McDonough and Bitok Win 2004 Soladay Award

Seniors Elyse McDonough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central H.S.) and John Bitok (Kitale, Kenya/Paul Boit H.S.) are the 2004 winners of the Soladay Award, the most prestigious honor bestowed upon a student-athlete at Syracuse University. The Soladay Award is presented to one male and one female senior student-athlete for outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments, University/community service and leadership. The award is named for the late Doris Soladay, who served as SU’s Associate Director of Athletics from 1975-95. The honors were presented at the ninth annual Doris Soladay Awards Luncheon at the Schine Student Center on SU’s campus.

McDonough, a senior swimmer and television-radio-film major at SU, will graduate this May as one of the best female swimmers to ever come through the Syracuse program. She qualified for the 2004 NCAA Swimming Championship in the 200 butterfly and the 200 individual medley, becoming the first Orangewoman to qualify since 1981. McDonough won her first BIG EAST Conference championship in the 200 butterfly in 2004 with a school record time of 1:59.61. She was one of 13 BIG EAST Conference female student-athletes to receive a 2003-04 BIG EAST/Aeropostale Scholar-Athlete Award (a $2,000 stipend to be applied to graduate studies). She is a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star and has been named to SU’s Athletic Director’s Honor Roll all seven semesters. A two-time team captain for the Orangewomen and president of SU’s Student-Athlete Council, McDonough set nine school records and two pool records during her four-year career. She has qualified for the USA Nationals for the past five years (2000-04). During her SU career she has served as a volunteer for more than a dozen community service projects, including the Shooting for A’s and Success by Six programs. In March, she accepted a position with NBC to work the swimming venue at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Bitok, a bio-chemistry major, is a seven-time member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and a two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star. He was a 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selection. He will serve as one of three student marshals from the College of Arts and Sciences. He will be involved in the commencement speaker selection process and will lead their respective college’s degree candidates into the commencement ceremonies. Marshals are picked based on their leadership qualities and loyalty to Syracuse University. In addition to being named a class marshal, Bitok also has been awarded a postgraduate scholarship by the NCAA. He is one of 29 male student-athletes across the country that participated in a fall sport to be awarded a scholarship. Bitok will receive $7,500 toward full or part-time postgraduate study at a professional school of his choice. He served as the cross country team’s captain in 2004 and placed eighth at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship, earning All-BIG EAST honors for the second consecutive year. He also posted a third-place finish at the 2003 IC4A Cross Country Championship. In 2002, he became the first Syracuse runner since 1919 to win the IC4A’s Championship Division crown. Bitok was one of 13 male BIG EAST Conference student-athletes to be named a 2003-04 BIG EAST /Aèropostale Male Scholar Athlete. As a recipient of that award he will receive $2,000 to assist in paying for the cost of attending graduate school. Bitok was also named to the 2003 United States Cross Country Coaches Association (USCCCA) All-Academic Team and won the 2003 Hisako Fujitsuka Award for Outstanding International Service and Caring. He is a two-time Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar.

The 2004 Soladay Award nominees include Andrew Wright (crew), Ann-Marie Guglieri (field hockey), Matt Tarullo (football), Steve Vallone (lacrosse), Jacquelyn Walker (lacrosse), Marisa Begley (rowing), Rachel Park (softball), Steve Polucha (swimming), Trine Lise Juliussen (tennis), Aprelle Watkins (track & field), in addition to McDonough and Bitok.

In addition to the Soladay Awards, SU’s 2004 Scholar Athletes were recognized. The Scholar Athlete Award is presented to student-athletes who have had a minimum grade point average of 3.4 for seven consecutive semesters. The honorees include Kevin Kopko (football), Nick Romeo (football) and Tarullo, Ryan Hickey (soccer) and Chuck Sullivan (soccer), Megan Huez (soccer) and Courtney Spencer (soccer), Spencer Raymond (swimming), Trine Lise Juliussen (tennis), Lauren Rich (track & field), Michaela Skelly (volleyball) and McDonough and Bitok.

The 2004 Scholastic Excellence Team, which honors the student-athlete with the highest grade point average (minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA) from each class, was also honored.

The 2004 Scholastic Excellence Team

Basketball (M)
Ross DiLiegro, Craig Forth

Basketball (W)
Lauren Kohn, Jill Norton

Crew
Greg Stiller, Tyler Page, Andrew Weisberg, Andrew Wright

Field Hockey
Jess Wreski, Rosanne Geraty, Paige Sullivan, Leah McKay, Jackie Sheaffer

Football
Plez Jenkins, Tim Washington, Matt Tarullo

Lacrosse (M)
Jon Jerome, Greg Rommel, Andrew Boyle, Nick Donatelli

Lacrosse (W)
Bethel Steele, Stephanie Walker, Monica Joines, Jacquelyn Walker

Rowing
Erin Cunningham, Emilee Cummings, Anna Goodale, Marisa Begley

Soccer (M)
Edvin Hot, Jeff Evans, Alejandro Nuno, Ryan Hickey

Soccer (W)
Chelsea Tracy-Bronson, Molly McManus, Sheila Menz, Lisa Yeh, Courtney Spencer

Softball
Caitlin Grattan, Lindsay Van Gorden, Tanya Rose, Rachel Park