Orange student-athletes and teams took center stage for the 18th annual ‘Cuse Awards at the Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center on April 30th. The event recognized the achievements Syracuse University student-athletes on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.
“Tonight, we celebrate your many accomplishments,” said Director of Athletics John Wildhack to the student-athletes, coaches and staff. “We celebrate our students, who are athletes and leaders. Every student-athlete has tremendous impact on the University, the Central New community, our alumni, fans and supporters around the world. This group had a collective 3.25 grade point average in the fall and throughout the year they participated in book donations and OttoTHON, clothing drives and supported children facing serious illnesses through Team Impact.”
Seniors Rayla Clemons (ice hockey) and Julius Rauch (soccer) earned the Soladay Award, which is named for legendary athletics administrator Doris Soladay and is the highest honor presented annually by the Syracuse Athletics Department. This prestigious award is given to one male and one female senior or graduate student-athlete who exceeds expectations in their sport, classroom, community, and for their leadership. Soladay was the first and only director of athletics for women and then served as the senior woman administrator from 1981 through 1995 after the men’s and women’s athletics departments merged.
A medicinal chemistry major and two-year alternate captain for women’s ice hockey, Clemons leads her community as a co-president of the Diversity and Inclusion Student Athlete Board, which helps create an inclusive environment for student-athletes and continue conversations about diversity, connecting communities, and empowering positive change, and is a four-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. During her four-year career, Clemons tallied 29 points (11 goals and 18 assists) in 105 career games. She is a two-time CHA All-Academic Team and three-year member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll. In her hometown of Detroit, Clemons works as a nurse assistant and hockey coach for 4-Dimensional Hockey Training.
A dual major in finance and entrepreneurship in Whitman School of Management, Rauch and teammate Noah Singlemann founded Sincere Impact, a non-profit organization that works to address the needs of 200+ families in the Syracuse community, and he coordinates donations runs with the Rescue Mission and CNY Blessing Box. Rauch also serves as the head of the Professional Development Committee with SAAC. He earned the 2022 NCAA Elite 90 Academic Award and is a four-time ACC Academic Honor Roll member. On the field he scored 40 goals and helped lead Syracuse to its first NCAA championship in 2022.
The 2024 Soladay Award nominees included Sophia Jacobs-Townsley (cross country), Eefke van den Nieuwenhof (field hockey), Delaney Sweitzer (lacrosse), Elizabeth Vogt (rowing), Aysia Cobb (soccer), Angel Jasso (softball), Polina Kozyreva (tennis), Alyssa Bert (volleyball), Christiane Gbabiri (spirit), Alex Comerford (cross country), Isaiah Johnson (football), Brett Tenaglia (lacrosse), Reilly Eagan (rowing), Matthew Scrape (track & field).
Women’s basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack received the 2024 Syracuse Eight Courage Award for her strength and bravery in overcoming a non-cancerous tumor located on her brain to lead the Orange to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Courage Awarded is given to an individual who has prevailed against a disadvantaged background, a serious injury, or who has shown exceptional courage when it is needed the most.
The tumor caused Jack to have difficulty with her vision and required multiple surgical procedures forcing her to miss two months leading up to the 2023-24 season. She regained her vision and returned for the exhibition game on October 31. The Orange posted 23 wins, including 13 ACC victories, and earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.
The Orange women’s lacrosse team earned Women’s Team of the Year Award for the second year in a row. Syracuse won the ACC regular season championship and lost to Boston College in the ACC Tournament championship game. Ranked third nationally, the Orange are set to learn their NCAA Tournament seeding on May 5.
The men’s cross country won the Men’s Team of the Year award after a ninth place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championship. It was the best program finish since 2016. All-American Perry Mackinnon finished 19th, the best finish by a Syracuse runner since 2017.
Basketball guard Dyaisha Fair earned Female Athlete of the Year honors for her performance. A third-team All-American, Fair became the fastest player in Syracuse history to score 1,000 points and she set a program record with nine 3-pointers in a game this season. She was third in the ACC in scoring and scored in double digits 31 out of 32 games. Fair closed her career ranked third on the all-time Division I women’s basketball scoring list with 3,403 points.
All-American sprinter Jaheem Hayles earned the Male Athlete of the Year award. During the indoor season he won the ACC championship and placed sixth at the NCAA championship in the 60-meter hurdles. Hayles, who is a three-time All-American, also earned the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Performer of the Year.
The lacrosse teams swept the Rookie of the Year honors with defensemen Kaci Benoit and Riley Figueiras winning the honors. Benoit held 2023 Tewaaraton Award winner Izzy Scane (Northestern) and the nation’s second-leading scorer Morgan Schwab (Virginia) to one point each this season. Benoit, who has 14 cause turnovers and 18 ground balls this season, earned Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-America Honorable Mention honors. Figuieras has started every game and is one of the nation’s top defenders. He leads the team with 22 caused turnovers this season.
Cross Country and track & field head coach Brien Bell won Men’s Team Coach of the Year. The sixth-year Orange head coach led the Orange to place ninth at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. It was Syracuse’s best finish since 2016.
A pair of coaches shared Women’s Team Coach of the Year honors. Rowing coach Luke McGee and basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack each earned ACC Coach of the Year honors after guiding their teams to the NCAA Championship tournaments. McGee directed varsity eight to the 2023 ACC title, marking the first time in Syracuse history the varsity eight to won that championship. The Orange finished second at the ACC Championship and 13th at the NCAA Championship. Jack guided the Orange 23 wins, including 13 in the ACC, which tied the record for the most regular season wins in program history. She was also a finalist for Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
The women’s rowing ACC varsity eight champions and Hayles earned Performance of the Year recognition. The Orange won the ACC varsity eight title for the first time in program history and became the first program other than Virgnia to win the ACC varsity eight championship since 2009 en route to earning ACC Crew of the Year honors. Hayles won the ACC 60-meter hurdles championship and posted the second-best time nationally (7.65 seconds) in the event.
The tennis team earned Game of the Year Award for its win against No. 8 NC State. The Orange lost the doubles point and the first two singles points before coming back to win the next four singles points and the match.
Field hockey student-athlete Boogert earned Play of the Year honors. After tackling the ball off of a Virginia attacker, Boogert screamed toward the goal, laying out for a pass from Pieke van de Pas and scoring the first goal of the ACC Tournament game in the first 90 seconds.
Several student-athletes earned recognition for their academic excellence and community engagement. The Syracuse women’s cross country and men’s rowing earned the Team GPA awards for the highest gpa among all teams. Matthew Scrape (cross country), Emma Klien (soccer) and Charlotte Ebel (rowing) earned the ‘Cuse Scholars Award for posting a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average. Six student-athletes were honored for their commitment to community with the ACC Service Award, including Asyia Cobb (soccer), LeQuint Allen (football), Katherine Kelly (rowing), Tristian Wakefield (rowing), Liesel Oden (soccer), and Julius Rauch (soccer). Ice hockey captain Tatum White and rower Reilly Eagan were recognized for earning the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
The following individuals won their team ‘Cuse Award as a standout performer and teammate, as voted on by the coaches and/or teammates.
Men’s Basketball Maliq Brown
Women’s Basketball Dyaisha Fair
Cheer Samantha Stahlbrodt
Men’s Cross Country Perry Mackinnon
Women’s Cross Country Savannah Roark
Dance Alexandra Lund
Field Hockey Eefke van den Nieuwenhof
Football Marlowe Wax
Ice Hockey Marielle McHale
Men’s Lacrosse Will Mark
Women’s Lacrosse Natalie Smith
Mascot Justin Stitt
Men’s Rowing Cole Nordby
Women’s Rowing Aphrodite Gioulekas
Men’s Soccer Buster Sjoberg
Women’s Soccer Shea Vanderbosch
Softball Angel Jasso
Tennis Miyuka Kimoto
Women’s Track Savannah Roark
Men’s Track Jaheem Hayles
Volleyball Alyssa Bert
Mascot Maya Vidal
