ALL-TIME MAN OF THE YEAR WINNERS
Siaba Becomes Second Stonehill Student-Athlete to Earn Honor in Past Three Years.
EASTON, Mass. – Stonehill men's track & field graduate Michel-Ange Siaba has been named the Northeast-10 Conference's Man of the Year, as selected by the Conference's Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) Council. It was announced on the league's virtual awards presentation on Facebook and YouTube on Monday night.
It marks the ninth year the NE10 has recognized a Man of the Year recipient, and Siaba is Stonehill's third honoree, and second over the last three years, joining ice hockey standout Dana Borges, '13, who earned the inaugural award in 2013, and then cross country/track & field All-American Alex Demeule, '19 in 2019. It marks the fourth-straight year a cross country/track & field student-athlete has received the award after Demeule was preceded by Tyler McLaren of the Southern New Hampshire cross country team in 2018, and then American International cross country/track & field athlete Benoit Campion last year.
Siaba was among three finalists for Man of the Year, along with baseball student-athletes Matt Costanza from American International and Joshua Goldstein from Southern New Hampshire. The NE10 Man of the Year award honors senior student-athletes that excelled in all areas of their collegiate careers, on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.
Siaba is the fifth Stonehill student-athlete to earn a major NE10 end of the year award, with volleyball student-athlete Rachel Dunlavy, '19 the 2020 NE10 Female Scholar-Athlete of the year and former cross country runner John Monahan, '00, who was named the Conference's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2000, to go with the three Man of the Year recipients. Siaba was among Stonehill finalists this spring for all four of the NE10's major student-athlete honors, the only institution to do so.
"Being a student athlete is more than just about performance," said Siaba. "It's been a blessing to be around all the dedicated student-athletes in the NE10, many of whom are inspirations to me. Many of us go the extra mile as student-athletes and as recognition of our collective effort, I would like to say thank you to all the coaches, staff, faculty and athletes."
Siaba, who received Stonehill's Fr. William Gartland, CSC, Male Senior Student-Athlete Award this spring, recently graduated with a 3.86 cumulative grade point average as a criminology major at the College. He was a 2021 Fulbright Scholarship semifinalist, Presidential Merit Scholarship recipient and has been inducted to the Edwin H. Sutherland Criminology Honor Society. Siaba has been named to the Dean's List every semester enrolled at the College and has also earned NE10 Academic Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll status each semester since transferring to Stonehill.
Siaba, who will attend Suffolk Law School in the fall, has devoted his time to the fight for racial justice throughout the community, especially policing reform centered around his criminology major. An active member of Stonehill's Students in Action (SIA) organization on campus, he helped organize the multimedia needs for the group's campus sit-in during the fall semester. This spring, he interviewed members of the Stonehill faculty on how they engage in racial discourse in the classroom and how to improve the racial climate on campus, presenting his findings to the College's President, Fr. John Denning, CSC. He conducted a personal letter writing campaign in the wake of last summer's protests following the George Floyd murder, submitting essays to California State Representative Anna Eshoo and then-Senator Kamala Harris, receiving responses from both, encouraging them to fight to pass meaningful police reform laws.
"Congratulations to Michel-Ange on such a well-deserved NE10 Man of The Year award," said Dean O'Keefe, '94, Director of Athletics at the College. "NCAA Division II, the NE10 and Stonehill strive to foster an environment that provides student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically, athletically, and in the community, and Michel-Ange embraces this philosophy. The impact he has made in furthering campus discussion on racial injustice has been notable, and his work and research into prison reform beyond the campus community has been remarkable. Coupled with his impressive athletic career in two sports over just two seasons for the Skyhawks, are a shining example of what it means to be a successful NCAA student-athlete. I have no question he will continue to make his mark in this world in the future."
Siaba has volunteered his time with The Humboldt Area Center for Harm and Karat School Project in Palo Alto, California, a non-profit organization that strives to provide quality education to underprivileged children while helping communities in need in the Ivory Coast, where Siaba was born. More locally, he volunteered with the Plymouth County Police Department's Drug Buy Back program and completed an internship with the department. He was co-editor of Martin Institute's Prints, Stonehill's sociological, anthropological and criminological academic journal, having submitted a writing of his own in the spring 2020 issue that discusses the prison system, why it has persisted and how we can begin to move away from it.
Siaba made an immediate impact with the track & field program at Stonehill in the brief time he was a Skyhawk after transferring from Humboldt State University prior to the 2019-20 academic year. He was named Most Outstanding Field Athlete at the 2020 Northeast-10 Indoor Track & Field Championships after picking up three All-Conference performances at the event. He earned All-NE10 second team honors for the long jump and triple jump, finishing third in both events with distances of a school-record 23-feet, 1.75-inches and 46-feet 6.75-inches, respectively. Siaba was a third team All-NE10 performer in the heptathlon, posting a school-record 4,666 points for his third-place finish for that event.
"Michel-Ange is well deserving of the NE10 Man of the Year Award," said Stonehill track & field head coach Mike Delgado. "He was a leader both on and off the track, in the classroom as well as in the community. I can't think of a better person for this award. I know he will be very successful, and I wish him the best."
Siaba has earned four U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-East Region awards, adding the honor in the long jump this spring to honors for the long jump, triple jump and heptathlon during the 2019-20 indoor season. This spring, he posted season-bests of 22-feet, 9-inches in the long jump and 46-feet, 3.5-inches in the triple jump, earning All-New England honors for the first time with his eighth place finish in the long jump at the 2021 New England Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
-Release provided by Stonehill athletic communications staff-
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 student-athletes compete in conference championships, making the NE10 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 NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
