BEVERLY, Mass. – The Conference of New England (CNE) is excited to announce the group of nine student athletes that are the inaugural Elite 20 Award winners from the Fall of 2024. The group consists of the top student athlete based on GPA from each championship sponsored by the CNE.
CNE Fall 2024 - Elite 20 Winners (in alphabetical order):
Paul Alfonso
Men's Cross Country, Curry College - Sr., 4.0 / Accounting
Antonia Carrero
Women's Tennis, Nichols College - Sr., 4.0 / Marketing & Finance
Chloe Clement
Women's Volleyball, Suffolk University - Jr., 3.98 / Biology
Jason Ferrandino
Men's Soccer, Endicott College - Jr., 3.99 / Engineering
Danny Gangi
Football, Endicott College - Jr., 3.91 / Business Management
Mackenzie Husson
Women's Cross Country, Curry College - Jr., 4.0 / Biochemistry
Kyle Richman
Men's Golf, Nichols College - So., 3.93 / Business Analytics
Christina Stone
Women's Soccer, University of Hartford - Gr., 4.0 / Industrial & Organizational Psychology
Olyvia White
Field Hockey, Western New England University - Sr., 4.0 / Health Services
“We are thrilled to honor these nine student athletes from our fall sports as our Elite 20 winners,” said CNE Commissioner Patrick Colbert. “This group exemplifies what it means to be a student athlete on and off the field, earning themselves and their institution such high praise for their work day in and day out.”
The Elite 20 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average (GPA) participating in the CNE Championships or CNE Tournament (any round) in each sport.
Criteria:
- Must be at least a sophomore academically, in good academic standing and in their second year of competition at their current institution in any sport.
- Must be an active member on the roster and eligible for the Championships or Tournament.
- Only undergraduate GPA is applicable. Only undergraduate credits earned at their current institution will be considered.
- Graduate transfers in their first year of competition at their current institution are not eligible.
- If a student-athlete has graduated from and is currently enrolled in graduate school at the same institution, they are eligible for the award but consideration will be based solely on an undergraduate GPA.
In addition, a student-athlete is only eligible to win the award once per academic year, even if they participate in more than one sport. For men’s and women’s cross country and track and field and men’s golf, student-athletes who meet the criteria above AND are entered into the CNE Championships and compete are eligible. For football, the regular-season Champion will put forth its honoree that meets the criteria.
For all remaining sports, student-athletes who meet the criteria above AND their team advances to the CNE Tournament are eligible. If a student-athlete who meets the above criteria cannot participate in the CNE Championships or Tournament due to injury, they are eligible if they competed in 90% of the regular-season contests.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE OF NEW ENGLAND
Originally founded in 1984 as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), and reconstituted as the Conference of New England (CNE) in 2024, the CNE is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of 10 full member and five associate member institutions throughout the New England region. Its membership aims to provide student-athletes with a positive experience in their pursuit of excellence through high academic standards, quality competition and a meaningful student life. The Conference administers championships in 20 intercollegiate sports.