Student-athletes at St. Joseph’s University, New York’s Long Island Campus have been recognized for both academic and athletic achievements in the Skyline Conference.
Mirrored after the NCAA Elite 90 award, the Skyline Conference’s Elite 19 award is given to the student-athlete who has the highest cumulative GPA in the conference within their chosen sport.
SJNY has had three student-athletes recognized with this honor within the last year: Caroline O’Dea, Trista Buck and Robert Kohlmann.
O’Dea, a senior on the women’s cross country team, won the award during the fall 2024 semester.
“I’m very grateful to have maintained my 4.0 GPA while being a runner on our women’s cross country team in the Skyline conference,” said O’Dea. “Maintaining this GPA took a lot of time and effort, as well as an NCAA-regulated amount of caffeine. You have to show up for your team while also showing up for yourself, which includes holding yourself accountable for the personal standards you set on and off the course.”
Caroline O’Dea and the SJNY cross country team.
To O’Dea, this was more than just an award, it recognized the last four years of commitments she has had to both her studies and her athletics.
“For me, this was showing up to every practice, spending hours every day studying and putting my full effort into both. I am extremely lucky and thankful to have an incredible support system in my team, especially my coach, Mr. Jim Crowley. Receiving this award was an honor, not only because my hard work was meaningfully recognized, but because of how proud my team was when they celebrated my accomplishment,” said O’Dea. “I am truly grateful for my team, whose support and encouragement played a key role in maintaining the dedication that enabled me to receive this award.”
Buck, a senior on the women’s soccer team, also received the Elite 19 Award during the fall 2024 semester.
Buck takes the responsibility of being a student-athlete with great pride.
“I believe that to win this award it takes hard work and perseverance,” said Buck. “I always try to strive to succeed as much as possible in everything that I do, especially when being a student-athlete.”
Even after all of the work she puts towards being a student-athlete, she was still shocked when she received this award.
“When I received the award I was so shocked because I did not expect it nor did I know that it was an actual award to be given. After, I felt very happy and proud of myself for achieving this award. I remember it was the first round of our playoff game and we were away, so hearing my name getting announced for an award before the game while being on the opponent’s field was a moment that I would never forget,” Buck said.
Kohlmann, a junior on the men’s swimming team, received the award during the intersession 2025 semester.
For Kohlmann, the honor was completely unexpected. As an athlete on both the men’s swimming and men’s volleyball teams, Kohlmann always puts his academics first.
“To win the Elite 19 award was an amazing experience, and it was completely unintentional and unexpected,” said Kohlmann. “While being a student-athlete on both the men’s volleyball team and the men’s swimming team here at St. Joseph’s University, I have always put my academics first, and my future career as a priority over athletics, and that’s something that all of my coaches fully support.”
Kohlmann credits his coaches and teammates as a big part of why he was able to win the Elite 19 award.
“While I am never one for missing practice, on days that I have a big exam to study for after practice, my coaches would let me leave a little early to study for them. I believe that the support and understanding of both my coaches and teammates played a huge part in why I won the award,” he said.
Kohlmann also credits being a student-athlete as one of the reasons for his academic success.
“Swimming helped to ease my stress throughout the fall semester which made completing work and doing well on exams pretty easy. Doing an extra-curricular activity whether it’s joining a club or a sport has really improved my academic success and overall happiness,” said Kohlmann. “One goal I always set for myself every semester is to achieve a perfect 4.0 and even though this is a hard task, I believe having that goal in mind will help me work harder to achieve it and get closer to it compared to just saying “‘doing good in all my classes'”.”
Receiving the award was an indescribable experience for Kohlmann.
“In the moment of receiving the award, I had just come out of the pool after finishing the last relay of championships and while I was talking to my coach about the race, I began to hear my academic achievements be called out… I was overwhelmed with joy. The support and happiness I felt from my teammates was a feeling truly second to none. I’ve been on a lot of teams in my lifetime but I have never felt more welcomed and more supported ever since joining the swim team at St. Joseph’s.”
O’Dea, Buck and Kohlmann are among the small community of student-athletes that have received this award. Their dedication, hard work and unwavering support from their teams have shaped their success, making this achievement a testament to their perseverance and their passion for their sport.
