Celebrating Excellence: Hurricane Honors
Ace Malone typically has no difficulties moving pretty quickly.
But on this particular Sunday in April, the record-breaking sprinter was weighed down by an armful of trophies that made it a bit tougher than usual for him to navigate his way through the ballroom at the Donna E. Shalala Center on Miami’s Coral Gables campus.
Malone, a junior from Colorado, was a three-time honoree at this year’s Hurricanes Honors, the athletic department’s annual awards ceremony celebrating the best and brightest among Miami student-athletes.
And Malone certainly fits that description.
The sprinter was an ACC Top Six for Service Award winner, was recognized as the male Comeback Athlete of the Year after returning from injury to put together a string of dominant performances and earned Miami’s Ibis Award, the department’s highest honor, which is given annually to the student-athlete that most embodies success across athletics, academics, community service and overall engagement.
“I’m just really thankful for everybody here and I couldn’t do this all if I didn’t feel supported, but I feel really supported every day,” Malone said. “Trying to help everybody out and do as much community service as I can is super easy. They make it easy for you here. They give us a lot of opportunities to do service, but I did not expect to get these. When I heard my name, I was really happy.”
Malone wasn’t the only member of Miami’s track and field team honored for their efforts in competition and in the community.
The team as a whole was recognized as Miami’s Most Engaged Team, while sophomore sprinter Iyonna Codd and freshman thrower Tyson Schiele were both winners of the Rising Star Award.
Additionally, senior sprinter Robert Joseph was named the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee MVP, senior jumper Alyssa Perkins was named an ACC Top Six for Service Award winner, and junior thrower Tania Da Silva was named the Female Newcomer of the Year.
This year’s ceremony also featured a new award – the Courageous Cane Award – which led to one of the evening’s most heartwarming moments.
Basketball student-athlete Marcus Allen, who missed the majority of the season after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in December, earned that distinction and received a standing ovation from his fellow student-athletes, his family, and all of the coaches and staff in attendance.
It was part of yet another memorable evening for all of the Hurricanes who’ve given Miami fans plenty of reasons to cheer over the course of the last year.
“Being a student-athlete is not easy, so we’d like to give them a couple nights – this being the biggest one – where the spotlight shines on them and we get to tell them ‘thank you’ for going in the community, for being incredible in the classroom and for being engaged,” said Shirelle Jackson, Miami’s Executive Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development and Strategic Initiatives. “We want to keep motivating them and our energies feed off each other. … To have this end-of-the-year event where they’re celebrating each other’s successes, where they get an opportunity to dress up … I think it adds to their overall student-athlete experience and so, when we talk about a U family and we talk about celebrating them, this is the culmination of those things.”
Hurricane Honors Award Winners
Rising Star Award
Iyonna Codd, Women’s Track & Field
Tyson Schiele, Men’s Track & Field
Career Cane Award
Joe Borchers, Football
Owen Ruskavich, Football
SAAC MVP
Robert Joseph, Men’s Track & Field
Hurricane Leadership Academy Award
Adam Booker, Football
Most Improved Team, Engagement and Community Service
Men’s Basketball
Most Engaged Hurricane
Trinity Ferebee, Rowing
Nick Robert, Baseball
Most Engaged Team
Men’s and Women’s Track & Field
ACC Top Six for Service
Naylani Feliciano, Volleyball
Vinny Gonzalez, Football
Ace Malone, Men’s Track & Field
Alyssa Perkins, Women’s Track & Field
Sarah Sensenbrenner, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Kate Sommerstad, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Outstanding Community Service Student-Athlete Award
Mary Blinn, Rowing
Outstanding Community Service Team Award
Baseball
Courageous Cane Award
Marcus Allen, Men’s Basketball
Unsung Hero Award (Staff)
Houston Owens, Strength & Conditioning
Elijah Perales, Strength & Conditioning
Scholar Athlete of the Year
Sarah Sensenbrenner, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Jake Passmore, Men’s Diving
Comeback Performance of the Year
Men’s Basketball vs. NC State
Female Rookie of the Year
Teegan Melenhorst, Soccer
Male Rookie of the Year
Malachi Toney, Football
Female Newcomer of the Year
Tania Da Silva, Women’s Track & Field
Male Newcomer of the Year
Malik Reneau, Men’s Basketball
Comeback Student-Athlete of the Year
Savannah Barr, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Ace Malone, Men’s Track & Field
Best Female Student-Athlete (MVP)
Chiara Pellacani, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Best Male Student-Athlete (MVP)
Rueben Bain Jr., Football
