The Hobart College Athletic Department and the Statesmen Athletic Association (SAA) honored the top student-athletes of 2015-16 at the annual Block H Awards Dinner this evening. Senior hockey forward Mac Olson was presented with the Francis L. "Babe" Kraus '24 Memorial Award as Hobart's most outstanding athlete. The William C. Stiles '43 Award for leadership, determination and character was given to senior lacrosse midfielder Cooper Stefaniak.
 
The Hanna Award for excellence in citizenship, scholarship, leadership and teamwork went to hockey senior Ben Gamache. Fourteen Statesmen were presented with Arnold Scholar-Athlete Awards. The William J. Napier Memorial Award, which recognizes loyalty and service to the College was given to soccer senior Tyler Serafine and football senior Parker Thelander. The Abe Solomon Memorial Award was presented to basketball first-year Jamal Lucas as Hobart's Rookie of the Year.
 
An AHCA first team All-American, Olson played in all 28 games this season. He was named a finalist for the Sid Watson Award (NCAA Division III Player of the Year), selected the ECAC West Player of the Year and earned All-ECAC West first team honors. Olson ranked second on the team matching a career-high with 27 points. He registered 13 goals and matched his career-high dishing out 14 assists.
 
Olson played in 103 career games, recording 45 goals and 40 assists for 95 points. Olson served as team captain as a senior and alternate captain as a junior. He garnered All-ECAC West second team honors as a sophomore and all-rookie honors as a first year. Olson was voted the 2012-13 ECAC West Rookie of the Year. He earned ECAC West All-Academic honors for three years in a row. Just after the season, he signed with the ECHL's Evansville Icemen, playing in six games and scoring one goal.
 
A two-time captain, Stefaniak has started all 13 games so far this season. He has posted 12 points on nine goals and three assists. Stefaniak ranks second on the team with 35 ground balls and has added four caused turnovers. He registered the fourth hat trick of his career against then No. 19 Cornell and scooped up a season-high six ground balls in a 12-9 win over Siena.
 
Stefaniak has played in 43 career games, posting 34 goals and 12 assists for 46 points. He has added 98 career ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
 
The 2015-16 ECAC West Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Gamache, was give the Hanna Award which is presented to a senior whose career as a Hobart student-athlete has been exception and marked by dedication to the community, exceptional academic achievement, trustworthy leadership and dependability as a teammate. Gamache played in 23 games. He led Hobart with a career-high 19 assists and ranked third on the team with a career-high 26 points. He garnered All-ECAC West honorable mention and finished the year ranked 16th in the nation averaging 0.83 assists per game. Gamache served as a captain as a senior and an alternate captain as a junior. He has earned ECAC West All-Academic accolades for the last three years in a row.
 
Gamache played in 101 career games, recording 32 goals and 51 assists for 83 points. He posted nine career game-winning goals. Gamache also garnered ECAC West honorable mention as a sophomore.
 
The Bob Arnold Statesmen Scholar-Athlete Award, which recognizes the true spirit of the Statesmen student-athletes by honoring Hobart men in their sophomore and junior years for their contributions to the community, for a high level of academic achievement and for selfless dedication as a member of a Hobart varsity team. This award was presented to sophomores Joseph Escamilla of the soccer team, Alex Helm of the football team, D. Bennett Moore of the lacrosse team, Luke Ruddy of the basketball team, Frank Oplinger of the hockey team, Harry Nichols of the tennis team, and Harrison Luce of the rowing team as well as juniors Thomas Campion of the basketball team, Zach Grattan of the basketball team, Sean Cunningham of the football and lacrosse teams, Carl Belizario of the hockey team, Michael Russo of the hockey team, D. Griffin Marsh of the rowing team, and Austin Letorney of the rowing team.
 
A captain and All-Liberty League second team selection at goalie, Serafine was one of two soccer Statesmen to start all 18 games this fall. He posted a 13-3-2 record, registered a 0.60 goals against average and a .796 save percentage. His goals against average matched his 2013 mark for first on the Hobart single season list and ranked second in the Liberty League. Serafine tallied eight shutouts, which ranks fifth on the Statesmen list for shutouts in a season.
 
Serafine's career goals against average of 0.64 is the best in Hobart soccer history and his save percentage of .848 ranks fifth on the Hobart list. His 14 shutouts are tied for fourth on the program list for career shutouts. Serafine played in 42 career matches, allowing 22 goals, making 123 saves and logging a 23-5-4 record. He also earned All-Liberty League second team honors as a junior.
 
Thelander's dedication to Hobart football and his teammates earned him the honor of being named a captain this year. His consistent hard work has made him an asset to Hobart football and the greater campus community. Thelander played in five games this fall. Against then No. 24 Ithaca, he came in at quarterback and had seven completions for 61 yards. In 2014, he garnered All-Liberty League second team honors as a punter, averaging 34.2 yards per punt, which ranked sixth in the Liberty League. More than a quarter of his punts were fair caught and more than a third pinned the opponent inside its own 20. Thelander played in 23 career games.
 
The ECAC Upstate Rookie of the Year, Liberty League All-Rookie team selection and Liberty League honorable mention pick, Lucas started 24 of Hobart's 25 games. He led the Statesmen in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks. Lucas finished the season ranked third in the Liberty League in steals, fourth in scoring, fourth in free throw percentage, sixth in rebounding and ninth in blocked shots. He averaged 16.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.7 blocked shots per game while shooting 40.1 percent from the floor, 31.6 percent from three-point range and 78.4 percent at the free throw line. Lucas recorded 417 total points, three shy of the Hobart record for a first-year.
 
The Coach Bill Maxwell Memorial Award which recognizes individuals whose sportsmanship, courage, teamwork and service to the campus community are above and beyond the call of duty was given to football senior Jacob Stanley and rowing senior August Wherry.
 
Stanley has displayed an exemplary commitment to the HWS community during his four years as a member of the Hobart football team. He has been a key contributor on and off the field. Stanley was instrumental in Hobart football's Tackles and Touchdowns for Happiness House fundraiser, planning school visits and helping raise funding from local businesses. He also spoke at West Street Elementary this past December, sharing the message of having a positive attitude through adversity.
 
A captain, Stanley started the first four games of the season at inside linebacker and led the team in tackles for loss and sacks and was second in tackles before suffering a career-ending knee injury at Merchant Marine. As a junior, he earned second team All-Liberty League honors at linebacker and D3football.com All-East third team recognition for special teams play. Stanley appeared in 32 career games, posting 132 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, seven pass breakups, four forced fumbles and two blocked punts.
 
Wherry has been a cornerstone of exemplary performance in his four-year rowing career. He values integrity and accountability and has enhanced those key attributes in the Statesmen rowing program each year. Wherry has spent all four years in Hobart's top boat. He's a three-time member of the Liberty League Crew of the Year and garnered All-Liberty League honors in 2014. Wherry has won five Liberty League Championship races and is a two-time New York State champion in his Statesmen career. He was a member of the varsity eight that won Hobart's first goal medal at the ECAC NIRC in 2013-14.
 
Wherry also represented the U.S. as a member of the Under 23 National Team, finishing seventh in the world with teammate Rob McNamara '15. He is also a student board member for the Statesmen Athletic Association. Wherry earned a spot on the Dean's List in each of the last two semesters.
 
The Joseph N. Abraham Memorial Training Award was presented to football senior Conner Hartigan for participating throughout the season while persevering through injury. A captain and two-year starter, Hartigan is a two-time All-Liberty League second team selection. This season he tied for fifth in the Liberty League in rushing yards (574), averaged 3.8 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns.
 
In 40 career games, Hartigan had 401 carries for 1,994 yards and 16 touchdowns. His 4.97 yards per carry average ranks ninth on Hobart's all-time list.
 
Senior Adam Hardy was presented with the Joe Abraham Prize for outstanding service to the athletic programs at Hobart. Hardy has dedicated his time and energy to helping the lacrosse coaching staff and team in any way he could. He started at Hobart as a student-athlete working through injury, then became a student aid with sports medicine, a manager for the team and now serves as a student assistant with the coaching staff. He has gone above and beyond to assist and support the Statesmen during his time on campus.
  
Sponsored by the SAA—the team behind Hobart's teams—the department's coaching staff also presented individual awards in each of the College's 11 varsity sports, more than 50 honors in all.