SAN FRANCISCO – SF State's Department of Athletics conducted its annual awards banquet Wednesday on campus at Jack Adams Hall in the Cesar Chavez Student Center. The Gators presented seven awards during the festivities, which also included a slideshow presentation and video highlights from the 2011-12 season.
Among the honors handed out was the Arête Award, which is given to student-athletes who have earned a 3.0 or higher grade point average at SF State, completed an averag
e of 12 units per semester and received all-conference honors in their respective sport. This year's recipient of the Arête Award was senior track sprinter
Carrie Thomas.
A four-year letter winner, Thomas was the lead runner on the Gators' 4x400 relay team that captured All-America honors at both the Division II indoor and outdoor championships in 2011. This season, she has once again contributed to the success of both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays that have attained provisional qualifying times for the outdoor national meet later this month in Pueblo, Colo. The South Bay native has also excelled in the classroom, earning All-Academic honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
In addition, Thomas was presented with the Mass Mutual Scholarship by Mass Mutual executives Greg Crothers and John Dionne.
The Male Athlete of the Year award was presented to wrestler
Isaiah Jimenez, while thrower
Luisa Musika was named the Female Athlete of the Year.
A three year-letter winner from Chualar, Calif., Jimenez has qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships the past two seasons. The Gator junior posted a 25-10 record during the 2011-12 campaign and captured the individual title in the 165-pound weight class at the Super Region 4/Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships. Jimenez, who earned an individual ranking in his division for most of the season, claimed the title at the Mike Clock Open and recorded a 2-1 mark at the prestigious NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.
Musika, meanwhile, has once again turned in a series of dominating performances this season, earning a trio of outdoor provisional qualifying marks in the shot put, discus and hammer throw. The Milpitas native broke her own school record in the shot put at UC Berkeley's Brutus Hamilton Invitational and set a personal-best in the hammer throw at the Sacramento State Hornet Invitational, which ranks third on the Gators' all-time charts. Earlier this season, Musika garnered California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Female Track a
nd Field Athlete of the Week honors for the third time in her career after winning the shot put and discus throw at SF State's Johnny Mathis Invitational on March 24.
Not to be outdone, Musika also enjoyed a successful indoor campaign early in 2012, qualifying in the shot put for the NCAA Division II Championships, where she placed 12th.
During her illustrious career, Musika has twice captured All-America honors and has earned All-CCAA recognition on seven occasions.
The Freshman Athlete of the Year Awards were presented to catcher
Mark Lindsay and cross country runner
Paxton Cota.
Heading into this weekend's four-game series with Cal State East Bay, Lindsay currently leads the team with a .355 batting average and .409 on-base percentage. Th
e Upland, Calif., native also tops the squad with 57 total bases, 54 hits and 20 RBI. Lindsay also owns a .993 fielding percentage and has thrown out 11 prospective base stealers.
Cota, meanwhile, earned all-conference honors after placing at 14th at the CCAA Championships, where she logged a season-fast 6K time of 21:57, which ranks fourth in school history. In addition, the Laguna Niguel product posted a runner-up finish at the season-opening Notre Dame de Namur Invitational to garner CCAA Female Runner of the Week accolades.
The CCAA Dr. Hal Charnofsky Awards are presented to student-athletes who participate in a CCAA-sponsored sport and have distinguished
them
selves in the classroom and in the field of competition. This year's SF State recipients were baseball player
Matt Quintero and cross country runner Zuleima Jimenez.
A three-year letter winner from San Gabriel, Calif., Quintero recently landed on the Capital One Academic All-District VIII First Team. The Gator senior leads the team with a .457 slugging percentage, 11 doubles and three home runs. He also has stolen five bases and posted a .302 batting average.
A sophomore transfer from Oxnard, Calif, Jimenez enjoyed a tremendous debut campaign for SF State last fall, earning CCAA Newcomer of the Year honors following a fourth-place finish at the conference meet, where she posted a 6K school-record time of 21:30. The following week, she became the Gators first All-West Region performer since 2002 after placing 17th among 165 runners. Earlier in the season, Jimenez captured the individual title at the Sonoma State
