COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College Department of Athletics unveiled its 12th induction class of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, on Thursday, as 22 Purple Knights carrying at least a 3.7 grade-point average were honored.
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Six of the top seven classes have come since 2019, with at least 22 inductees earning recognition for the fourth time in five years. In all, 221 Purple Knights have now gained entry into Chi Alpha Sigma over the past 12 years. The 22 members from the induction Class of 2024 were:
- Junior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), women's volleyball
- Senior Grace Castonguay (Jackson, N.H./Kennett), Nordic skiing
- Graduate student Alex Chirgwin (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury), men's lacrosse
- Junior David Ciancio (Scituate, R.I./Seahawks Hockey Club), men's ice hockey
- Junior Jenna Devens (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany), softball
- Junior Colby Fane-Cushing (Colchester, Vt./Colchester), baseball
- Junior Matthew Frawley (Melrose, Mass./Melrose), men's lacrosse
- Junior Margrethe Frøland (Rælingen, Norway/Dønski VGS), Alpine skiing
- Junior Elaine Gillan (Rensselaer, N.Y./Rensselaer), women's swimming & diving
- Junior Sofie Gjetsund (Oslo, Norway/Persbråten VGS), Alpine skiing
- Junior Aaliyah Huihui-Martinez (Salinas, Calif./Notre Dame), women's volleyball
- Junior Nathalie Larsson (Gothenburg, Sweden/Sjölins Gymnasium/Morningside), women's soccer
- Junior Bernadette Lesieur (Oxford, Mass./Home Schooled), women's soccer
- Junior Pat McGloine (Schuylerville, N.Y./Schuylerville), men's cross country
- Senior Alessandro Pescina (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela/Colegio Loyola Gumilla), men's soccer
- Junior Izzy Quam (Stillwater, Minn./Mounds Park Academy), women's cross country and Nordic skiing
- Junior Abby Roman (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth), women's lacrosse
- Junior Angelina Ruiz (Independence, Minn./Gentry Academy), women's ice hockey
- Junior Sebastian Simonson (Spruce Grove, Alberta/Spruce Grove Composite), men's lacrosse
- Senior Paige Slaven (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven Regional), women's basketball
- Senior Courtney Watt (Auckland, New Zealand/Albany Senior/Vermont), field hockey
- Junior Margaret Wilk (Hardyston, N.J./Pope John XXIII Regional), women's swimming & diving
All current senior student-athletes who are members of Chi Alpha Sigma also earn special cords they can wear as part of their graduation regalia. The following 21 current student-athletes from previous induction classes have already claimed this additional honor:
- Senior Aaron Bouchard (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Seton Catholic Central), men's swimming & diving
- Senior Mia Cooper (Gansevoort, N.Y./South Glens Falls), women's cross country
- Senior Katie Culliton (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls), women's cross country
- Senior Ella DiBernardo (Durham, Conn./Coginchaug Regional), women's cross country
- Senior Jenna Hitchen (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip Regional), women's soccer
- Senior Swapnil Jhajharia (Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, India/Woodstock School), men's cross country
- Senior Angelica Johns (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook), softball
- Senior Trevor Johnson (Salem, Mass./Salem), men's swimming & diving
- Senior Gigi Kelsey (Vail, Colo./Vail Mountain School), Alpine skiing
- Senior Abby Kittler (Pittsfield, Mass./Pittsfield), women's cross country
- Senior Mary Leys (Newport, R.I./Saint George's School), women's ice hockey
- Senior Bridgie Loughlin (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston), field hockey
- Senior Rachel McAdams (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell), women's swimming & diving
- Senior Dylan Morgan (Ashland, Mass./Ashland), men's lacrosse
- Senior Marshall Murphy (Little Canada, Minn./Northern Colorado Eagles), men's ice hockey
- Senior Caitlin O'Connor (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), women's volleyball
- Senior Nikolai Riiber (Oslo, Norway/Persbråten VGS), Alpine skiing
- Senior Lily Sabol (Hopkinton, N.H./Hopkinton), women's cross country
- Senior Niko Selvaag (Snarøya, Norway/Dønski VGS), Alpine skiing
- Senior Samantha Shapiro (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs), field hockey
- Senior Simen Strand (Nedre Høvik, Norway/Dønski VGS), Alpine skiing
Saint Michael's is one of just six schools in the 12-college Northeast-10 Conference to claim membership in Chi Alpha Sigma, which is the first national scholar-athlete society to honor collegiate student-athletes who have excelled in both the classroom and in athletic competition. Purple Knights carrying a minimum 3.7 cumulative GPA in their junior or senior years, and who have completed at least three semesters at the College, are eligible.
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Saint Michael's, which was designated the Vermont Beta chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma after becoming the second college in Vermont to join the organization - Norwich University was the other - is among 347 schools in 42 states and the District of Columbia with an active chapter. Founded in 1996 at DePauw (Ind.) University, the society's mission is to bring honor and recognition to deserving student-athletes, their families, teams, athletic departments, and NCAA and NAIA colleges in much the same way that other societies primarily honor scholastics. Chi Alpha Sigma also encourages good citizenship, moral character, and friendship among the high academic achievers in college athletics.
