05/20/2025
The SUNYAC Award of Valor recognizes a select few student athletes each year whose determination, perseverance and grit sets them apart. And lately, Red Dragons have been a popular choice.
Since 2019, four of the last nine winners have now come from SUNY Cortland.
Sophomore cross country runner Liam Boyd last week became the most recent Cortland awardee, after winning a nearly fatal battle against leukemia.
The Award of Valor has been given to student-athletes by the State University of New York Athletic Conference since 2003, recognizing individuals who have overcome obstacles and serve as an inspiration to others. The recipients all used perseverance, dedication and determination to overcome a life-altering event.
In addition to Boyd, the Red Dragons who earned the distinction are:
- Nick Marola ’25 in 2024
- Danielle Bambola ’20, M ’22 in 2022
- Kyle Richard ’20 in 2019
“The SUNYAC Award of Valor has given us a chance to tell some of the incredible stories about Cortland's student-athletes and their character, perseverance and resilience,” said Mike Urtz, director of athletics.
“We have great people representing Cortland Athletics and the university as a whole, both on and off the field, and we’re proud of the recognition the SUNYAC has afforded them.”
Liam Boyd: men’s track and field; men’s cross country
Boyd had a strong first year as a Red Dragon athlete, narrowly missing qualification for the SUNYAC Championships as part of the cross country team. Then, in January of 2024, he experienced extreme fatigue and lower back pain.
A significant bloody nose sent him to the Student Health Center on campus. There, Medical Director Melissa Partigianoni identified serious concerns in his bloodwork and had him rushed by ambulance to Upstate Medical in Syracuse — quick action that Boyd’s family credits with saving his life.
Boyd’s platelet count had dropped to just 4,000 – far below the normal range of 150,000-250,000. Oncologists at Upstate confirmed an initial diagnosis of leukemia.
Needing emergency treatment, he received more than 100 blood transfusions. By last fall, he finished his last chemotherapy session and returned to SUNY Cortland as a student for the Spring 2025 semester. On campus, he helped coach the distance runners, while gradually returning to training with an aim of competing in cross country again this fall.
“You’d never know that Liam went through these tragic circumstances just a few short months ago, as he approaches every day with gentle kindness, determination and good humor,” said Steve Patrick, head coach for cross country and track and field, in his nomination letter for Boyd.
Nick Marola ’25: baseball
Marola, shortstop on the baseball team, chose to have his cheek swabbed at a NMDP (formerly the National Marrow Donor Program) event and was later identified as a match for a 45-year-old leukemia patient and father. During the early portion of the 2024 baseball season, he went through a lengthy process to make a bone marrow blood donation.
The procedure included injections to boost his stem cell count that had to be administered an hour and a half drive away from the team’s hotel during the Red Dragons’ spring break trip to California in March, limiting his playing time during the week. The process continued with blood draws when he returned to New York.
“I really was thrilled that I could potentially do something so that he can be back playing in the yard with his kids in due time,” Marola said last year in response to the award. “That’s what it was all about for me.”
Danielle Bambola ’20, M ’22: women’s golf
During Bambola’s freshman year in 2016 she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes following a bout of mononucleosis that left her in a coma for two days. After that, regular diabetic episodes required her to stop activity, rest, eat or inject insulin — often on the golf course. Then, in December of 2020 she contracted COVID-19 and her body went into diabetic ketoacidosis — a life-threatening condition in which the blood becomes acidic — and needed emergency treatment that required several days in the hospital.
Overcoming those obstacles, Bambola won a total of 20 career tournament titles and earned Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Division III second team All-America honors and first team All-East honors in both 2020 and 2021, finishing as a senior with a 17th place finish out of 131 golfers at the NCAA Division III Women’s Golf Championships.
She also received the 2020 WGCA Division III Kim Moore Spirit Award, a national honor presented to a student-athlete or coach who exhibits a great spirit toward the game of golf, has a positive attitude on and off the golf course, is a role model for their team, and demonstrates mental toughness in facing challenges.
Kyle Richard ’20: football
During the summer of 2017, Richard and a friend were at a party on Long Island and interrupted a sexual assault in progress. Richard pursued the assailant, who drew a gun and shot Richard twice, hitting him once in each leg. The bullets missed major arteries and bones by millimeters. Through determination and hard work, Richard beat the odds to recover in time for football season.
For his actions Richard was presented with a Next Generation Award by Kristin’s Fund , a charity that aims to end domestic violence through prevention, education and awareness campaigns. He also was given a Biden Courage Award for Bystander Intervention at a ceremony featuring former President Joe Biden and became the first Division III athlete to receive an Orange Bowl Courage Award since the honor was created 16 years earlier.
In 2022 he was named associate director of men’s engagement for ItsOnUs.org, the nation’s largest college-based sexual assault prevention group.