Alabama Athletics Celebrates Successes with Crimson Choice Awards

The Alabama Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s annual Crimson Choice Awards show was streamed live Monday night from Bryant-Denny Stadium’s Digital Media Center

Author:
University of Alabama sports information
Publish date:
Apr 25, 2022 10:09 PM EDT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama Athletics Department's annual Crimson Choice Awards, presented by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), was streamed live from Bryant-Denny Stadium’s Digital Media Center Monday night. Roger Hoover and Kennedy Chase served as the celebration’s hosts for the second year in a row and Director of Athletics Greg Byrne opened the proceeding with some remarks.

SAAC President Gabe Serrano (track and field) along with SAAC Executive Committee members Derek Maas (swimming and diving) and Alexa Cruz (track and field) were also on hand to present this year’s honors.

The awards culminated with the announcement of the Paul W. Bryant Award winners – NCAA Champion, Honda Award Winner, All-American and Academic All-American Mercy Chelangat and All-American, Academic All-American, SEC Champion and SEC record holder Derek Maas.

The Paul W. Bryant Student-Athlete Award, created by the Tuscaloosa County Chapter of The University of Alabama Alumni Association in 1985, is presented annually to UA's top male and female student-athlete. The finalists for this year's Bryant Award were: Will Anderson Jr. (football), Hannah Barber (w. basketball), Bobby Colantonio Jr. (m. track and field), Owen Diodati (baseball), Keon Ellis (m. basketball), Montana Fouts (softball), Lexi Graber (gymnastics), Darcy Jennings (rowing), Patrick Kaukovalta (m. tennis), Polly Mack (w. golf), Anne Marie Hiser (w. tennis), Thomas Ponder (m. golf), Kat Rogers (soccer), Morgan Scott (w. swimming and diving) and Katie Shook (volleyball).

Women's golf and men's tennis were honored as the teams with the highest grade point averages. Women's golf earned the honor with a 3.76 team GPA while men's tennis earned the distinction with a 3.74.

The Athletics Department's outreach efforts were also recognized during the event. Swimming and diving were the men's and women’s squads with the most community outreach hours.

The Unsung Hero Award lauded Alabama student-athletes for making a substantive yet often under-recognized contribution to their team's success in ways that can be difficult to measure. This year's class was comprised of Eli Buckley (m. track and field), Carolina Caminoli (w. golf), Ansley Chershire (w. tennis), Nathan Cooper (m. track and field), KJ Haney (softball), Jack Hawes (cross country), Delaney Heard (m. basketball), Leah Kunde (soccer), Juan Martin (m. tennis), Sania Mitchell (gymnastics), Malia Moore (volleyball), Christal Mosley (w. track and field), Cherisse Murray (w. track and field), Thomas Ponder (m. golf), Will Portera (baseball), Jami Reed (w. cross country), Jada Rice (w. basketball), Kristen Rupinen (rowing), Courtney Russo (w. swimming and diving), Trey Sheils (m. swimming and diving) and Daniel Wright (football).

Other Crimson Choice Awards announced Monday night included:

Team of the Year – Football & Women’s Swimming and Diving
Coach of the Year – Margo Geer (w. swimming and diving) & Nick Saban (football)
Rookie of the Year – Hillary Cheruiyot (m. track and field/cross country) & Avery Wiseman (w. swimming and diving)
Comeback Athlete of the Year – Tyler Sesvold (m. swimming and diving)
A-Club Athlete of the Year – Montana Fouts (softball) & Bryce Young (football)