FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2014
Co-winners presented
annual
honor at conference's yearend banquet
ESSEX, Vt. – Assumption College football senior Michael Bates and Le Moyne College baseball senior Patrick Wiese have both been named the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Man of the Year, it was announced Monday evening at the league’s yearend banquet in Essex, Vt.
Bates, a team captain for the Greyhounds football team last
season, graduated with a 3.50 GPA as a Psychology major and was
named the 2014 Rev. Armand Desautels Award winner, which is given
annually to Assumption’s Premier Senior Student-Athlete. A
former Northeast-10 Sport Excellence Winner, the Holden, Mass.
native has been a Northeast-10 All-Conference selection the past
three seasons, including a 2013 First Team choice after the
defensive back totaled 96 tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles
and three interceptions last fall.
Wiese, who was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma cancer last summer at
age 21, is the founder of the Patrick Wiese
Organization, which has raised over $25,000 for cancer research
and to help support cancer patients and their families. The
Fayetteville, N.Y. native achieved a 3.49 GPA as a Communications
major and was a 2013 Northeast-10 All-Conference First Team
selection after hitting .333 with 39 runs scored and 27 stolen
bases as a junior. The two-year team captain has also served on the
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) during his four years at
Le Moyne.
“As a result of my diagnosis, I have not only walked a path
few young people take, but I have established the Patrick Wiese
Foundation to support children and their families with similar
diagnoses,” said Wiese. “Being able to continue my
education, and completing my senior year mostly from a hospital
bed, has inspired me to offer financial, emotional and academic
support to other students in an attempt to maintain
‘normalcy’ and the mental competitiveness necessary to
beat their disease. I have had the opportunity and responsibility
to set an example of living my life in service of
others.”
Bates has also made a lasting impact within the community, as he
helped initiate the program’s involvement with Team IMPACT, as the Greyhounds
welcomed a young
boy named Yan into its football family over two years ago.
Bates has also volunteered his time at the Chaffins Recreation
Association in his hometown and has served as a lead mentor in the
Mentors in Violence Program (MVP).
“My determination to always find time to help out those in need has taught me the values of perseverance and self-sacrifice,” said Bates. “I have learned how to overcome challenges and I treasure my countless friendships on my team, in the class, or even the one with the little six-year-old boy [Yan] battling tumors. I have always taken the initiative to be the best I can be in this world and to get the most out of it. It is the way my parents raised me and I am forever grateful.”
The College of Saint Rose senior men’s basketball standout
Dominykas Milka was the other finalist
for the 2014 Northeast-10 Man of the Year award, as he was named
the conference’s Male Outstanding Scholar-Athlete of the Year
on Monday night.
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division
II colleges and universities located in New England and New York
that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic
opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes. Each year,
4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships
in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the
country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the
classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10
is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it
provides student-athletes.
– #NE10 –