FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason Athletics annual banquet was held on Monday afternoon at EagleBank Arena to recognize the academic, athletic, and civic achievements of its student-athletes.
The Green and Gold Celebration brought together the student-athletes and coaches from Mason's 22 intercollegiate sports along with department staff and Mason supporters.
Awards bestowed upon the Patriots on Monday included the Aimee Willard Commemorative Award, Susan Collins Leadership for Women in Sport Award, President's Cup, Patriot Cup, Dr. Pettrone Student-Athlete of the Year and a series of other awards which honor athletic excellence in a variety of categories. The 104 seniors received their George Mason Award, a hand-sculpted artwork of George Mason designed as a permanent remembrance of both the institution and the student-athlete's legacy.
The prestigious Aimee Willard Commemorative Award was established in 1997 to remember former Mason soccer and lacrosse athlete Aimee Willard, who's life was tragically taken by a brutal act of violence in her hometown of Philadelphia in 1996. The award assures that Aimee's legacy and contributions live on through another Mason student-athlete who mirror the standards of quality set by Aimee in her two-sport career: intensity, consistency of purpose, achievement and teamwork.
This year's recipient was women's track and field student-athlete Hannah Robertson. Presented by Interim Director of Athletics Nena Rogers, six other student-athletes were nominated by their head coaches for the award: Jacquee Clabeaux (Women's Swim & Dive), Lauren Distad (Lacrosse), Rachel Eberly (Women's Soccer), Paige La (Women's Tennis), Logan Messer (Wrestling) and Noelle Saine (Women's Cross Country).
In the words of her coach, Robertson's impact on the team will be felt long after she is gone. She is the glue that holds the teams' tremendously successful women's pole vault group together and is consistently supportive of her teammates, cheering them and on and pushing them to challenge their limits and picking them up when they are down. Besides being a four-time Atlantic 10 champion, her unrelenting attitude to get better and to help her teammates get better is the legacy that she leaves with the program.
Faculty athletics representative Dr.
Dominique Banville then presented the Susan Collins Leadership Award for Women in Sport to women's swimming and diving student-athlete Lauren Ashton.
The award recognizes the student-athlete who best exemplifies the leadership qualities set by former George Mason Senior Associate Athletic Director Sue Collins, who dedicated more than 40 years in NCAA Division I athletics and 34 years with the Patriots. Her leadership, integrity, innovation, mentoring, and service to the NCAA, George Mason and the local community has created a legacy that will keep Mason athletics a leader in college sports for years to come.
Ashton is a senior on the women's swimming and diving team pursuing a Bachelor's degree in government and international politics with a minor in criminology and is a three-time Provost Scholar recipient, a member of the honors college and has made the Dean's List for the last seven consecutive semesters. She served as the 2022-23 SAAC president and was a member of student government as the undersecretary for the Title IX and Clery Act compliance. She has interned on Capitol Hill, manages the swimming and diving Instagram page and volunteers her time working with children by teaching them the art of swimming in the Fairfax area.
The final individual award of the celebration named wrestling's Peter Pappas and women's swimming and diving's Jacquee Clabeaux as the Dr. Pettrone Student-Athletes of the Year.
Pappas made history as the first Patriot wrestler to earn a MAC championship crown in the four-year history as members of the conference. Pappas defeated NCAA qualifier Ashton Eyler in sudden victory in the Championship final, becoming the first conference champion for Mason since 2019. The 157-pounder ranked No. 25 in the NCAA Coaches Poll and led the Green & Gold in win percentage with a 24-5 overall record. After earning the No. 23-seed in his first NCAA tournament appearance, he earned a 3-1 win against Ohio's Peyten Kellar. He earned numerous top-5 finishes throughout the season and is also a world team trials qualifier, ranking top-10 in the USA in freestyle on the senior level.
Clabeaux was named this year's Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Swimmer after claiming individual titles in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yeard breaststroke and three medals as a part of three separate relay teams. She also set four Atlantic 10 conference records in all four of her gold medal-winning events. Clabeaux has also been selected to the Virginia Sports Information Directors' (VaSID) All-State Second Team for four consecutive years.
GREEN & GOLD CELEBRATION AWARD WINNERS
Aimee Willard Commemorative Award
Hannah Robertson (Women's Track & Field)
Susan Collins Leadership for Women in Sport Award
Lauren Ashton (Women's Swimming & Diving)
President's Cup
The award is presented to the Mason team that has earned the highest cumulative team GPA by the end of the Fall academic term.
Women's Team: Softball
Men's Team: Golf
Patriot's Cup
The 2022-2023 Patriot Cup nominated teams have demonstrated team and school spirit to their fellow student-athletes.
Winning Team: Women's Swimming & Diving
Iron Patriot Award
The Iron Patriot Award is presented to the senior student-athlete who through their dedication, commitment and sacrifice in the weight room has been a positive influence in their role as a teammate and on their competitive performance. Student-athletes are selected for the award by members of the strength and conditioning team at Mason.
Women's Team Iron Patriot: Olivia Heaton (Lacrosse)
Men's Team Iron Patriot: Peter Pappas (Wrestling)
Women's Team Dr. Pettrone Student-Athlete of the Year: Jacquee Clabeaux (Women's Swimming & Diving)
Men's Team Dr. Pettrone Student-Athlete of the Year: Peter Pappas (Wrestling)
Women's Team Sportsmanship: Ashley Fitz-Patrick (Women's Tennis)
Men's Team Sportsmanship: South Trimble (Baseball)
Women's Team Most Improved: Nicole Bechtel (Softball)
+ Earned first Atlantic 10 Player of the Week award of her career in 2023
+ Has almost doubled her statistical numbers in doubles, triples and RBI's and has improved in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging
Men's Team Most Improved: Ben Shields (Baseball)
+ After battling back from surgery, leads Mason pitchers with a 6-3 record and 12 starts
+ Leads Atlantic 10 with 88 strikeouts, six wins and in opponent batting average
Women's Team Rookie of the Year: Elyssa DeRosa (Softball)
+ Two-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the week
+ Leads the Atlantic 10 and is third in the NCAA in triples and leads Mason in walks, on-base percentage and on base plus slugging
Male Rookie of the Year: Nate Higley (Wrestling)
+ MAC Conference Rookie of the Year
+ Runner-up at MAC Championships to earn an at-large bid to NCAAs
+ Finished with 24 wins, a team-high 10 falls and was nationally ranked
Women's Team of The Year: Women's Track & Field
+ 2023 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Champions
+ Second place at Indoor Championship and program-best third place at Cross Country Championship
Men's Team of The Year: Wrestling
+ Program-best sixth-place finish at MAC Championship
+ First individual MAC Champion and two individual NCAA qualifiers
+ Finished with 11 wins, the most since the 2007-08 season
