Providence College Hosts 64th Annual All-Sports Gala

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College Athletics Department hosted its 64th Annual All-Sports Gala on Monday, April 28. The department also recognized this year's inductees to the Providence College "Letter-Winner's Society" and held a reception to honor graduating seniors and graduate students.

Senior Ryan Bell (Smithtown, N.Y.), a member of the men's lacrosse program, was named Male Athlete of the Year for Team Sports. Bell, an All-American and 2024 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, is in the midst of another stellar season. He has led the Friars to their third-consecutive appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament, which begins this week in Denver, Colo. Bell is the program's all-time leading scorer and also holds records for single-season points and single-season assists.

Graduate student Pat Thygesen (Brisbane, Australia), of the men's cross country and track programs, was named Male Athlete of the Year for Individual Sports. An All-BIG EAST performer during his career in addition to claiming the BIG EAST individual title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Thygesen has been instrumental in the Friars' ongoing success.

On the women's side, senior forward Reichen Kirchmair (Oakville, Ontario) of the women's ice hockey program was recognized as Female Athlete of the Year for Team Sports. She was tabbed 2024-25 Hockey East Player of the Year and delivered one of the most dominant offensive seasons in program history enroute to claiming the league's scoring title. Kirchmair was the only unanimous selection to the Hockey East First Team All-Stars.

Senior Kimberley May (Auckland, New Zealand), who is in the midst of a stellar cross country and track career at Providence, claimed Female Athlete of the Year for Individual Sports for a second-straight year. May is a seven-time All-American with the Friars and guided the 2024 women's cross country team back to the podium at the NCAA Championship (third place), crossing the line in 10^th place as the Friars' top individual finisher. During the indoor track season, she helped the Friars win the distance medley relay in a conference-record time of 10:54.78. Most recently, May and her teammates claimed victory in the 4 x 1,500 Championship of America at Penn Relays on April 26.

Graduate student Shannon Flockhart (Longstanton, England) of the women's cross country and track programs was the winner of the Paul Connolly Award for the second-consecutive year. The award honors the female senior or graduate student-athlete who has distinguished herself among her peers through sportsmanship, courage and honor.

Graduate student Chase Yoder (Fairview, Texas) of the men's ice hockey team was the recipient of the Mal Brown Award for the second-consecutive year. The Mal Brown Award is given annually to the male senior or graduate student-athlete whose career of intercollegiate competition portrayed sportsmanship, courage and honor.

The Sine Qua Non Awards, given annually to the male and female senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves among their peers without receiving proper recognition, were presented to senior Nick Poisson (Vancouver, British Columbia) of the men's ice hockey team and senior Emily Archibald (Kennebunk, Maine) of the women's basketball team.

Senior women's basketball player Kylee Sheppard (Cincinnati, Ohio) was the recipient of the Jane Thompson Award, which is presented to the male or female senior student-athlete who personifies all that is good about being a student-athlete at Providence College and exhibits selflessness, dedication, loyalty, courage and perseverance.

The eight members of the 2024 women's cross country team that claimed a third-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships were honored as recipients of the Rev. Robert A. Morris, O.P. '46 Memorial Award. The award is given annually to a student-athlete(s) who had a profound impact on Providence College during their career, as selected by the Athletic Director and the senior administrative staff. The team that represented Providence College at the NCAA Championship was comprised of Kimberley May (Auckland, New Zealand), Alex Millard (Kent, England), Shannon Flockhart (Longstanton, England), Laura Mooney (Cappincur, Ireland), Anna Gardiner (Downpatrick, Northern Ireland), Níamh O'Mahony (Kerry, Ireland), Cara Laverty (Derry, Ireland) and Emily Bush (Saratoga Springs, N.Y).

Senior women's basketball player Audrey Koch (Iowa City, Iowa), senior women's ice hockey player Hannah Johnson (Readfield, Maine) and senior Alex Beauchene (Barkhamsted, Conn.) of the men's swimming & diving program were recognized as the Scholar-Athlete Award winners.

Lastly, women's tennis player Elisa Davalos (Quito, Ecuador) was the recipient of the inaugural "Who's Your Jackie?" Award. The recipient is selected by Athletic Director Steve Napolillo and is recognized as a member of our Friartown community that inspires others around them.

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Bell played all four years for the Friars, appearing in 58 games and logging 57 starts. Throughout his career he has recorded 231 points on 66 goals and 165 assists. This season, he has tallied a team-high 61 points with 15 goals and 46 assists. He is the only player in program history to eclipse the 200-point milestone as the Friars' all-time leading scorer. He also holds program records for single-season assists (46), career assists (165) and single-season points (66). He was named the 2024 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and earned All-America Honorable Mention honors. He also is a two-time Tewaaraton Watch List nominee.

Thygesen, a four-year member of the Providence cross country and track programs, has been instrumental to the Friars' success. Thygesen closed out the 2024 outdoor season by winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships and qualifying for the NCAA First Round. In cross country this year, the graduate student finished second at the Friar Invitational and earned All-BIG EAST honors with a strong showing at the conference championship. During the indoor season, he placed third in the 3,000 meters and was part of the distance medley relay team that also finished third. Thygesen is a quantitative economics and mathematics double major.

Kirchmair, who was named the 2024-25 Hockey East Player of the Year, delivered one of the most dominant offensive seasons in program history. Kirchmair became just the second Friar to earn the Cammi Granato Award and was the lone unanimous selection to the Hockey East First Team All-Stars. Kirchmair captured the Hockey East scoring title with 30 points on 15 goals and 15 assists in league play and became the first Friar since 2004-05 to lead all conference players in overall scoring with 37 points on 19 goals and 18 assists. Her 15 goals tied for the league lead; a feat achieved by only two other Friars in the Hockey East era. The junior forward recorded a team-best 10 multi-point games, a +20 plus/minus rating, four game-winning goals and a career-first hat trick against Boston College on Jan. 24. She was also named Hockey East Player of the Week three times and later recognized as the New England Hockey Writers Player of the Year.

May is one of the most decorated runners in Providence College cross country and track history. As a seven-time All-American, May will look to increase that number at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championship in June. In the 2024 cross country season, May led the Friars to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship, placing 10th individually to earn All-America honors. During the 2024-25 indoor season, she set a program record in the 3,000 meters, a time that ranks eighth in NCAA history (8:44.73). She went on to place third in the 3,000 meters at the BIG EAST Indoor Championship. She also helped the Friars win the distance medley relay in a conference-record time of 10:54.78. She later earned First Team All-America honors with a third-place finish in the distance medley relay and a sixth-place finish in the 3,000 meters at the 2024-25 NCAA Indoor Championships. Most recently, May and her teammates claimed victory in the 4 x 1,500 Championship of America at Penn Relays on April 26. She also was part of the DMR team that finished second at Penn Relays.

Flockhart, a five-year member of the Providence cross country and track programs, is an eight-time All-American. In the 2024 cross country season, Flockhart earned All-America honors with a 24th-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships, helping the Friars to a third-place team finish. During the 2024-25 indoor season, she recorded the ninth-fastest 3,000-meter time (8:45.67) in NCAA history. At the 2024-25 BIG EAST Indoor Championships, she won the mile, earned All-BIG EAST honors and helped set a conference record in the distance medley relay (10:54.78). She later earned Second Team All-America honors in the 3,000 meters and First Team All-America recognition in the distance medley relay with a third-place finish at the 2024-25 NCAA Indoor Championships. Most recently, Flockhart and her teammates claimed victory in the 4 x 1,500 Championship of America at Penn Relays on April 26. She also was part of the DMR team that finished second at Penn Relays.

Yoder, a co-captain of the men's ice hockey team in 2024-25, guided the Friars to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. He finished his fifth season at Providence with five goals and five assists for 10 points and a +5 rating. Yoder became the program's all-time leader in games played this season, finishing his career with 172 games. He totaled 32 goals and 30 assists for 62 points over that span with five game-winning goals and five shorthanded goals. Yoder is now a back-to-back recipient of the Mal Brown Award.

Poisson, a co-captain of the men's ice hockey team in 2024-25, paced the Friars to the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. He finished the season seventh on the team in scoring with 16 points on eight goals and eight assists. Poisson's top performance came on Feb. 22, where he registered his second-career hat trick in a 4-2 comeback victory over UMass Lowell. He ranks second all-time in games played at Providence with 170 and became the 55^th member of the program to reach the 100-point milestone. Poisson finished his career as a Friar with 42 goals and 67 assists for 109 points with a +29 rating.

Archibald, who was a nominee for the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award, played all 32 games for the women's basketball team this season. She averaged 3.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Her 36 steals, overall, led the team. Throughout her career, Archibald has been a consistent and impactful presence on both ends of the court. She brought all the intangible qualities to the court that don't show up on the stat sheet, earning the respect of her teammates and coaching staff through her work ethic, team-first mentality and relentless effort each day – on and off the court. Archibald led by example and provided a steady presence in the locker room.

Sheppard's career has been defined by resilience and leadership. She completed just one full season for the Friars with her final three years all being cut short due to injuries that challenged her both physically and mentally. Sheppard made the difficult decision to medically retire from basketball during the 2024-25 campaign. This year, she played in just 17 games as a senior, averaging 4.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. For her career, she played 71 games and averaged 7.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game at the point guard position.

The women's cross country team completed a historic season with a third-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships, marking the program's seventh all-time podium and best finish since winning the national title in 2013. Ranked No. 11 entering the meet, the squad comprised of Kimberley May, Alex Millard, Shannon Flockhart, Laura Mooney, Anna Gardiner, Níamh O'Mahony, Cara Laverty and Emily Bush. It marked the Friars' 32nd NCAA appearance and fourth straight. May (10th), Millard (20th) and Flockhart (24th) earned All-America honors. Leading up to nationals, the Friars finished second at the BIG EAST Championship and won the NCAA Northeast Regional. May's finish marked her fifth career All-America nod and first in cross country. Flockhart claimed her sixth All-America honor, also her first in cross country, while Millard earned her first All-America distinction.

One-hundred and fourteen student-athletes were officially inducted into the "Letter-Winner's Society" during the 2024-25 sports calendar. The "Letter-Winner's Society" was established during the 2003-04 academic year. Student-athletes are inducted annually, using a specific criterion that has been developed for each sport by the head coaches and athletic department administrators.

VOLLEYBALL
Niah Tucker
Addy Frye
Sophia Adkins
Megan Weldon

MEN'S SOCCER
Kevin Castañeda
Aidan Davock
Pepe Lora
Israel Neto
Harry Scarborough
Gabriel Chavez
Steban Lopera
Diego Batista
Vasco Teixeira
Alec Lowe
Noah Smith

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Olivia Rodman
Tobi Whitmore
Alanna Coffie
Naiya McFarlane
Kristin Middaugh
Stephanie Schoeley
Ellie Thallman
Kacey Lawrence
Brooke Haarala

FIELD HOCKEY
Ally Kennedy
Caroline Guden
McKayla Lyons
Carly Van Benten
Caelie Patrick
Piper Cline
Johanna Mähner
Martu Torre Festa

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
MacKayla Scarlett
Audrey Shields

SOFTBALL
Alannah Hopkins
Valentina Iula

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Jabri Abdur-Rahim
Luke Fonts
Kieran O'Haire
Bensley Joseph
Wesley Cardet Jr.
Ryan Mela
Oswin Erhunmwunse

WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY
Millie Sirum
Sarah Davies
Dylan Berman
Cali Cerruti
Hannah Clarke
Josie Lang
Jessie Pellerin

MEN'S ICE HOCKEY
Zachary Borgiel
Cam Gendron
Carl Fish
Ryan O'Reilly
Logan Will
John Driscoll
Alexander Bales
Braiden Clark
Trevor Connelly
Aleksi Kivioja
Will Elger
Tomas Machu
John Mustard
Logan Sawyer

WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
Madelyn Harvey
Meghan MacLaren
Isabella Marcos
Ally Pfeiffer
Leah Renner
Kaelyn Talisse
Rylie Foley

MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
Will Ballard
Nick Maiers
Luke Ramans
Aaron Stinner
Preston Wooley

TENNIS
Elise Leik
Flora Eidson
Leena Kuittinen
Gabriella Plonowski
Allison Root

LACROSSE
Dan Donahue
Vincent Horton
Leo Sequenzia
Michael Spaziano
Charlie Smith
Sam Brazell
Randolph Campbell
Jack Cooper
Ben Dale
Stone Evans
Luke Fliss
Chris Jaskiewicz
Chris Matia
Patrick Mullin
Eddie Perry
Luke Schmitt
Jay Wilkerson

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY/
TRACK & FIELD
Cormac Dixon
Liam McCay
Nico Fanuele
Nick Cassarino
Thomas Breen
Thomas Hunt

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK & FIELD
Alex Millard
Emily Bush
Anna Gardiner
Keira Kelly
Maggie Kemper
Shea Podbelski
Chloe Higgins
Jenna Jacobs
Cate Parks
Ava Russell

- GO FRIARS! -

Providence College Athletics

Providence College Hosts 64th Annual All-Sports Gala

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