May 18, 2017 More than 200 San Jose State University student-athletes, coaches and friends of Spartan Athletics were recognized recently at the 9th annual SAMMY Awards presented by the Spartan Foundation and the United States Marine Corps.
Jeremy Kelly, a junior on the football team, and swimmer Lisa Ellis, a senior, served as co-masters of ceremonies.
Academically, fifty-six (56) Spartans were honored as San Jose State University Dean's List Scholars and six more were recognized as President's Scholars from the University's recent 55th annual Honors Convocation.
Golfer Brad Keyer and tennis player Gaelle Rey received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards for male and female undergraduate student-athletes, respectively. Finalists for the male student-athlete Outstanding Academic Achievement Award were Nate Velichko (football), Tyler Jamieson and Conor Shuey (water polo) and Jonathan Partida (soccer). Madiha Raza (track & field), Julie Sam (volleyball), Stephanie Relova (gymnastics) and Michelle Taikeff (water polo) were the female finalists.
Allison Meehan (volleyball) and Paris Baird (women's basketball) were honored with the Outstanding Academic Achievement awards for student-athletes already in graduate school.
The men's cross country team and tennis teams, respectively, were named the men's and women's teams with top cumulative team grade-point averages. The men's water polo team was cited as the team with the most improved team grade-point averages.
More student-athlete awards went to Kellen Strahm (baseball) and Taylor Chan (gymnastics), Newcomers of the Year; Jose Pina (men's cross country) and Katelyn Linford (softball), Outstanding Individual Performances; Brandon Clarke (men's basketball) and My Leander (women's golf), Athletes of the Year; Shane Smith (football) and Myia Wilkes (women's soccer), Iron Spartans; Michael Breen (baseball) and Casey Watt (softball), Dick Tomey Class Acts: Issac Thornton (men's basketball) and Sara Northam (women's water polo), U.S. Marine Corps Leaders of the Year; Andre Chachere (football), Krazy George Spartan Spirit Award; and Stephanie Rebagliati (women's soccer), Lou Tully Perseverance Award.
Baseball head coach Jason Hawkins was named the Academic Head Coach of the Year; Kelley Watson (track and field), Academic Assistant Coach of the Year; assistant Shella Martinez (gymnastics), Assistant Coach of the Year; Brad Wick (men's cross country) and Wayne Wright (women's gymnastics), Head Coaches of the Year; and Kelvin Lam (cheer), the John Ralston Award.
The women's tennis team's victory at the 2017 Mountain West Championship won the award for Team Performance of the Year. The women's gymnastics team was named winner of the Team Community Service Award. Men's soccer (first), women's soccer (second) and women's gymnastics (third) were the top three finishers in the 2016-17 Spartan Cup standings.
Assistant athletics director for ticketing Darren Coelho and his family received a Lou Tully Perseverance Award and booster Audrey Unruh accepted the 2017 Spartan Foundation President's Award.
San Jose State University's Spartan Shops, the United States Marine Corps and the Spartan Foundation served as sponsors for the event organized by the San Jose State University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.