Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
19th Annual Gael Awards Highlights Outstanding 2023-24 Athletic Campaign
5/9/2024 10:00:00 AM | General
MORAGA, Calif. — The Saint Mary's athletic department honored its student-athletes on May 8 with the 19th Annual Gael Awards Show. Taking place inside University Credit Union Pavilion, Saint Mary's honored the outstanding athletic and academic achievements by individuals and teams throughout the 2023-24 academic year, a year that saw the Gaels win over 150 contests, the highest totals since the COVID shutdown.
Some of the award winners from the evening are highlighted below:
TEAM PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR – Women's Soccer (Upset of Washington State) and Men's Basketball (WCC Tournament Title)
Saint Mary's Women's soccer logged a signature win in just their sixth match of the year, downing 15th ranked Washington State for their first win over a top-15 program since 2011. The Gaels struck just three minutes into the match, when Brianna Salvetti dispossessed the Cougar goalkeeper and fired a strike into the wide open net. It was the lone shot on frame for the Gaels that day, as the focus shifted to the back line and goalkeeper Taylor Poland. Poland made five massive saves against the Cougs, as the Gaels handed WSU their first loss of the season. The shutout tied Poland for third most in program history at the time.
Already crowned the regular season WCC Champs, Saint Mary's Men's Hoops left no one out there to question who was the best team in the WCC this season. After cruising to a 79-65 victory over Santa Clara in the semis, the Gaels were slated to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who handed SMC their only conference loss of the season just 10 days prior. The Gaels took the momentum from the get go, building an early 15-6 lead in the first six minutes and change. Saint Mary's would extend their lead out to double digits at 39-29 early in the second half but Gonzaga refused to go away, taking their first lead of the game at 52-51 with 7:40 to go. That lead would hold for 22 seconds, as the Gaels quickly shook off their cold spell to outscore the Bulldogs 18-8 down the stretch en route to the conference tournament title, their first since 2019. This was just the third time in the Randy Bennett era that the Gaels have beaten Gonzaga multiple times in the same season, with the other two coming in 2012 and 2016.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR – Maia Jones (vs Pepperdine) and Christian Almanza (at Santa Clara)
Maia led all players in scoring against Pepperdine. In 26 minutes she finished the night with 31 points, her career best. Jones went 6-9 from the three point line and shot 52.6% from the field to lead the Gaels. She also was a perfect 5-5 from the Free throw line.
Coming into their weekend series against Santa Clara, Christian Almanza needed three home runs to tie the program single season home run record. He did just that in the first game of the series. Almanza went 4-4 at the plate with three home runs, leading SMC to the 5-3 victory. Almanza's record tying home run was a majestic blast off the top of the scoreboard in dead center field at Stephen Schott Stadium in Santa Clara. He went on to break the single season home run record that series with another home run in the series finale.
MIKE GIBBONS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR – Jeremy Niederstadt
Jeremy has volunteered as the assistant golf coach since 2005. His amazing dedication to Gaels Golf has helped shape our program and lead us to many successful seasons. Jeremy continues to donate all of his time and has made a lasting impact on our student-athletes. He is also a big fan of Gael athletics!
COMMON INTEREST TEAM COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD – Women's Volleyball
Volleyball led the entire athletics department in community service impact this year, making it a priority to be model student-athletes on and off the court. Their presence was felt all over campus through participation with Love Never Fails, Gaels Against Human Trafficking and the Take Back the Night.
HIGHEST TEAM GPA – Women's Tennis
The Women's Tennis team recorded a 3.697 cumulative team GPA heading in to the Spring 2024 semester, as well as a 3.662 Fall 2023 Team GPA. Congratulations to Women's Tennis!
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR – Zeryhia Aokuso (WBB), Sam Buckley (SB) and Toke Amtrup (MSOC)
True freshman Zeryhia Aokuso had an incredible first season with the Gaels. The Amarillo, Texas native was named WCC Freshman of the Year in her debut season. She was the Gaels leading scorer, averaging 12 PPG, while also leading the squad with 91 assists. Three times, the freshman surpassed the 20 point mark in a single game.
Sam Buckley is currently leading the WCC with a 0.383 batting average, which would be good for seventh in single season history if the season ended today. She leads the Gaels with 30 RBI and is one triple shy of tying the program single season record for triples, which has stood since 1986. Buckley is a big reason as to why the Gaels have won their most games since 2012.
Manning the pivot position, Toke Amtrup set the pace for the Gaels offense and defense throughout the season. He appeared in 15 matches, starting 10. While being the man in the middle of things doesn't lend itself to the most jaw dropping stats, Toke did net his first collegiate goal against San Francisco on 10/28, the game winner in the 56th minute.
TODD OGORZELEC STUDENT-EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR – Alex Ahedo
Alex has been a production assistant since his freshman year and has worked up to directing broadcasts, creating content for multiple teams and has become an invaluable member of the student video crew. Alex is also a practice player for the Saint Mary's Volleyball team.
BRYAN VARGAS GAEL SPIRIT AWARD – Cesar Gallo and Jose Valera
Game in and game out, Cesar Gallo and Jose Valera of the SMC Ground Crew have kept all of the outdoor athletic facilities in prime playing condition despite one of the wettest seasons to date in Moraga. Through schedule changes and and postponements Cesar and Jose have worked tirelessly for benefit of Saint Mary's Student-Athletes.
BROTHER AGNON COACH OF THE YEAR – Eric Valenzuela (BSB)
Returning to SMC after time spent at Long Beach State, Coach Valenzuela has returned the Gaels baseball program to prominence. He has led the Gaels to 30 wins for the first time since 2019, and, in the process, picked up win number 300 in his coaching career, and 200 in his SMC coaching career. Valenzuela last week became the second winningest coach in program history, and is six wins away from becoming the Gaels winningest all-time baseball coach. The Gaels currently sit in second place in the WCC with two weeks to go, and have already clinched their spot in the 2024 WCC Championship tournament.
ATHLETES OF THE YEAR – Rayna Stanziano (XC), Augustas Marciulionis (MBB) and Christian Almanza (BSB)
Rayna Stanziano finished her career as the first Gael in every single race, something She has done for four straight years. Stanziano earned all conference honors after finishing seventh at the WCC Cross Country Championship, leading the Gaels to their best finish in 32 years.
Christian Almanza has been the driving force behind an explosive Gaels lineup. The senior first baseman left the yard 16 times last season, good for second most in program history, but has already homered 22 times this season with 7 games still to go plus postseason. Almanza recently broke the single season program record for home runs, and tied the program record.
The defending WCC Player of the Year and WCC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Augustas Marciulionis came out of nowhere this season, going from reserve guard to WCC best in the blink of an eye. Goose averaged 12 points and 5 assists per game this season, scoring a career high 28 vs Pepperdine on 2/15. He recorded his first three career double-doubles this season against San Diego (*2) and Pepperdine, and led the Gaels to a WCC Regular Season and Tournament Title. He is only the second ever Gael to win both WCC MVP and WCC Tournament MVP, with the other being Matthew Dellavedova.
GAEL CUP – Softball
This years winner of the all encompassing Gael Cup, Softball collectively as a team volunteered over 340 community service hours. They also accumulated a total of 8 WCC Student-Athlete of the Week acknowledgements. They are currently battling for their first WCC Title, with their final series this weekend.
#GaelsRise
Some of the award winners from the evening are highlighted below:
TEAM PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR – Women's Soccer (Upset of Washington State) and Men's Basketball (WCC Tournament Title)
Saint Mary's Women's soccer logged a signature win in just their sixth match of the year, downing 15th ranked Washington State for their first win over a top-15 program since 2011. The Gaels struck just three minutes into the match, when Brianna Salvetti dispossessed the Cougar goalkeeper and fired a strike into the wide open net. It was the lone shot on frame for the Gaels that day, as the focus shifted to the back line and goalkeeper Taylor Poland. Poland made five massive saves against the Cougs, as the Gaels handed WSU their first loss of the season. The shutout tied Poland for third most in program history at the time.
Already crowned the regular season WCC Champs, Saint Mary's Men's Hoops left no one out there to question who was the best team in the WCC this season. After cruising to a 79-65 victory over Santa Clara in the semis, the Gaels were slated to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who handed SMC their only conference loss of the season just 10 days prior. The Gaels took the momentum from the get go, building an early 15-6 lead in the first six minutes and change. Saint Mary's would extend their lead out to double digits at 39-29 early in the second half but Gonzaga refused to go away, taking their first lead of the game at 52-51 with 7:40 to go. That lead would hold for 22 seconds, as the Gaels quickly shook off their cold spell to outscore the Bulldogs 18-8 down the stretch en route to the conference tournament title, their first since 2019. This was just the third time in the Randy Bennett era that the Gaels have beaten Gonzaga multiple times in the same season, with the other two coming in 2012 and 2016.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR – Maia Jones (vs Pepperdine) and Christian Almanza (at Santa Clara)
Maia led all players in scoring against Pepperdine. In 26 minutes she finished the night with 31 points, her career best. Jones went 6-9 from the three point line and shot 52.6% from the field to lead the Gaels. She also was a perfect 5-5 from the Free throw line.
Coming into their weekend series against Santa Clara, Christian Almanza needed three home runs to tie the program single season home run record. He did just that in the first game of the series. Almanza went 4-4 at the plate with three home runs, leading SMC to the 5-3 victory. Almanza's record tying home run was a majestic blast off the top of the scoreboard in dead center field at Stephen Schott Stadium in Santa Clara. He went on to break the single season home run record that series with another home run in the series finale.
MIKE GIBBONS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR – Jeremy Niederstadt
Jeremy has volunteered as the assistant golf coach since 2005. His amazing dedication to Gaels Golf has helped shape our program and lead us to many successful seasons. Jeremy continues to donate all of his time and has made a lasting impact on our student-athletes. He is also a big fan of Gael athletics!
COMMON INTEREST TEAM COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD – Women's Volleyball
Volleyball led the entire athletics department in community service impact this year, making it a priority to be model student-athletes on and off the court. Their presence was felt all over campus through participation with Love Never Fails, Gaels Against Human Trafficking and the Take Back the Night.
HIGHEST TEAM GPA – Women's Tennis
The Women's Tennis team recorded a 3.697 cumulative team GPA heading in to the Spring 2024 semester, as well as a 3.662 Fall 2023 Team GPA. Congratulations to Women's Tennis!
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR – Zeryhia Aokuso (WBB), Sam Buckley (SB) and Toke Amtrup (MSOC)
True freshman Zeryhia Aokuso had an incredible first season with the Gaels. The Amarillo, Texas native was named WCC Freshman of the Year in her debut season. She was the Gaels leading scorer, averaging 12 PPG, while also leading the squad with 91 assists. Three times, the freshman surpassed the 20 point mark in a single game.
Sam Buckley is currently leading the WCC with a 0.383 batting average, which would be good for seventh in single season history if the season ended today. She leads the Gaels with 30 RBI and is one triple shy of tying the program single season record for triples, which has stood since 1986. Buckley is a big reason as to why the Gaels have won their most games since 2012.
Manning the pivot position, Toke Amtrup set the pace for the Gaels offense and defense throughout the season. He appeared in 15 matches, starting 10. While being the man in the middle of things doesn't lend itself to the most jaw dropping stats, Toke did net his first collegiate goal against San Francisco on 10/28, the game winner in the 56th minute.
TODD OGORZELEC STUDENT-EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR – Alex Ahedo
Alex has been a production assistant since his freshman year and has worked up to directing broadcasts, creating content for multiple teams and has become an invaluable member of the student video crew. Alex is also a practice player for the Saint Mary's Volleyball team.
BRYAN VARGAS GAEL SPIRIT AWARD – Cesar Gallo and Jose Valera
Game in and game out, Cesar Gallo and Jose Valera of the SMC Ground Crew have kept all of the outdoor athletic facilities in prime playing condition despite one of the wettest seasons to date in Moraga. Through schedule changes and and postponements Cesar and Jose have worked tirelessly for benefit of Saint Mary's Student-Athletes.
BROTHER AGNON COACH OF THE YEAR – Eric Valenzuela (BSB)
Returning to SMC after time spent at Long Beach State, Coach Valenzuela has returned the Gaels baseball program to prominence. He has led the Gaels to 30 wins for the first time since 2019, and, in the process, picked up win number 300 in his coaching career, and 200 in his SMC coaching career. Valenzuela last week became the second winningest coach in program history, and is six wins away from becoming the Gaels winningest all-time baseball coach. The Gaels currently sit in second place in the WCC with two weeks to go, and have already clinched their spot in the 2024 WCC Championship tournament.
ATHLETES OF THE YEAR – Rayna Stanziano (XC), Augustas Marciulionis (MBB) and Christian Almanza (BSB)
Rayna Stanziano finished her career as the first Gael in every single race, something She has done for four straight years. Stanziano earned all conference honors after finishing seventh at the WCC Cross Country Championship, leading the Gaels to their best finish in 32 years.
Christian Almanza has been the driving force behind an explosive Gaels lineup. The senior first baseman left the yard 16 times last season, good for second most in program history, but has already homered 22 times this season with 7 games still to go plus postseason. Almanza recently broke the single season program record for home runs, and tied the program record.
The defending WCC Player of the Year and WCC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Augustas Marciulionis came out of nowhere this season, going from reserve guard to WCC best in the blink of an eye. Goose averaged 12 points and 5 assists per game this season, scoring a career high 28 vs Pepperdine on 2/15. He recorded his first three career double-doubles this season against San Diego (*2) and Pepperdine, and led the Gaels to a WCC Regular Season and Tournament Title. He is only the second ever Gael to win both WCC MVP and WCC Tournament MVP, with the other being Matthew Dellavedova.
GAEL CUP – Softball
This years winner of the all encompassing Gael Cup, Softball collectively as a team volunteered over 340 community service hours. They also accumulated a total of 8 WCC Student-Athlete of the Week acknowledgements. They are currently battling for their first WCC Title, with their final series this weekend.
#GaelsRise
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