Wingate's Crisera and McAllister of Lenoir-Rhyne Named South Atlantic Conference Lacrosse Scholar-Athletes of the Year
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Wingate's Anthony Crisera was voted the South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Noreen McAllister of Lenoir-Rhyne earned the women's honor, the League announced today. The pair earned the honor for their achievements in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports, and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee.
Crisera, from Silver Springs, Fla., graduated from Wingate with a 3.82 GPA as an accounting major. He earned South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll honors all four years at Wingate and was on the Wingate's President's List in seven of his eight semesters. A four-year Wingate Presidential Academic Scholarship honoree, he picked up the D2CCA Academic Achievement Award as a sophomore and junior. He was also a member of Delta Mu Delta as a junior and senior.
"From the moment I met Anthony back in 2016, I knew this was a special young man," said Wingate head men's lacrosse coach Tim Boyle. "His passion for the game is rivaled only by his passion for his academics and teammates. Anthony truly lives our core values of Honesty, Integrity, Responsibility and Loyalty each and every day."
On the field, Crisera anchored a Wingate defense to help the squad to a No. 9 ranking in the NCAA this season. He started 17-of-17 games for the Bulldogs as he tallied 22 ground balls and forced 10 turnovers during the 2017 campaign.
Crisera was a tutor for multiple disciplines during his years at Wingate, including business operations and management, intermediate accounting, principles of financial accounting and business statistics.
In the community, Crisera was a four-year volunteer for the United Way Day of Caring and served as the Safety Committee Chairman during his sophomore year. During his first two years at Wingate, he was a chain crew member and a parking lot attendant at Wingate football games.
Crisera will continue his studies at Wake Forest with an academic scholarship to earn his Masters in Accountancy.
McAllister, from Bayport, N.Y., graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne with a 3.82 GPA as a middle grades education major. A four year Lenoir-Rhyne Scholars Program honoree, she earned South Atlantic Commissioner's Honor Roll honors in each of her four years as a Bear. She was named to the Dean's List five semesters at LR and posted two semesters as a President's List honoree. During the last two years, McAllister was a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Mortar Board, Kappa Delta Pi and Chi Alpha Sigma.
"Noreen has an incredible work ethic both on and off the field and she truly exemplifies what it means to be a student-athlete," said Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Carlee Buck. "This is a tremendous honor and very well deserved."
McAllister started every game for the Bears for the second-straight season. She totaled 19 ground balls to help her squad to an 11-8 record overall and a 5-3 mark in South Atlantic Conference action. She also led her team as a team captain during the 2017 season.
McAllister was a member of the Lenoir-Rhyne Student-Athlete Advisory Council and also served as the Vice President of the council. She helped Lenoir-Rhyne organize its annual Make-A-Wish fundraising initiative during her sophomore, junior and senior years and was a volunteer at the Hickory Soup Kitchen in each of the past two years.
She has observed 78 hours, assisted 224 hours and taught 168 hours during her student teacher internship over the past two years. She is also a long term substitute at Northview Middle School in Hickory, N.C. During her junior year, she also found time to be a course assistant at Lenoir-Rhyne.
Other Men's Lacrosse Nominees
Mike Hanlon, Lenoir-Rhyne
Ross Parsons, Tusculum
Other Women's Lacrosse Nominees
Kaitlyn Kimball, Coker
Savannah Elliot, Tusculum
Kendall Sienon, Wingate