The tenth annual Owlspys were held and presented by the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) in the Florida Atlantic University Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium on April 15th, 2024 to acknowledge the best of FAU athletics throughout the 2023-2024 year.
There were a total of 14 awards given out last night including the first ever New to the Nest and Al-Shaair S.O.A.R. (Students Overcoming Adversity and Rising) awards. The New to the Nest Award is an achievement given out to new student-athletes that joined FAU before the school year began.
The Al-Shaair S.O.A.R. Award is given to a student-athlete to acknowledge them for their triumph through adversity. FAU football legend and current Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair announced the winner of this award.
During Al-Shaair’s time at FAU, he recorded 397 tackles and six sacks. In his senior year, he was the 2018 C-USA Preseason first team Athlon selection and ranked as the country’s 79th best player.
The first ever tie occurred in Owlspys history with the Female Outstanding Spirit Award. The Picture Perfect Award was decided at the Owlspys with a first time live vote and the sports photo with the loudest reaction won the award.
Below are the 2024 Owlspys award winners.
Male All-Freshman Team: Trevor Kuhn (Swimming & Diving), Luke Gaudet (Cross Country), Zeke Moore (Football), Mark Havlicek (Tennis), David Alvarez (Baseball), Oliver Moller-Jensen (Soccer), and Matthew Davis (Cheer).
Female All-Freshman Team: Bry Bellile (Swimming & Diving), Jessica Hatch (Cross Country), Anna Rovirosa (Track & Field), Olivia Bori (Soccer), Panna Bartha (Tennis), Kiley Channel (Soccer), Charlotte Perkins (Golf), Isabelle Northam (Volleyball), Sloan Woolwine (Beach Volleyball), and Charlotte Dill (Dance).
Staff Member of the Year Award: Jordan Pitre (SASC).
Male Community W.I.N.G. (Working For Impact & Noble Giving) Award: C.J. Williams (Baseball).
Williams has completed 66 hours of community service with most of his time as a volunteer baseball coach.
Female Community W.I.N.G. Award: Millie Mae Matthews (Tennis).
Matthews has completed 96 hours of community service and is a member of the Community Service Club. She donates school supplies with the Student Union, serving autism, and donating to the Coat Drive.
Team Community W.I.N.G. Award: Softball.
Softball has completed a total of 807 community service hours. They were involved in 14 unique community service projects.
Male Outstanding Spirit Award: Bennett Balogh (Swimming & Diving). B
alogh attended a total of 13 separate events in support of his fellow Owls.
Female Outstanding Spirit Award: Logan Mignerey and Alivia Orvieto (Beach Volleyball).
Each attended 18 different student athlete athletic events.
Male Scholar Owl Award: Alejandro Ralat Troncoso (Basketball).
He earned his bachelor’s in accounting last spring and is currently pursuing his MBA in Business Administration, Troncoso maintained above a 3.0 GPA. every semester and made the dean’s list multiple times. Recipient of this year’s honor roll at the Conference-USA Academic Medal. Troncoso currently has a 4.0 GPA.
Female Scholar Owl Award: Marketa Svozilova (Beach Volleyball).
Svozilova has earned a 3.98 GPA as a psychology major. She has appeared on the President’s List four times and the Dean’s list five times. Svozilova is a three time recipient of the Conference-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal.
Individual Performance of the Year: Johnell Davis (Men’s Basketball).
Davis won this award based on his performance on December 23rd, 2023 against the Arizona University Wildcats. Davis scored a season high 35 points to help the Owls win 96-95 in double overtime. This performance earned Davis the AP Player of the Week, FAU Player of the Week, and the Oscar Robertson Player of the Week.
Team Performance of the Year: Men’s Basketball.
Earned a 25-9 record to get into the 2024 NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, a first in men’s basketball program history.
New to the Nest Award: Jackson Ambush (Football).
Ambush transferred to FAU this school year and totalled 86 tackles, one sack, and one interception.
Male Student-Athlete of the Year: Federico Maranges (Football).
Maranges is the starting center and team captain for the football team. Maranges has served as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president for three consecutive years.
Female Student-Athlete of the Year: Courtney Moon (Beach Volleyball).
Moon has helped lead the Owls to two conference championships and back to back NCAA Tournament appearances. Moon is second all time for the Owls in season wins as a pair with 21 wins during the 2022 season. She also ranks second all time for the Owls in winning percentage for a pair, with Svozilova, winning 77% of their matches. Academically, Moon is a three time Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree and a two time Conference-USA Commissioner’s Award Medal recipient.
Picture Perfect Award: Jarrett Jerrels (Football)
Coach of the Year: Steve Grotowski (Beach Volleyball).
Grotowski led the Sandy Owls to a record of 19-14 and their second conference championship. He helped lead the Sandy Owls to another NCAA Tournament this season marking the first time the team has won a conference championship and advanced to the tournament in the same season.
Male Athlete of the Year: Johnell Davis (Basketball).
Davis is winning this award for the second year in a row. Davis averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.4 steals per game on 48% field goal percentage. Davis earned the AAC Preseason Player of the Year and AAC First-Team All-Conference. Davis is also the fifth player in program history to surpass 1000 career points and 500 rebounds.
Female Athlete of the Year: Gabby Sacco (Softball).
Sacco was the 2023 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, made the 2023 All-Conference First Team, and made the 2023 NFCA All-South Region.
Al-Shaair S.O.A.R. Award: Courtney Lamas-Lanier (Football).
Lamas-Lanier dealt with the death of his mother and losing several other loved ones through gun violence. During his senior year of highschool, Lamas-Lanier got into an altercation and was shot. He was rushed to the hospital and flatlined twice because of his injuries. The bullet caused Lamas-Lanier to get an infection and he stayed in the hospital for two months. After playing a couple of seasons with a metal filter inside of his veins to prevent blood clotting, he walked onto the FAU football team and has become a key member of the football team.
Owl Cup: Beach Volleyball.
This is Beach Volleyball’s fourth ever Owl Cup and their third in the last four years.
Morgan Larkins is a Staff Writer for the University Press. Email him at [email protected] DM him on Instagram or Twitter @mj_larkins for more information regarding this or other stories.
