Four Mount Student-Athletes Named Northeast Conference Scholar-Athletes

EMITSBURG, Md. – Mount St. Mary's University had four student-athletes named Northeast Conference (NEC) Scholar-Athletes for their respective sports, announced on Wednesday by the league. Gigi Gibilisco (Newtown, Pa./Notre Dame [N.J.] nabbed the Men's Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete for the second-straight year while  Megan Kinsella (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) (women's outdoor track and field), Mark Quaranta (Virginia Beach, Va./Loyola Blakefield) (baseball) and Mike Salomon (Haymarket, Va./Seton School) (men's tennis) each earned their first Scholar-Athlete recognition.

Gibilisco, a senior middle-distance runner on the Mount's outdoor track and field team, takes home his third Scholar-Athlete of the Year award after winning the outdoor honor last year and garnering the recognition for the indoor campaign this past winter. Gibilisco extended his reign as NEC 800-meter champion this past May, shattering the meet record with a time of 1:49.86. He also ran the third leg of the Mount's winning 4x400 meter relay team. Gibilisco qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary round in the 800 meters where he crossed the tape in 1:49.88 to finish in 18th place.  He also qualified for the IC4A Championships in his premier event. The Newtown, Pa., native was voted to the Capital One Academic All-District first team to earn a spot on the national All-American ballot. Named to the NEC Academic Honor Roll each of his four years at the Mount, Gibilisco graduated with a 3.92 grade point average. He majored in Music Education.

Gibilisco is one of three Mount track and field athletes in program history to receive the Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor and the second to receive the award twice in his career. Current head coach Jim Stevenson took home the honor in 1993-94 and Aaron Price won the award in 1996-97 and 1997-98.

Kinsella, a junior distance runner on the women's outdoor track and field team, picks up her first career Scholar-Athlete of the Award in 2011-12. The junior finished second in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the NEC Outdoor Track & Field meet to earn second team All-NEC recognition. The three-sport student-athlete established a new school mark in the steeplechase this spring and also competed in the 5,000 meters at the NEC meet.  A former NEC Cross Country Rookie of the Year and two-time All-NEC cross country selection, Kinsella majors in Communications.  The Allentown, Pa., product enters her senior year with a stellar 3.98 grade point average.

Kinsella becomes the fifth women's outdoor track and field athlete to garner Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition and the first since Mandy Jenkins in 2005-06. Along with Kinsella and Jenkins, Stella Cinoa (1993-94), Robin Kloster (1994-95) and Rebecca Wassner (1995-96) also earned the top academic honor from the league for outdoor track and field.

Quaranta, a junior catcher on the Mountaineer baseball team, earns his first NEC Scholar-Athlete honor. The junior was tabbed to the All-NEC second team following a strong 2012 campaign in which he led the Mount and ranked fifth in the league in batting average (.333) and ninth in on-base percentage (.401). He also paced the Mountaineers with 64 hits and finished second on the club in runs (30), doubles (12), homers (four) and RBIs (34). Quaranta recorded 18 multi-hit games on the year and enters his senior season 11th on the program's all-time list with a .323 career average. The Virginia Beach, Va., product is a two-time NEC Academic and Commissioner's Honor Roll selection, who carries a 3.97 grade point average.  This year he earned the William McGowan Endowed Scholarship from the Mount St. Mary's Richard J. Bolte School of Business.

Quaranta is the sixth baseball player to be named Scholar-Athlete of the Year in team history and the first since Brian Santo in 2002-03. Jack McMillian (1990-91), Mike McMillian (1991-92), Christopher Larrick (1994-95) and Jeff Koenig (2001-02) also received Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in their careers.

Salomon, a junior on the men's tennis team, nabs his first Scholar-Athlete recognition in 2011-12. Salomon helped spark the Mountaineers to their first NEC Tournament semifinal appearance since 2006 and was named second team All-Conference. He led all NEC competitors with 24 singles wins and his .828 win percentage was tops among those with 10 or more decisions. Salomon, a native of Haymarket, Va., was a perfect 5-0 against league rivals and 14-3 in No. 4 flight dual match competition.  The 24 singles victories rank fourth on the Mount's single-season list and Salomon's 55 wins heading into his senior year are the second most in program history. He is a two-time NEC Academic Honor Roll and Commissioner's Honor Roll selection. Salomon majors in Economics and carries a 3.88 grade point average.

Salomon is the fourth Mount men's tennis player to earn the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and it marks the fifth time a Mount player nabbed the recognition. Jeff Lamberton was the last Mount player to receive the nod when he won it back-to-back in 2004-05 and 2005-06 while Pritt Poldoja (1992-93) and Sanjaya Wijemanne (1993-94) also grabbed the recognition in their career.

Mount St. Mary's finished the year with five Scholar-Athletes after the four recipients in the spring and Gibilisco's indoor track and field honor. The five honorees is the second-most NEC Scholar-Athletes in one academic year after 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1997-98 each notched five Scholar-Athletes.

In addition, 60 student-athletes were named to the NEC Academic Honor Roll. To be eligible for the Academic Honor Roll, students must garner at least a 3.20 grade-point average. Mount St. Mary's also had 20 student-athletes post a grade-point average of 3.75 or better to be named to the NEC Commissioner's Honor Roll.

NEC Academic Honor Roll (* denotes NEC Commissioner Honor Roll)
Baseball (6): Michael Foster*, Tom Healy, Dan Horner, Karl Lamont, Mark Quaranta*, Josh Winter
Men's Golf (2): Tonny Aizpun, Andrew Lawton
Men's Lacrosse (7): Brian Baldini, Anthony Golden,  Robert Owen, Andrew Scalley*, Brett Shurki, Daniel Stranix, Jake Willertz*
Men's Track & Field (11): Tom FitzSimons, Sean Fritz, Gigi Gibilisco*, Jaime Gibilisco*, Tyler Giles*, Tommy Gruchow, Brian Houdek, Zachary Lesieur*, Joe Perry*, Kevin Pitts*, George Yates
Men's Tennis (4): Matthew Blake, Jastin Mostowtt, Mike Salomon*, Mike Zabetakis
Softball: Casey Beck (4), Liz Christiansen, Erin Leddy, Bre Lohman, Amanda Sadowl
Women's Golf (2): Kelsey Hayward*, Sarah Roe*
Women's Lacrosse (6): Meaghan Conlon*, Melissa Cox, Megan Gluck, Hannah Gutcher, Kaitlyn Larrimore, Nicole Price
Women's Track & Field (15): Katie Crumbaugh*, McKenzie Doyle, Megan Earley, Kathryn Franke*, Kelsey Greene, Heather Gula*, Megan Kinsella*, Constance Kniesler*, Bridgette Melero, Bridgette Nitz-Buwala, Maggie Pierce, Christina Praydis,  Ashley Seiler, Brandie Trostle, Nicole Vanagas
Women's Tennis (3): Kelly Conroy*, Carly Landini, Jennifer Smith