COLCHESTER, Vt. - Men's ice hockey's Nick Wracker (Columbia, S.C./Northeast Generals) was recognized with the Father Prevel Memorial Award, one of Saint Michael's College's two major senior accolades, during the school's 119th Commencement on Sunday in Ross Sports Center.
 
Athletics was also well-represented by field hockey's Joelle Cameron (West Bridgewater, Mass./West Bridgewater), who delivered the undergraduate address, and field hockey's Kathleen Dean (Auburn, Maine/Saint Dominic Academy) and Alpine skiing's Lawton Jones (Williston, Vt./Green Mountain Valley School), two of six students who finished their undergraduate careers with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average.
 
Wracker claimed an award which honors a graduate who has demonstrated commitment and achievement related to the intellectual, spiritual, moral and social values of Saint Michael's College. He continues a remarkable run of success by student-athletes at commencement, becoming the fifth Prevel Award winner in six years, joining Alex Mendez '21 (baseball), James Downs '22 (men's cross country), Swapnil Jhajharia '24 (men's cross country) and David Ciancio '25 (men's ice hockey).
 
At prior graduation ceremonies, Roxy Withers '18 (women's cross country) and Emily Ferreri '19 (women's basketball) were both valedictorians and won the Katherine Fairbanks Memorial Award, the second of two major commencement awards; Ashley Turner '21 (women's lacrosse) claimed the Fairbanks Award and was among five seniors with a 4.0 GPA; Katie Escobedo '23 (women's soccer) won the Fairbanks Award; and Beth Syverson '23 (women's volleyball) was one of four students with a 4.0 GPA. In 2024, Jhajharia, Katie Culliton '24 (women's cross country) and Gigi Kelsey '24 (Alpine skiing) were among 10 students with a 4.0 GPA.
 
Wracker earned his fifth major award in eight days as he wound down his college career. Last Sunday, he was recognized with the Michael D. Samara Award from Residence Life. On Thursday, Wracker claimed the Roger F. Keleher '15 Award as the top male scholar-athlete in the graduating class as well as the Saint Michael's Award, presented to a member of the graduating class who has been involved for the betterment of the class and the community, signifying unselfish commitment to others. The following day, he was introduced as the College's institutional selection for Northeast 10 Conference Man of the Year.
 
While serving as an assistant captain this past winter, Wracker tied career highs in goals and points, even centering a line for the first time and winning nearly 46% of his faceoffs. He seemed to find the net in some of his team's biggest games, as five of his final seven career goals came against rival Saint Anselm College. Away from the ice, his impact was felt throughout campus. Wracker was Hope Happens Here tri-chair for his final three years, also serving as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) executive board member during that time, as secretary of finance as a sophomore and junior and secretary of athletics as a senior. He was an Edmundite Campus Ministry liturgical minister, Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE) leader, Founders Society tour guide, Be Well ambassador, resident assistant, Office of Admission ambassador, Special Events coordinator, peer tutor, and heavily involved in numerous roles in the Office of Purposeful Learning. As a first-year, his immediate impact was recognized with the Student Government Association's (SGA) Jennifer Cernosia Exceptional Student Leader Award.
 
Wracker landed on the NE10 Academic Honor Roll every semester and twice claimed Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) Academic Achievement Awards and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District. He helped the Purple Knights secure the NE10 Championship as a junior, earning academic all-conference and winning the NE10 Elite 24 Award as the top scholar-athlete competing in the championship game. Wracker has been inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma (college athlete), Delta Epsilon Sigma (Catholic universities) and Omicron Delta Epsilon (economics) honor societies. He was a double major in environmental science and economics with a chemistry minor, and held a 3.99 cumulative GPA.
 
Cameron joined Julia Colasanti '18 (women's volleyball), Winston Jones II '19 (men's basketball), Gabriella Dicomitis '22 (women's ice hockey), Escobedo (2023), 2024 speaker Makayla Blake '25 (women's basketball), and Margrethe Frøland '25 (Alpine skiing) as the seventh student-athlete in the past eight commencement ceremonies selected to deliver the senior address.
 
A standout goalkeeper, Cameron was recognized on Thursday with the Donald Sutton Community Service award for her heavy involvement with Saint Michael's Fire & Rescue before earning one of the College's Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete Awards on Friday, the only woman among three winners chosen.
 
Cameron etched her name in numerous record books during a historic season last fall, landing National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America second team and NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year accolades while recording an NCAA Division II-record 429 saves, the most by any NCAA goalkeeper since 1997. The captain also surpassed long-standing NE10 (2003) and program (1988) records for season saves and finished with 604 career stops, another school mark and good for 10th in league history. She led goalkeepers across all three divisions in both saves and saves per game (25.2), but Cameron was also the Division II leader in save percentage (.835), and will graduate tied for ninth in program history in career save percentage (.830). Her 48 saves against defending national champion Saint Anselm on Sept. 17 were a Division II record, coming just 10 days after tying the prior 33-year-old national mark. Cameron added NFHCA All-East Region first team, NFHCA Senior Team, and NE10 All-Conference first team accolades to her résumé and was previously an assistant captain as a junior.
 
Cameron's involvement stretched beyond the field, as she served as a SAAC representative and SGA Secretary of Academics, and was an active member of Saint Michael's Fire & Rescue. Cameron was an NE10 Academic Honor Roll selection and majored in health science.
 
The late Richard Tarrant '65 was among three honorary degree recipients, as the men's basketball titan's generous philanthropy shaped generations of students at the College. An All-America hooper, Tarrant became the first Vermont collegian to score 700 points in a season and 1,500 in a career, and led the Purple Knights to a national fourth-place finish as a senior. A charter member of the Saint Michael's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987, he made history as the first Purple Knight ever selected in the NBA Draft, chosen by the Boston Celtics in 1965. Tarrant's most enduring gift to his alma mater is the Jeremiah J. and Kathleen C. Tarrant Student Recreation Center, named in honor of his parents. Dedicated in 1994, the $5 million, 67,000-square-foot facility, made possible by Tarrant's lead gift, transformed the College's indoor athletics footprint and continues to enrich student life. Tarrant died in August at the age of 83.
 
The Athletics influence was felt elsewhere at Commencement. Women's swimming & diving's Ashley Silveira (Seekonk, Mass./Seekonk) was class president, women's soccer's Bridget Shaw (Norwell, Mass./Norwell) her vice president, and women's lacrosse's Abbie Whitley (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) class treasurer. Among the 11 Senior Class Gift Committee members are Cameron, Whitley, Wracker, women's cross country's Erin Boyd (Islip, N.Y./Saint Anthony's), and Nordic skiing's Clara Wyatt (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman).