Brookdale Athletics Welcomes Back Annual Jersey Blues Banquet

Major Award Winners:

The 2022-23 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award goes to a male and female student-athlete with the highest GPA.  In the female category, the department awarded tri-sport participant, Rebecca Arleth, from women's volleyball, cheerleading, and women's softball. Arleth continued her classroom domination through her sophomore campaigns and who graduated with a degree in Physics with a perfect 4.00 GPA 

Men's tennis standout, Anton Kalajian, who finished the year with a 3.95 GPA, earned the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year distinction. Kalajian is a business administration major.

The 2022-2023 Female Athlete of the Year, was given to Rebecca Arleth for her contribution, accolades, and spirit. Arleth earned second team All-Region and first team All-GSAC  distinctions in volleyball, was a crucial member and leader for the cheerleading team, and was a member of the Region XIX and GSAC champion softball team who were seeded at the No. 3 spot for the 2023 NJCAA Softball World Series.

Men's basketball sophomore guard, Kevin Mateo, was announced as the 2022-2023 Male Athlete of the Year award. Mateo led the team as their point guard averaging 17.3 points per game, 5.2 assists, 2.8 steals, and shot 84.8% from the free throw line (12th in the nation). His collected accomplishments are 2022-23 GSAC Player of the Year, 2022-23 First-Team NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball All-America Selection, 2022-23 NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship Most Valuable Player, 2022-23 NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball National Champion, and 2023 NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Also, Kevin was recently invited to play in the NJCAA All-Star game which took place in Las Vegas, NV.

Beverlee Gross, Registration & Records Enrollment specialist, was awarded the 2023 Most Outstanding Brookdalian. Beverlee helps Katie work on NJCAA eligibility paperwork for our certified Jersey Blues student-athletes. She routinely exceeds all expectations and has gone above and beyond to ensure the paperwork that is submitted is completed in a timely and accurate manner. Without this paperwork, our student-athletes would not be able to participate. She is hard-working, driven, highly organized, efficient and takes the necessary time to ensure what she is doing is correct. Beverlee's enthusiasm, dedication, reliability, and wealth of knowledge is beyond impressive and valuable.

The Unsung Hero Award embodies someone who is consistent. Someone you can always count on and their effort is never in question. They are invested in our programs and always there to lend a helping hand. Never giving less than they are capable of and over the years, has never asked for anything in return. The award recognizes someone who has positively influenced a program or organization from behind the scenes with a positive attitude, a willingness to help in whatever capacity necessary, and a commitment to excellence.

Dylan Harrington goes above and beyond his head athletic trainer role. Not only is he amazingly knowledgeable at his job, he is respected, well-liked by all, and is a team player. Dylan is always willing to assist and jumps in at a moment's notice to help. He ensures every student receives the proper treatment and follows up on the progress. He even does this occasionally for the coaching staff and athletic administration when aches and pains become an issue. Dylan also takes the time to develop strength and conditioning programs for each sport and for individual student-athletes who are interested in training in the off-season. The athletic department is so grateful for Dylan and how important his role is for Brookdale Athletics and the Brookdale Community as a whole.

Head Coaches, Paul Cisek, Rich Brunson, and Bo Scannapieco were also honored with plaques recognizing pinnacle career wins this past year. Men's basketball coach, Paul Cisek reached his 600th Brookdale career win, women's basketball coach, Rich Brunson, captured his 100th win, and softball's, Bo Scannapieco hit his 1200th career win milestone!

Following the delicious buffet and amazing PowerPoint slide presentation of pictures throughout the year, the following special awards were presented in addition to the major awards.

The Individual Team Award Winners: