Haverhill, MA (May 19, 2022) – On Monday May 9th the Northern Essex Community College Athletic Department gathered to honor the accomplishments of the 2021-22 academic year. The banquet was the first in person banquet for the department since the 2018-19 academic year. Prior to the awards being handed out the department highlighted three teams that won MCCAC Championships (volleyball, men's basketball, and baseball), national qualifiers, record breaking win streaks and several individual performances by students-athletes throughout the year.
24 student-athletes were recognized for achieving All-Region honors in the sports of baseball, basketball, volleyball, and soccer, while 39 were across all sports in the department recognized for their academic achievements.
Prior to handing out the departments four major awards, NECC Athletic Director Dan Blair presented a special recognition award to student Jose Rodriguez (Lawrence) who currently serves as the Sports Editor and Editor in Chief of the schools newspaper, The Observer. Throughout the year, Rodriguez has provided exceptional coverage of the department and for game day operations assistance at home athletic events throughout the year.
The first of the four major awards presented was the Faculty/Staff Recognition Award which is annually presented to a member of the college who works outside of the athletic program for their support. The 2021-22 award was presented to Marissa Elliott who serves as chair of the college's COVID Task Force. With the help of Elliott and the task force, the Knights athletic program was the lone community college in Massachusetts to run its athletics program during the 2020-21 academic year and one of just two NJCAA programs in New England to compete during the peak of the pandemic. Northern Essex teams were able to safely and successfully compete throughout the northeast during the year in preparation for the success of many sports in the current year.
The Unsung Hero Award is awarded to one student-athlete annually who has made significant contributions to his/her team and/or within the campus community whose contributions to his/her team and within the campus community whose contributions are noticed more than just statistically in their respective teams' results. The award was presented to Daniel Almarante (Lawrence) of the men's basketball team. Almarante was a three-year member of the program, who played a key role in the turnaround of the team, from 5-20 in 2019-20 and stayed the course through last years abbreviated COVID season to being the team leader as the team went 20-9 this past season, capturing a state championship and finishing as regional finalists. In addition to leading the basketball program, he also served as a student supervisor in the college Fitness Center.
The Athlete of the Year awards are presented to one male and one female student-athlete who has performed at a high level throughout the course of their seasons while maintaining satisfactory academic progress at the college.
The female award was presented to Dejalee Torres (Lawrence) of the volleyball team. Torres helped lead the volleyball program to an unbeaten regular season in Region 21 play, while becoming the first women's volleyball student-athlete in school history to be recognized as an NJCAA All-American as she was named to the Honorable Mention team along with being the Region 21 Player of the Year. On the offensive side of the net she led the region in both kills and kills per set. On the defensive side of the she was among the regional leaders in digs.
The male award was presented to Todd Tringale (Saugus) of the baseball program. Tringale has been the ace of a dominant pitching staff for the Knights, where he earned First Team All-Region honors. Heading into the NJCAA World Series he sports a 9-0 record on the mound and is second in the nation with a 0.78 ERA, while striking out 14.28 batters/9 innings, good for fifth and his 91 total strikeouts rank seventh over a total of 57 1/3 inning pitched on the season.
Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors thirteen varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, softball, men's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field and Esports. For more information on Northern Essex Community College Athletics please visit the official website of Northern Essex Athletics (www.neccknights.com).