Hockey
Brianna Doty	Nursing	Women's Ice Hockey
Alexa Henriksen	Nursing	Women's Ice Hockey
Jenna House	Exercise Science	Women's Ice Hockey
Emmalee Mazzariello	Social and Behavorial Science	Women's Ice Hockey
Katie Nolan	Business Management	Women's Ice Hockey
Chelsea Skluzacek	Psychology	Women's Ice Hockey
Sagar Dahal	Sports Management	Men's Lacrosse
Steve Gilbert	Sports Management	Men's Lacrosse
Lakin Conner	Health Science	Women's Lacrosse
Evelyn Hinkley	Business Management	Women's Lacrosse
Elise Laslavic	Psychology	Women's Lacrosse
Gabrielle Wilson	Biology	Women's Lacrosse
Samuel Anderson	Linguistics	Men's Soccer
Brynn Hink	Sports Management	Softball
Ashley Tinsman	Nursing	Softball
Alexandria Allain	Nursing	Women's Soccer
Ciera Berthiaume	English	Women's Soccer
Patricia Boyle	Environmental Policy and Planning	Women's Soccer
Emily Bragg	Mathematics	Women's Soccer
Sean Greeley	Health Science	Men's Tennis
Matt Henderson	Nursing	Men's Tennis
Michael Geary	Cyber Security	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Connor Goodall	History	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Jaequan Grant	Cyber Security	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Cam Labrie	Exercise Science	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Riley Peterson	Marketing	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Samantha Harden	Environmental Policy and Planning	Women's Tennis
Hannah Chadwick	Self-Designed Major	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Samantha Comeau	Art, and Geography/Anthropology	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Samantha Dow	Social Work	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Bekah Robertson	Media Studies	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Leo Amabile	Exercise Science	Wrestling
Brad Beaulieu	History	Wrestling
Trevor Engling	History	Wrestling
Joey Leclair	Nursing	Wrestling
Jakob Peavey	Business Management	Wrestling
Jamie Jannarone	Health Science	Volleyball
Third-Time Recipients (46)
Gage Feeney	Mechanical Engineering	Baseball
Ian Nagle	Business Management	Men's Basketball
Kristen Curley	Marketing	Women's Basketball
Morgan Eliasen	Nursing	Women's Basketball, Lacrosse
Josh Bloom	Business Management	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Nick Harriman	Business Management	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Zach Hoyle	History	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Angela Dubois	Communication, and Media Studies	Women's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Hunter Mahon	Media Studies	Women's Cross Country
Maverick Lynes	English	Men's Ice Hockey
Adam Papayoanou	Criminology, and Psychology	Men's Ice Hockey, Tennis
Makayla Garvin	Exercise Science	Field Hockey
Kaylee Leclerc	Social and Behavorial Sciences	Field Hockey
Julia Nicol	Linguistics	Field Hockey
Dorina Sirois	Cyber Security	Field Hockey
Hayden Spencer	Nursing	Field Hockey
Abbie Staples	Business Management	Field Hockey
Rylie Binette	Health Science	Women's Ice Hockey
Shannon Colbert	Finance	Women's Ice Hockey
Jill Hannigan	Accounting	Women's Ice Hockey
Delaney O'Connor	Mechanical Engineering	Women's Ice Hockey
Joe Cullinan	Marketing	Men's Lacrosse
Taylor Colangelo	Nursing	Women's Lacrosse
Val Kocsis	Recreation and Leisure Studies	Women's Lacrosse
Kassie Thibodeu	Nursing	Women's Lacrosse
Nick DeAngelis	Sports Management, and Marketing	Men's Tennis
Trent Dexter	Accounting	Men's Indoor Track & Field
Jared Marshall	Exercise Science	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Jack Ricker	History	Men's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Madison Clowes	Social and Behavorial Sciences	Softball, Indoor Track & Field
Kayla Horner	Social Work	Softball
Kathleen Rattazzi	Tourism & Hospitality	Softball
Abigail Mazza	Nursing	Women's Soccer
Maddie Freeman	Nursing	Women's Soccer
Sarah McLaughlin	Health Science	Women's Soccer
Tracy Edwards	Health Science	Women's Tennis
Jacqui Hallisey	Communication, and Media Studies	Women's Tennis, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Eden Martin	Geography/Anthropology	Women's Tennis
Tyson Cram	Nursing	Wrestling
Peter Del Gallo	Exercise Science	Wrestling
Jared Garcia	Exercise Science	Wrestling
Raul Gierbolini	Athletic Training	Wrestling
Daric Johnson	Geography/Anthropology	Wrestling
Kylee Austin	Business Management, and Marketing	Volleyball
Rachel Chillé	Nursing	Volleyball
Lauren Delissio	Nursing	Volleyball
Fourth-Time Recipients (25)
Andrew Hillier	Business Management, and Marketing	Baseball
Keenan Hendricks	Business Management, Marketing, and Business Analysis	Men's Basketball
Bailey van Hout	Exercise Science	Men's Basketball
Jackie Luckhardt	Athletic Training	Women's Basketball
Ryan Dee	Electrical Engineering	Golf
Tristan Dundas	Business Management	Golf, Men's Ice Hockey, Men's Lacrosse
Parker Sanderson	Finance	Golf
Maggie Redman	Criminology	Field Hockey
Ethan Bassile	Criminology, and Psychology	Men's Ice Hockey
Brock Padgham	Business Management	Men's Ice Hockey
Paul Léger	Business Management	Men's Ice Hockey
Mark Tomaschek	Economics, and Business Analysis	Men's Ice Hockey
Whitney Padgett	Exercise Science	Women's Ice Hockey
Amanda Piknick	Liberal Studies	Women's Ice Hockey
Grace Simmons	Nursing	Women's Ice Hockey
Dalton Cassidy	Economics	Men's Soccer
Kayliegh Bohan	Criminology, and Psychology	Softball
Alexis Brown	Business Management	Softball
Erin Martin	Health Science	Softball
Emily Baker	Exercise Science	Women's Soccer
Emma Cost	Environmental Policy and Planning	Women's Soccer
Gabby Brooks	Linguistics	Women's Tennis
Jess Regan	Linguistics	Women's Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Josh Smith	Environmental Science	Wrestling
Megan Gettings	Nursing	Volleyball
Fifth-Time Recipient (1)
CJ Moody	Nursing	Men's Cross Country, Indoor Track & Feld, Outdoor Track & Field