Maestre and Matunis Named PSAC Sportsmanship Award Recipients
Lock Haven, Pa. – California’s
Carla Maestre and Kutztown’s
Tyler Matunis have been named the PSAC Sportsmanship Award recipients, as selected by members of the PSAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Playing in her first PSAC Women’s Golf Championship as a freshman, Maestre finished her first round with a strong score. After turning in her signed scorecard and exiting the scoring table, she asked her coach which score she received on hole seven – a hole that her coach had been with her on. Coach responded that she had a five. Maestre stated that the girl she was playing with and who recorded her score had her down for a six and she changed her scorecard and signed off on it. Maestre went to the scoring table and stated that she had written the wrong score down and needed to disqualify herself. Based on the scores of the team, Maestre’s disqualified score ultimately cost the team the conference championship. Had her score counted, California would have won the league title. In addition, the disqualification eliminated her from individual competition and her score could only be counted towards the team score the next day.
During the PSAC Indoor Track and Field Championships while competing in the men's heptathlon, Matunis fouled all three of his attempts at the long jump. As a result of the amount of points he lost, Matunis knew he was no longer in the running to place in the top eight competitors. During the 1,000m run, the final event of the heptathlon, Matunis powered ahead of the pack for the first four or five laps to act as a ‘rabbit’ for his opponent in second place,
Austin Strine from Shippensburg. When the bell rang indicating the last lap of the race, Matunis moved into the second lane of the track, waving and cheering on Strine to pass him and finish first. Strine finished second overall in the heptathlon with 4871 points.
The PSAC Sportsmanship Award, now in its sixth year, is given annually to one male and one female student-athlete or team that best exemplifies the spirit of sportsmanship and who has demonstrated the values of respect and integrity through a specific action ideally directed toward an opponent.
A nominee must also have represented his/her institution in a positive way during competition and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of competition by fostering a good public image. At the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year, the PSAC Sportsmanship Award was implemented by the PSAC SAAC. Nominations may be submitted by any PSAC school personnel, including administrators, coaches and student-athletes. Nominations are voted on by members of PSAC SAAC.
The PSAC Sportsmanship Awards mirror the NCAA Sportsmanship Awards. The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct selects one male and one female student-athlete or team from each Division (I, II, III). The NCAA divisional winners will be released in late July.
Other nominees for the 2013-14 PSAC Sportsmanship Awards are listed below.
Justin Grant, Bloomsburg
Lauren Szoszorek, Clarion
Edinboro Wrestling Team
Frances McNally, Kutztown