POMONA, Calif. - Cal Poly Pomona Intercollegiate Athletics celebrated the 2013-14 achievements of the CPP student-athletes on Monday in the annual "Evening of Excellence" banquet held at the Bronco Student Center.
In a special part of the evening's agenda, a trio of student-athletes -
Terrence Drisdom,
Ariel Marsh and
Kristin Mihara - presented gifts to university president Dr. J. Michael Ortiz and his wife Betty for their everlasting support of Bronco Athletics. Bronco Athletic Association (BAA) President
Alison Sauve also revealed that the Bronco Cup has been renamed the Betty Bronco Cup in honor of the Ortiz family and their legacy.
Dr. Ortiz then introduced the CPP Athletes of the Year with those awards going to
DeRonn Scott of men's basketball,
Justin Ellerbee of men's track and field and
Jada Blackwell of women's basketball.
During Scott's three seasons as a Bronco, the men's basketball program has gone 69-18. He finished his career with 932 points after earning All-West Region honors as a senior.
Ellerbee repeated as California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) pole vault champion this past weekend as he broke the conference championship record with a height of 17-5. He'll be competing at nationals later this month.
Blackwell led the women's basketball team to the Final Four this past season and she ended up as a finalist for National Player of the Year after earning selection as CCAA and West Region Player of the Year. Through 2013-14, she totaled 620 points.
Earlier in Monday's ceremony, Faculty Athletic Representative
Dr. David Horner announced the Hal Charnofsky Award winners as
Joseph Eusebio of baseball and
Ariel Marsh of women's basketball. Eusebio ranks third in the CCAA for batting average this season and he's excelled academically as a Civil Engineering major. Marsh sank 80 three-pointers during 2013-14 and she became an Academic All-American while pursuing a master's in Regenerative Studies.
The Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades were awarded to
Connor Gacek of men's basketball and
Jenny McCarthy of cross country and track and field. Gacek has been selected to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll 10 times during his collegiate career while studying accounting. McCarthy has maintained a grade point average of 3.53 as a Biology major. The women's cross country program also earned the Academic Excellence Team award for posting a GPA of 3.26.
Also featured in the Evening of Excellence was the presentation of the Terri Brown Spirit Award, which was given to Lorena Márquez of the César E. Chávez Center for Higher Education. The award signifies a commitment of spirit and encouragement to the student-athletes.
