MANSFIELD – Ryan Clifford and Brittany Ryan repeated as Mansfield University Fall Athletes of the Year while Clifford and Kenzie Jones earned Winter Athletes of the Year Wednesday night at the Mountie Awards in Straughn Hall.
 
Scholar-Athletes of the Year, Iron Mounties of the Year, the Steve McCloskey Service Award recipients, PSAC Scholar-Athletes and team MVPs and MIPs were also honored during the Mountie Awards.
 
Fall Athletes of the Year
Clifford turned in the best finish in program history at the 2019 PSAC Cross Country Championships, finishing as the runner-up in a field of over 250 athletes to earn All-PSAC status. The senior followed that performance by placing fourth at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships to pick-up all-region honors and secure a spot at the 2019 National Championships in Pittsburgh. Clifford finished off his remarkable cross country career by finishing 145^th at the national meet in wet and muddy conditions. He was just the fourth Mansfield men's runner to compete at the NCAA National Championships.
 
Ryan earned her second consecutive All-PSAC nod in 2018 after earning eight wins in the cage including a pair of shutouts. The junior was third in the PSAC in saves per game at 7.56 and fourth in save pct. at .782. Ryan recorded eight games of double-figure saves including a season-high 19 against Millersville. Ryan helped lead the Mounties to eight wins for back-to-back seasons, the most for MU field hockey since 2007.
 
Winter Athletes of the Year
Clifford pulled off a remarkable feat, finishing as runner up in both the 3K and 5K at the PSAC Indoor Championships to earn a pair of All-PSAC accolades. The pair of second place finishes at the conference meet were made even more impressive by the fact that they were done in the same day as a result of a condensed championship schedule. Clifford raced to the fastest 5K time in the PSAC this season with a sub-15 mark at the Valentine Invitational in Boston. He also posted the fourth fastest 3K and the seventh fastest mile in the conference this year.
 
Jones came off a solid cross country season and continued her success by winning the mile and 3K at the Houghton December Classic in the first meet of the indoor season. The senior never finished lower than 10th through her first 10 races of the indoor season, compiling seven Top-5 finishes. Jones posted the sixth fastest 3K time in the PSAC this season along with the ninth-best mile and 16th best 5K. Jones qualified for the PSAC Indoor Championships in the 3K and 5K and finished 16th overall in the 3K. She just missed all-region honors despite battling through injury for much of the season.
 
Spring Athletes of the Year
Last year's Spring Athletes of the Year, track & field's Hunter Watkins and Charlsie Bowen, were officially honored as part of the Mountie Awards last night.

The 2019 Spring Athletes of the Year will be announced following the completion of all spring sports seasons.
 
Scholar Athletes of the Year
The Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognizes a male and female student-athlete who have displayed dedication and commitment to achieving both athletic and academic success at Mansfield University.
 
Track & field and cross country's Ryan Clifford, a criminal justice major, was named the 2019 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year while softball's Anastasia Hester, a dietetics and nutrition major, earned 2019 Female Athlete of the Year.
 
Steve McCloskey Service Award
The Steve McCloskey Service Award is named in honor of longtime Mansfield University Sports Information Director Steve McCloskey who retired in the spring of 2017 after 28 years of service. The award is presented annually to a student or students who embodies the Mansfield University spirit and provides exemplary service to the athletic department. The inaugural award was presented during the 2016-17 academic year.
 
This year's recipients were Ryan Sargent of Lawrenceville, Pa. and Jenna Buhite of Ridgway, Pa. Sargent and Buhite were instrumental parts of the MU Sports Information Department during their time at Mansfield providing coverage for all athletics programs.
 
MVPs and MIPs

Sport	MIP	MVP
Football	Adam Hutchison	Brandon Allen
Field Hockey	Cady Burnside	Madison Wilinsky
Women's Soccer	Stephanie Moir	Chelsea Thomas
Women's Cross Country	Lyndsey Payne	Kenzie Jones
Men's Cross Country	Quincy Amabile	Ryan Clifford
Men's Basketball	Taylor Sweeney	Tyler Moffe
Women's Basketball	Hanna Johnson	Paige Whitfield
Men's Indoor Track	Quincy Amabile	Ryan Clifford
Women's Indoor Track	Lyndsey Payne	Kenzie Jones
Cheerleading	Sabrina Stevens	Micah Maxton

Baseball, softball, and men's and women's outdoor track & field MVPs and MIPs will be announced following the conclusion of the 2019 spring sports seasons

Iron Mounties of the Year
Iron Mounties of the Year are awarded by Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Ernie Ruch to two male and two female student-athletes who display hard work ethic, positive attitude, and dedication in the weight room throughout the year.
 
The 2018-19 Male Overall Iron Mountie of the Year were sprint football's Dante Torrisi and basketball's Tyler Moffe, while the 2018-19 Female Overall Iron Mounties of the Year were Anastasia Hester and Brittany Ryan.
 
In addition to the Overall Iron Mounties of the Year, two student-athletes from each sport were honored as Team Iron Mounties of the Year.
 

Sport
Softball	Alli McGovern	Alex Hein
Baseball	Brady Mengel	Evan McAndrew
Football	Sam Tillman	Brandon Allen
Field Hockey	Gabby Hieber	Christie Buyer
Women's Soccer	Eleni Gebbia	Alexis Bittel
Men's Basketball	Mike Rell	Reilly Collins
Women's Basketball	Ellie Thompson	Erin Gibbons
Track & Field	Purity Moenga	Nicholas Auchenbach