2023-24 NJIT All-Sports Video
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NEWARK, N.J. — NJIT Highlander Athletics celebrated the contributions and accomplishments of the more than 350 student-athletes across its 19 varsity teams from the 2023-24 season at the department's annual Athletics Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening on campus inside the Wellness and Events Center.
The Athletics Awards Banquet was a fun-filled event created to honor the NJIT Highlander teams for all their hard work on and off the field during the 2023-24 campaign. This year's program started with a Red Carpet entrance at 3:30pm before the formal festivities began at 4:15pm. Speakers included NJIT's ninth President, Dr. Teik C. Lim, Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan, senior student-athlete speaker Matthew Bevan of the men's swimming & diving team, and SAAC President Matthew Morena.
The awards presented over the course of the evening included Most Outstanding Player honors for each sport, a team Community Service award, Highlander Academic awards for each program, Chi Alpha Sigma recognition, special awards presented by the NJIT Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Leadership Academy honors and Senior awards.
NJIT's four major awards were presented to men's tennis's
Pablo Perez Ramos (Male Athlete of the Year), women's track & field's
Maddie Stevens (Female Athlete of the Year), men's basketball's
Tariq Francis (Male Newcomer of the Year) and women's cross country/track & field's Sara Van Ornum (Female Newcomer of the Year).
Pablo Perez Ramos, Men's Tennis | Male Athlete of the Year
This Year's Male Athlete of the Year led NJIT to its first-ever conference championship, winning the deciding point for the Highlanders to clinch the 4-3 win over top-seeded host Incarnate Word.
He owns an 18-2 record in singles, all at the number one position and 16-3 in doubles play this season, also all at the top flight. A 3x Conference Player of the Week, he helped lead NJIT to its highest ranking in program history (#58). The 19 overall wins this season are the most wins in Division I program history.
Maddie Stevens, Women's Track & Field | Female Athelte of the Year
This Female Athlete of the Year earned two medals at the America East Indoor Championships in the 400m and 4x400 relay, leading the NJIT women to the best-ever finish at the Indoor Championships. She earned a bronze medal and All-East honors in the 200 meter run at the ECAC Indoor Championships, the highest finish ever for an NJIT woman). Currently, she holds four indoor school records and picked up two medals at the Metropolitan Outdoor Championships, a gold in the 200m and silver in the 4x400 relay.
Tariq Francis, Men's Basketball | Men's Newcomer of the Year
This Male Newcomer of the Year was the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division I Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year & America East Conference Rookie of the Year. The Highlander freshmen led all America East freshmen and finished ninth overall in scoring, averaging 14.8ppg. In conference games, he was fifth overall in scoring with an average of 18.7ppg. He scored 20+ points on eight different occasions, including a season-high 31 in the Highlanders' upset victory over Vermont on February 8, the Catamounts only America East loss of the season. In addition to America East Rookie of the Year honors, he was named to the America East All-Rookie Team and was named Rookie of the Week eight times this season.
Sara Van Ornum, Cross Country/Track & Field | Women's Newcomer of the Year
This Female Newcomer of the Year is a 2x America East Conference Performer of the Week and top finisher at the Metropolitan and America East Cross Country Championships. She earned a bronze in the Distance Medley Relay at the America East Indoor Championships, earned All-East Honors and picked up an ECAC medal in the 4x800 relay. The freshman holds the school record in the Mile, 3000m, 5000m, 4x800 and Distance Medley.
