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Student-athletes take home SUNY and SUNYAC academic awards

Student-athletes take home SUNY and SUNYAC academic awards

05/01/2026

SUNY Cortland senior Kendall Arcuri, senior Isaiah Brunache, junior Joleen Lusk, junior Katie Mahoney and senior Reilly Quinn have been honored as State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Winter Scholar Athletes of the Year, while Arcuri, Brunache, Lusk, Mahoney and senior Angelo Centrone and junior Kathryn McSweeney have been honored as State University of New York (SUNY) Winter Scholar Athletes of the Year.

SUNYAC Scholar Athlete Award winners are selected from each of the SUNYAC’s sponsored sports. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must have a minimum overall grade point average of 3.30, be a starter or significant reserve on his or her team and have an academic class standing of sophomore or higher.

The SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards recognizes student-athletes from SUNY colleges and universities sponsoring intercollegiate athletics at the four-year and two-year levels who were nominated and voted upon by representatives of their respective institutions. Nominating information includes cumulative grade point average, current and career statistics, and athletic and academic honors. 

Arcuri repeats as both the SUNYAC and SUNY winner for men’s basketball. A physical education major with a 3.48 overall GPA entering the spring, he earned NABC second team all-district and D3hoops.com third team all-region honors, and was a first team All-SUNYAC selection, after averaging 13.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 25 games. He finished his Cortland career with 1,249 points.

Brunache is an exercise science major with a 3.92 overall GPA prior to the spring semester. He earned both SUNYAC and SUNY indoor track and field honors for the second straight year, and he also was the SUNY honoree as a sophomore two years ago. He earned first team All-America honors in both the weight throw, with a fifth-place finish, and the shot put, with a seventh-place showing, at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Brunache was also chosen as the SUNYAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.

Centrone is a repeat winner of the SUNY award for men’s wrestling. A physical education major with a 3.35 overall GPA prior to the spring, Centrone earned All-America honors with a seventh-place finish a 149 pounds at the NCAA Division III Championships. He also claimed the NCAA Region 2 and SUNYAC titles. Centrone finished the season with a 20-3 record and his Cortland career with a 98-12 record.

Lusk is an exercise science major who entered the spring semester with a 3.98 overall GPA. The women’s basketball forward earned first team All-SUNYAC and third team D3hoops.com all-region honors after leading Cortland with 11.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game in 27 games.

Mahoney is an exercise science major with a 3.93 overall grade point average entering the spring semester. Cortland’s first-ever women's ice hockey All-American, Mahoney finished the season with 11 goals and 20 assists in 28 games and was named the SUNYAC Player of the Year.

McSweeney, a member of the Cortland women’s gymnastics team, is the SUNY “women’s at-large” honoree. Pursuing an individualized degree program, McSweeney has a 3.94 overall GPA prior to the spring. She earned All-National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) East Region honors on uneven bars with second-place regional finish and tied for 18th place of 48 on uneven bars at NCGA National Championship.

Quinn is a sport management major with a 3.95 overall GPA prior to the spring semester. The women’s indoor track and field honoree was named the SUNYAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year after winning conference titles in both the long jump and the high jump and earning All-Niagara Region honors in both events.

More than 14,000 student-athletes compete at SUNY institutions representing 53 different colleges and universities at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division III/USCAA and NJCAA levels and are eligible for the awards.

The 19 Division III institutions in the SUNY system are: Alfred State, Brockport, Buffalo State, Canton, Cobleskill, Cortland, Delhi, Farmingdale, Fredonia, Geneseo, Maritime, Morrisville, New Paltz, Old Westbury, Oneonta, Oswego, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and SUNY Poly. SUNY-ESF, a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), participates in the program with the 19 NCAA Division III members for a total of 20 colleges and universities.