WINTHROP, Mass. – Suffolk men's indoor track & field put together an award haul as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference announced the 2019-20 winners Thursday afternoon. Rams captured each of the four main categories. Sophomores Matyas Csiki-Fejer and Michael Balestra garnered Athlete of the Year status in track and field, respectively. Connor Baston picked up Rookie of the Year and Will Feldman took home GNAC Coach of the Year.
The honors come on the heels of Suffolk's 2020 Men's GNAC Indoor Track & Field title, the Rams became the inaugural conference champions in an edge-of-your-seat finish as Csiki-Fejer made up ground on the last leg of the Distance Medley relay to help the blue-and-gold win the event and edge out Saint Joseph's (Maine) for the title.
Csiki-Fejer was a main ingredient to Suffolk's success at the conference meet Feb. 16. The Saint Louis, Missouri local ran to a pair of individual conference champion crowns, winning the mile and 3,000, in addition to being an all-league member of the Distance Medley relay squad. The captain's season success was not limited to the conference meet, however, as he made his name known regionally as well. He qualified for New Englands in multiple events including the mile, 1,000 and 3K and became the first-ever Suffolk male runner to compete regionally for in two seasons when he ran the 3000. He was one place outside of all-region status, with a ninth-place finish behind a time of 8:44.61. Csiki-Fejer's season continued with a one final opportunity to qualify for nationals, but the sophomore came up seconds short.
Balestra's second season saw the thrower become the first Suffolk male indoor athlete to qualify for New Englands, where he logged a 14.96 toss to place the middle of the 24-competitor pack in 12th place. That outing came after the Lincoln, Rhode Island native sunk a career-high 15.45-meter toss at GNACs to capture the crown. Throughout the course of the season, he picked up four GNAC Field Athlete of the Weeks, he is the only student-athlete in the league's history to earn the feat.
Baston had a standout rookie campaign as a sprinter. At GNACs he put together a pair of personal-bests including a 22.97 200 to grab the individual title. The Bristol, Connecticut, product was also a member of the 4x400 champion relay squad, that put Suffolk in first-place to set-up the overall victory. That relay team was historic, as it went on to compete at regionals, the first Rams' relay team to do so in program history. Baston was awarded multiple times throughout the season for his performances by the conference with four rookie of the week nods and one track athlete of the week award.
For leading these and all athletes on his roster to individual and team achievements, Feldman was honored by his peers as the best coach of the season. The honor as an indoor coach is a first for Feldman, who is in his third season at the helm of the Suffolk cross country and track & field programs. Overall, the Suffolk alum has been acknowledged with Coach of the Year status three times, including back-to-back honors for women's cross country in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
In addition to the athletic awards, Tristan Smith represented the Rams on the conference's All-Sportsmanship team, which was established to honor one player from each team in the league for outstanding dedication to sportsmanship and for their portrayal of good sportsmanship, fair play and positive attitude.
2019-20 MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD ALL-GNAC
Men's Track Athlete of the Year: Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Suffolk
Men's Field Athlete of the Year: Michael Balestra, Suffolk
Men's Rookie of the Year: Connor Baston, Suffolk
Men's Coach of the Year: Will Feldman, Suffolk
Men's Institutional Sportsmanship Award: Saint Joseph's (Maine)
GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team
Michael Bullen, Colby Sawyer
Joey Reed, Emmanuel
Matt Holden, Lasell
JJ Pedersen, Regis
Ricky Reyes, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Tristan Smith, Suffolk