Fitchburg State Athletics honors student-athletes at annual awards night

This past Monday, May 4th, Fitchburg State Athletes hosted their 2026 Soaring to Success Awards Night at Weston Auditorium. The Awards night was held to highlight each and every teams success this season, as well as give out annual awards such as, Athlete of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Senior Scholar Athlete, and Leadership awards. 

Zoe Chrisostomides of Women's Soccer was the female recipient of the Sue Lauder Leadership Awards, which are given to one male, and one female student-athlete who go above and beyond in all areas of competition and who demonstrate outstanding leadership by example. Zoe is pictured with Women's Head Soccer Coach Jeb Booth. 

Christian Halbig of Men's Ice Hockey was the male recipient of the Sue Lauder Leadership Awards, which are given to one male, and one female student-athlete who go above and beyond in all areas of competition and who demonstrate outstanding leadership by example. Christian is pictured with Men's Ice Hockey Associate Head Coach Tom Petty. 

Neveah Chiacchia of Women’s Lacrosse was the female winner of the Rookie of the Year Award. The award presented to one male and one female student-athlete who have achieved athletic excellence in their first season representing Fitchburg State University. Neveah is pictured with Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Rick Terrio. 

Devin Niles of Men’s Ice Hockey was the male winner of the Rookie of the Year Award. The award presented to one male and one female student-athlete who have achieved athletic excellence in their first season representing Fitchburg State University. Devin is pictured with Men's Ice Hockey Associate Head Coach Tom Petty.

Alexis DeSimone of Women’s Basketball is the female winner of the Senior Scholar Athlete Awards, which are given to one male, and one female student-athlete who have excelled in the classroom with at least a minimum GPA of 3.5 and have contributed significantly to the athletic success of their team. Alexis is pictured with Women’s Basketball Head Coach Jonathan Mandeldove, and Athletics Academic Success Advisor Laura Pierce.

Trenton Skaggs of Men’s Ice Hockey is the male winner of the Senior Scholar Athlete Awards, which are given to one male, and one female student-athlete who have excelled in the classroom with at least a minimum GPA of 3.5 and have contributed significantly to the athletic success of their team. Trenton is pictured with Men's Ice Hockey Associate Head Coach Tom Petty.

Skye Goba of Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field is the female winner of the Paul Waring Athlete of the Year Awards, which are presented to one male, and one female student-athlete who have excelled in their chosen sport, or sports, and represented Fitchburg State with pride throughout their playing seasons. Skye is pictured with Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field Head Coach Nicole Gaffney.

Paulino Guevara Mateo of Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field is the male winner of the Paul Waring Athlete of the Year Awards, which are presented to one male, and one female student-athlete who have excelled in their chosen sport, or sports, and represented Fitchburg State with pride throughout their playing seasons. Paulino is pictured with Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field Head Coach Jim Jellison.

Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Rick Terrio, and Men’ s Cross Country, Track & Field Coach Jim Jellison were the co-winners of this years Coaching Staff of the year. Fitchburg State honored both Rick Terrio (19 years) and Jim Jellison (48 years) for their service to Fitchburg State with staff of the year honors in their last seasons. Jim Jellison will have the Fall season cross country meet named after him, now to be called the Jim Jellison Invitational.

Overall, 37 Students were named to the National College Athlete Honor Society, while 146 total athletes with named to the MASCAC All-Academic teams in their respective sports. 

Click to view pictures from the awards night

Thank you to everyone who came and made this event succesful!