WEST POINT – The Army Athletic Association handed out its first Black Knight Awards on Wednesday night at Eisenhower Hall, in an award-show format similar to the ESPY Awards. The event was the first of its kind at West Point and included winners for Mr. and Ms. Black Knight, Team of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year among several others.
Rich DeMarco, the voice of Army Athletics and assistant athletic director for multimedia and broadcasting, emceed the event and guided an audience of more than 700 people through the 90-minute affair. The night began with a courtyard barbeque and was followed by the awards ceremony.
Director of Athletics, Kevin Anderson, opened the night by handing out commemorative athletic director’s coins to a sizeable group of all-Americans, scholar-athletes and conference champions. Other presenters included Bob Beretta, senior associate athletic director for athletic communications, relationships and branding; Col. Jon Smidt, chief of staff; Kim Kawamoto, senior woman administrator; Nate Pine, assistant athletic director for strategic planning and Doug Fillis, assistant athletic director for development and revenue generation.
Each nominee was highlighted through a video presentation leading into each award and each performance award included a men’s and women’s category.
Highlights of the night included rifle and women’s tennis earning Team of the Year plaudits and Chris Abalo (rifle) and Cara Enright (women’s basketball) being named Mr. and Ms. Black Knight, respectively. See below for a complete list of winners.
Three special awards were distributed as well, including the Community Service Award, Army “A” Club Lifetime Achievement and Maggie Dixon Inspiration awards.
Senior Doug Jones of the men’s soccer team was rewarded for his perpetual commitment to community service while standing as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Meanwhile, the Army “A” Club Lifetime Achievement Award went to long-time Army supporters Harold and Louis Igoe.
The Maggie Dixon Inspiration Award, bearing the name of the late Army women’s basketball coach, was given to Zach McLain, a junior diver. McLain came back from broken vertebrae last fall, from which doctors thought that he would lose the ability to walk, to compete on the swimming and diving team in 2007-08.
Along with traditional performance awards, the night honored the department’s athletic interns for their hard work and dedication throughout the season.
Black Knight Award Winners
Team of the Year
Men – Rifle
Women – Tennis
Coaching Staff of the Year
Men – Hockey and Wrestling (tie)
Women – Volleyball
Mr. Black Knight (Firstie/Senior)
Chris Abalo (Rifle)
Ms. Black Knight (Firstie/Senior)
Cara Enright (Basketball)
Cow of the Year (Junior)
Men – Josh Kassel (Hockey)
Women – Rachael Breinling (Volleyball)
Yearling of the Year (Sophomore)
Men – Matt Kyler (Wrestling)
Women – Maureen Bannon (Volleyball)
Rookie of the Year
Men – Stephen Scherer (Rifle)
Women – Anne Houghton (Tennis)
Play of the Year
Men - Kevin Dunn “Hail Mary” pass to Mike Wright vs. Tulane (Football)
Women – Megan Evans go-ahead basket vs. Navy (Basketball)
Performance of the Year
Men – Jarell Brown at Navy (Basketball)
Women – Ebony Thomas at Patriot League Outdoor Championships (Track and Field)
Community Service Award
Doug Jones (Men’s Soccer)
Maggie Dixon Inspiration Award
Zach McLain (Swimming and Diving)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Harold and Lois Igoe
