Video Highlights
USF's student-athletes and teams were lauded for outstanding achievements on the field, classroom and in the community at the Sixth Annual Hilltop Awards which were held Friday night at Presentation Theater.
 
The ESPY-inspired awards show was hosted by the dynamic senior Swedish duo of Mathias Wentjarvi (men's golf) and Raushan Gultekin (women's basketball) while Emily Laskin (women's golf) and Charles Minlend (men's basketball) handled the pre-show red carpet interviews.
 
The ceremony was attended by more than 300 student-athletes, administrators, faculty, staff and guests.
 
USF's men's and women's cross country / track & field programs combined to earn five major awards, followed by men's golf and women's basketball, which garnered two individual honors.
 
Cross country / track & field student-athletes swept the male and female athlete of the year awards, with senior Alex Short taking home the Bill Russell Award for the second consecutive year while Charlotte Taylor was named the recipient of the Anne Dolan Award honoring as USF's top female athlete.
 
Short, the West Coast Conference individual cross country champion and became USF's first male cross country All-American after taking 22nd at the NCAA National Championships, completing the 10K course in 30:12.1 on Oct. 28. He secured four top-10 finishes on the year and posted three of the fastest 8K times by a Don on the season. Short becomes the first two-time winner of the Bill Russell Award in school history.
 
Taylor, a native of Spalding, England, earned All-America status by virtue of her 10th place finish at the NCAA Championships, completing the 6K course with a time of 20:02.7. The senior competed in five meets of the season for the Dons and earned a top-10 individual finishes in each race she completed. Last weekend at the Payton Jordan Invitational held at Stanford, Taylor ran the fastest NCAA time in the 5,000 meters this season, clocking in at 15:29.07. She was also named to WCC All-Academic team with a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average. Taylor's selection marks the sixth time in the last seven years that a cross country/track athlete has been named the winner of the Anne Dolan Award.
 
Rachel Howard (women's basketball) and Max Alcorn (men's golf) were presented with the Four Pillars Awards, given annually to a male and female senior student-athlete who attains the highest standards of athletic performance, academic achievement, community service and leadership.
 
Howard earned first team All-WCC honors this season after leading the conference in scoring with an 18.1 average. The Berkeley-native tallied 20 points or better in 12 games on the year, including five games in a row and seven of eight between Jan. 14 and Feb. 9. She finished her career in 10th place in program history with 1,345 career points. She took home WCC Player of the Week honors each of the final two weeks of the season and was named Jesuit National Player of the Week by the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight on Feb. 21. A two-time WCC All-Academic selection, Howard has also been active in all of the team's community relations activities during her four years on the Hilltop.
 
A four-year letterwinner on the men's golf team, Alcorn played in 28 career events and improved his stroke average each year. A three-time WCC All-Academic selection with a 3.89 cumulative grade point average, he will begin his career in finance at JP Morgan Chase shortly following graduation.
 
Alison Lillie (women's golf) and Woravin Kumthonkittikul (men's tennis) were presented with the Dante Benedetti Awards which honor a male and female student-athlete who serve as an inspiration to their teammates through their unwavering sense of loyalty, self-sacrifice, unselfishness, positive attitude and hard work.
 
A leader not only on the course but in the classroom, Lillie played in all 10 of the Dons events this year and was a mainstay in the lineup for 38 tournaments during her four-year career. The captain of the Dons is a three-time WCC All-Academic selection and WGCA Academic Scholar.
 
Kumthonkittikul captained the Dons to a 5-4 record in the West Coast Conference, which included the first win in program history over perennial power Pepperdine. The native of Bangkok, Thailand carries a 3.88 grade point average and was named to the WCC's All-Academic team for the second year in a row. He has also been very active in the team's community relations projects, including Harper for Kids and Racquets Without Bars.
 
Marie Bouchard (women's cross country/track & field) along with Tim Widing (men's golf) and Charles Minlend (men's basketball) received the department's Newcomer of the Year Awards.
 
A native of Paimpol, France, Bouchard earned All-West Coast Conference honors in her first season on the Hilltop after helping the Dons to a sixth place finish at the NCAA Championships. She posted one top-10 and three top-20 finishes on the year, taking third at the WCC Championships. On the track, she posted the school's fifth all-time best mark in the 1500, good for an NCAA qualifying mark in the event.
 
Selected to WCC's All-Freshman team, Minlend appeared in all 33 games and made 17 consecutive starts to close the year. He finished as the team's third leading scorer with a 10.0 average and was the third-highest scoring freshmen in the WCC. His scoring average ranked tied for ninth on USF's single-season freshmen list and his 329 points on the year ranked seventh all-time among USF freshmen. He was named to the all-tournament team at the Diamond Head Classic, where he helped the Dons to the championship game after memorable wins over Utah and Illinois State.
 
Widing, a first team All-WCC selection who is currently ranked 83rd in the most recent Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings, recorded six top-10 finishes in nine events this season and posted a team-best 70.4 stroke average in his first season on the Hilltop. He was the team's top finisher in seven of nine events and his solo third at the West Coast Conference Championships in Provo marked his sixth top-10 and fourth top-5 finish of the season. He recorded three of the team's lowest rounds of the season, including a school-record, 9-under 63 in the final round of the Ping Cougar Classic on April 1. Widing was recently selected to compete in the NCAA Regionals, which get underway on Monday.
 
Claudia Price (women's basketball) was presented with Stephen Privett, S.J. Award, which is given annually to a USF student-athlete who has demonstrated commitment to a higher standard of learning and social justice for their outstanding work in the community. A senior from Mesquite, Texas, Price demonstrated an extraordinary commitment towards promoting social justice on the USF campus through an on-campus organization called VOICE. VOICE has been an on-campus group for more than a year and allows LGBTQ student-athletes to build camaraderie, share experiences and provide perspective to fellow student-athletes on the challenges of being marginalized.
 
The award honors Stephen A. Privett, S.J., whose 14-year tenure as USF's President was defined by his commitment to "whole person education" and social justice. Under his leadership, making the world a better place is at the core of every USF curriculum.
 
The Spirit of '51 Award, which is presented annually to a USF team that embodies success both on the field and in the classroom while creating leaders who are ready to make an impact of the world, was awarded to the women's cross country team. Under the direction of head coach Helen Lehman-Winters, the Dons raced to a sixth place finish at the NCAA Championships, marking the program's highest-ever finish at nationals. Senior Charlotte Taylor earned All-America status by virtue of her 10th place finish at nationals and the team also combined to post the second-highest GPA average in the country among all Division I women's programs. Three runners – Bouchard, Elena Burkard and Taylor – earned individual academic honors by the USTFCCCA.
 
The award is named in honor of USF's 1951 "undefeated, untied and uninvited" football team whose stand against racism is perhaps one of the greatest symbolic victories in the history of college athletics.
 
Women's cross country / track & field student-athlete Ashley Moffett (3.86; psychology) and Mathias Wentjarvi (3.92: economics) from the men's golf team were presented with the Charles Harney Awards, which are presented to the male and female student-athletes who compiled the highest cumulative grade point average during their USF careers.
 
The Athletic Performance Carpe Diem Awards were presented to Ali Schaffer (women's soccer) and Josh Smith (men's soccer) for their outstanding commitment to strength and conditioning and performance enhancement.
 
USF dance team member Nicole Capobianco was presented with the USF Spirit Award while Jasmine Butler was presented with the Student ATC Award.
 
In addition to the departmental awards, one individual from each team was presented with a Student-Athlete of the Year Award.  
2016-17 Hilltop Award Winners
 
Anne Dolan Female Student-Athlete of the Year
Charlotte Taylor (women's cross country / track & field)
 
Bill Russell Male Student-Athlete of the Year Award
Alex Short (men's cross country / track & field)
 
Four Pillars Awards
Rachel Howard (women's basketball)
Max Alcorn (men's golf)
 
Dante Benedetti Awards
Alison Lillie (women's golf)
Woravin Kumthonkittikul (men's tennis)
 
Newcomers of the Year
Maria Bouchard (women's cross country / track & field)
Charles Minlend (men's basketball) and Tim Widing (men's golf)
 
Stephen Privett, S.J. Award
Claudia Price (women's basketball)
 
Spirit of '51 Award
Women's Cross Country
 
Charles Harney Awards
Ashley Moffett (women's cross country / track & field)
Mathias Wentjarvi (men's golf)
 
Athletic Performance Carpe Diem Awards
Ali Schaffer (women's soccer)
Josh Smith (men's soccer)
 
Student ATC Award
Jasmine Butler
 
Spirit Award
Nicole Capobianco
 
Team Student-Athletes of the Year
Kim Gutierrez, Women's Volleyball
Charlotte Taylor, Women's Cross Country
Alex Short, Men's Cross Country
Nico Giarratano, Baseball
Allison Arriola, Women's Soccer
Hanna Borjeson, Women's Tennis
Rachel Howard, Women's Basketball
Tim Widing, Men's Golf
Vanessa Ha, Women's Golf
Oliver Poysti, Men's Tennis
Ryan Driscoll, Men's Track & Field
Elena Burkard, Women's Track & Field
David Garrett, Men's Soccer
Dane Miller, Beach Volleyball
Ronnie Boyce; Men's Basketball