2016 NECTC Awards
The 2016 season was filled with incredible performances from all of our athletes, but some athletes deserve special recognition for their accomplishments. The NECTC Awards help recognize those athletes that stood above the rest in their particular categories.
Male Triathlete of the Year
Spencer Ralston – Saint Michael’s College
Overall wins at Rev3 Maine and Lake George propelled Ralston to the title of Conference Champion. His overall win at Lake George by over five minutes may have been the performance of the year. Only 4 points away from a perfect score this year, Ralston is your 2016 Conference Champion and Triathlete of the Year.
Female Triathlete of the Year
Stephanie Lie – Boston University
Stepping on the podium in each of our Olympic distance races, Lie secured the conference title by being the most consistent female of the year. On top of that, she has been the most consistent athlete for the past 3 years taking 7th in 2014, 2nd in 2015, and 1st in 2016.
Male Most Improved Athlete of the Year
Jonathon Joyce – Drexel University
In 2015 Joyce scored 1 point. In 2016 he scored 432 on his way to finishing the season 3rd overall in the conference standings. Specifically in our conference championship, Joyce moved from finishing 52nd overall last year in 2:34:21, to 12th this year with a slower swim course in 2:20:50.
Female Most Improved Athlete of the Year
Lindsay Fisher – Northeastern University
This year Fisher was our overall season Runner-Up. Last season Fisher finished 26th overall in the conference. Fisher capped this season with a 4th place overall finish at our championship for the most consistent season of her collegiate career.
Male Rookie of the Year
Stephen Mais – Northeastern University
In his first year competing in the conference, Mais competed in all 5 races. His final season point total was 410, which was good enough for 5th overall in the conference. Mais was the top ranked Rookie and finished the season with two top-5 finishes.
Female Rookie of the Year
Megan Jerrell – United States Military Academy
With a top 5 finish at Westchester, Jerrell finished the season as the top ranked rookie of the season. During the season she consistently improved race to race. At Cranberry Jerrell finished in 13th, at Lake George she finished 9th, and finished 5th at Westchester which is the most competitive race of the year.
Male Swimmer of the Year
Andrew Keenan – Drexel University
Finishing the swim in the top 5 at each Olympic distance race this season, Keenan was consistently one of the top swimmers in the conference. He also clocked a time of 17:56 at Rev3 Maine, over a minute faster than the second fastest swim of the day.
Female Swimmer of the Year
Teresa Groton – United States Military Academy
First out of the water at both Lake George and Westchester, Groton proved herself to be the top swimmer in the conference. She swam a time of 22:22 at Lake George, beating the 2nd place swim time by almost 2 minutes. She did the same at Westchester where she clocked a 22:34, again beating the 2nd place swim time by almost 2 minutes.
Male Cyclist of the Year
Jacob Slife – United States Military Academy
Only competing at Westchester was still enough for Slife to pull out this award. Slife had the fastest bike split of the day in 1:06:22, beating the second place bike split by 23 seconds, and the third best bike split by over 2 minutes! It was this bike that vaulted him to the overall win.
Female Cyclist of the Year
Ariana Adler – University of Connecticut
With the fastest bike split at Rev3 Maine by over 4 minutes, and the second fastest bike split at Lake George and Westchester, Adler was this year’s most consistent cyclist. Her background in collegiate cycling was surely a factor, and it was her cycling leg that helped her finish this season in 3rd overall.
Male Runner of the Year
Andrew Brown – United States Military Academy
Finishing the Westchester run in 33:59, Brown had one of the fastest run splits in recent history for the conference. Our former National Champions Jason West and Mike Meehan were not able to break the 34 minute mark at Westchester. This was one of the top running performances in conference history.
Female Runner of the Year
Lauren Cenci – University of Connecticut
Finishing in the top 3 for the run leg in all three Olympic distance races, Cenci was able to claw her way back in each race and finished the year 6th overall in the conference. She finished the Westchester run leg with the second fastest split of 41:16.
Coach of the Year
Becky Bryant – University of Connecticut
The UConn women took the overall female title for the first time in team history behind head coach Becky Bryant. Bryant was present at the team’s races and working hard to support her team. The male team finished 4th this year, and she led the team to a 2nd place combined team finish.
