NEWARK, NJ – NJIT Athletics celebrated the accomplishments of its student-athletes across 19 varsity programs at the 2025–26 Athletic Awards Banquet, held Wednesday evening inside the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center.
The event began with a Red Carpet entrance at 3:30 p.m., followed by the formal program at 4:15 p.m. Remarks were delivered by NJIT President Dr. Teik C. Lim, Vice President and Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan, men's lacrosse senior student speaker Owen Mercado, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President Mikayla Balio.
Awards presented throughout 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, SAAC special awards, and Senior Awards.
NJIT's four major honors were awarded to Paul Veltrup (men's fencing) as Male Athlete of the Year, Alejandra Zuniga (women's basketball) as Female Athlete of the Year, Fabio Mastromarino (men's fencing) as Male Newcomer of the Year, and Jessie Fotheringham (women's cross country/track and field) as Female Newcomer of the Year.
Male Athlete of the Year
Paul Veltrup | Men's Fencing
Veltrup earned All-America honors with a top-five finish at the NCAA Championships, receiving Second Team All-America recognition from the USFCA and First Team All-Region accolades.
He placed fourth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional and was a key contributor to the MACFA Championship-winning men's épée squad, also capturing an individual bronze medal at the conference championships.
Veltrup finished the regular season with a 93–14 record (.869 winning percentage) and concluded his collegiate career with more than 100 victories, highlighted by his NCAA Championships appearance.
Female Athlete of the Year
Alejandra Zuniga | Women's Basketball
Zuniga is a four-time America East All-Conference selection, including first-team honors in each of the past two seasons. She was also named to the DI-AAA Women's Scholar-Athlete Team and earned College Sports Communicators All-District recognition three times.
She played a pivotal role in one of the most successful seasons in program history, helping NJIT advance to the second round of the WNIT for the first time, secure its first Division I postseason victory, and set a program record with 19 wins.
Zuniga concluded her career as NJIT's all-time leading scorer with 1,741 points and set a single-game program record with 39 points at UMBC on January 1.
Male Newcomer of the Year
Fabio Mastromarino | Men's Fencing
Mastromarino earned All-America honors with a top-seven finish at the NCAA Championships, receiving Second Team All-America recognition from the USFCA and First Team All-Region accolades.
He also captured a silver medal at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional and helped lead the men's épée squad to a conference championship.
In his first season at NJIT, Mastromarino compiled an impressive 57–6 record, posting a .905 winning percentage.
Female Newcomer of the Year
Jessie Fotheringham | Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Fotheringham earned America East Most Outstanding Rookie honors, along with First Team All-Conference and ECAC All-East recognition.
She placed third in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:58.55, becoming the first athlete in program history to qualify for the NCAA Women's Regional.
That performance secured her a provisional berth to the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East First Round, set for late May and hosted by the University of Kentucky. Her time ranks No. 12 in the East Region.
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