AMHERST, MA. – Six athletes on various teams were given awards at the College's end-of-year ceremonies, being recognized by the Athletic Department for their contributions on and off the field during their careers. This year's winners are: seniors Natalie Stott (women's ice hockey), Annie McCarthy (women's basketball, women's lacrosse), Sofia Guttmann (women's lacrosse), Ben Davis (Men's Track and Field and Cross Country), and Joline Fong (women's swim and dive), and first year K.J. Neville (men's basketball).
 
The awards given out include: The Howard Hill Mossman Trophy, The Psi Upsilon Prize, The Manstein Award, Family Award, The Eugene Wilson Award, The Edward Spagnardi Memorial Award, The Sphinx Club Award, and the Gordon B. Perry Memorial Award.
 
The Howard Hill Mossman Trophy: Natalie Stott, Women's Ice Hockey
The Howard Hill Mossman Trophy is awarded annually to the member of the senior class who, in the opinion of a committee consisting of the President of the College, the Dean, the Chairman of the Department of Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics, and the President of the Student Council, has brought, during their four years at Amherst, the greatest honor in athletics to the Alma Mater – the word "honor" to be interpreted as relating to both achievement and to sportsmanship. The Psi Upsilon Prize is given to a member of the graduating class who is considered preeminent in scholarship, leadership, character, and athletic ability.
 
Everyone knows how decorated Stott is on the ice: a four-time First Team All-American, the NCAA DIII Record holder for career wins (86) and career shutouts (45) and the NCAA All-Time Leader in career save percentage across all divisions, men or women (.960). She racked up pretty much every possible award, getting All-NESCAC, All-Region, All-New England and All-American honors to go with various Player of the Year and MVP awards. In short, she finishes her run at Amherst as arguably the greatest goalie in the history of Division III ice hockey.
 
But Natalie Stott the hockey player is not the only one that deserves awards. Voted a team captain by her teammates before her senior season, Stott's leadership ability and team-first mentality are what made her so successful. According to her coaches, she is one of the most vocal leaders in the locker room, leading the team with her words and her actions --- as the team's primary skate sharpener, she was making sure all her teammates could perform to their highest level. This dedication to others extended off the ice as well: in her time at Amherst, Stott was an Amherst College Math Fellow, a Peer Tutor for Math and Economics, and, as we can now reveal, one of the people inside Amherst Mammoth mascot suit. She set the standard by putting all her effort into every save, every class, and the broader campus community, and her teammates followed her lead.
 
The Manstein Family Award: Ben Davis, Men's Cross Country and Track and Field
Given by Carl H. '72, Mark E. '74, and Joanne L. Manstein '83, this award is presented by the Department of Physical Education to the outstanding senior varsity athlete who has been accepted to medical school and plans a career in medicine.
 
Davis has something that his track coaches called "the spark," which they described as intensity, drive, and fight. But, in their words, also possess other qualities that have made him who he is: "clear purpose, magnetic influence, intellectual horsepower, and meticulous attention to detail." It is these qualities that have combined and shown in his success, both on the track and off of it.
A three-time First Team All-American and Second Team Academic All-American who placed fifth in the country in the outdoor 800m, holds the sixth fastest 600m indoor time in Division III history, and a is vital member of two separate All-American relay teams, that spark and drive to win is most apparent on the track, However, in the classroom he is just as prolific. Davis has close to a 4.0 GPA, and list of accomplishments that includes early acceptance into the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai through their FlexMed program and being awarded the prestigious Keasbey scholarship to pursue a master's in philosophy in Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. His deep involvement in the sciences at Amherst as an EMT through the Amherst College EMS (ACEMS), a research assistant in the Jaswal Lab, and his thesis work relating to protein folding in dementia plaques is yet another indicator of this dedication. But it is also he work in the community that stands out, working as a Neural Network neuroscience mentor and as an organizer for Run Your City Amherst, a free track club for local kids.
 
All of this is to say, Davis is a driven, consistent, and positive force in supporting people and looking for ways to make both his team, and the community, a better place.
 
The Gordon B. Perry Memorial Award: K.J. Neville, Men's Basketball
Awarded to a first-year in good academic standing whose participation in freshman athletics and other activities is outstanding.
 
Neville's on court success speaks for itself: a starter on the men's basketball team for most of his first season. He quietly took more responsibility as the season progressed, growing into one of the team's leading scorers. Neville eventually was named both NESCAC and Region One Rookie of the Year honors, becoming the first Mammoth to earn that distinction from the NESCAC since 2015.
 
His work ethic, coachability, reliability in practice, and respect for the team's standards have shown not just on the court, in practice, and in the locker room, but off it. As a member of the Amherst Communications department's student team, he has appeared in several promotional videos and student challenges, promoting the college to others. It is this willingness to represent Amherst with pride is something that not many first-year student-athletes bring to the Mammoth community from the start.
 
The Eugene Wilson Award: Annie McCarthy, Women's Basketball and Lacrosse
This award is presented to a student who is considered to be the preeminent recipient of the Friends of Amherst Athletics Awards during the present college year. The award will be made annually by the Department of Physical Education and Athletics to that participant in each varsity sport (not necessarily a letterman) who, in the judgement of their coaches, has demonstrated through their determine effort and sportsmanship the desire for excellence.
 
A two-sport captain, as voted on by her teammates, McCarthy's actions speak for themselves. She is "an incredible student-athlete, teammate, leader, and human. She leads with empathy and kindness, but knows how to hold the line and have hard conversations when needed." Her compassion and ability to build relationships has served her well as a community advisor (CA) in campus housing for the past three years, and she has never stopped going out of her way to find ways to impact the Amherst community beyond her role on her teams and within the athletic department as a whole.
 
Even though McCarthy earned this award by being the consummate teammate, she is just as prolific on the court and the field: she was selected Second Team All-NESCAC in basketball after a senior season in which she was one of the top shooters in the conference. To top it all off she is also currently a starting defender on a lacrosse team that is ranked in the top 10 in the country.
 
The Edward Spagnardi Memorial Award: Sofia Guttmann, Women's Lacrosse
This award is presented annually to a student who, through the qualities of sportsmanship and dedication, has made Amherst College a more enjoyable place to be a student and an athlete.
 
Many know Guttman as a prolific attacker, with a knack for goal-scoring and strong presence on the lacrosse field: she finishes her career with 85 goals and 21 assists over three and a half years after an injury ended her 2026 season. That strength is so prolific that one of her coaches said that she has broken opponents' sticks just by running through them. In short, she has made a name for herself with her nose for goal, long-range snipes from seemingly impossible angles, and passion for the game and her team.
 
That passion has allowed Guttmann to make just a large of a mark off the field. She has been heavily involved with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), currently serving as President after holding the Vice President position last year. She meets regularly with the athletic department and college administrators to help improve the student athlete experience, and has catalyzed changes such as extending Val dining hours, hiring another athletic trainer, getting shampoo and conditioner provided in team locker rooms, and more. She has also been a large part of creating tighter community bonds across campus, spearheading (along with AAS) the Amherst Formal and Senior Dinner/Champagne Toast that took place on March 27^th.
 
The Sphinx Club Award: Joline Fong, Women's Swim and Dive
Presented to the member of the student body irrespective of class who has done the most to promote the interests of athletics at Amherst during the past year – interest to be defined as unusual participation in athletics, or outstanding contribution to the management or promotion of athletics, or in any way focusing the attention of the College or the public on athletics at Amherst College.
 
Fong may have one of the most extraordinary stories of any collegiate student-athlete. A key contributor in the pool during all four years, she made NESCAC Finals as an individual his first three seasons before joining the 'A' Medley Relay and helping break the school record in the 200, qualifying for NCAA Championships, and earning All-American honors in that event for their finish. However, life had other plans: Fong was diagnosed with a brain tumor during her junior season but finished out the year before having surgery to remove it and returning to the pool for that All-American season just months later.
 
But her work outside the pool has been arguably more impactful than her stellar work in it. Over the course of her Amherst career, she has worked as a patient advocate at Bellevue Hospital, interned at the Legal Aid Society as Wrongful Conviction Intern and worked as part of an Amherst College Historical Preservation Project that notably located and revived the famous Sabrina statue. She has also worked in partnership with College President Michael Elliot on Student Experience at Amherst and is a major contributor to the Gerald Penny Memorial Foundation, creating a free learn to swim program for Amherst College community members to raise awareness for and prevent drowning. Despite still going to doctors' appointments, she has been a steadfast presence and a leader who wants to help others both inside the athletic department, and her work this year, and throughout her career, has proved that.