Wave Athletics Awards Banquet
Kingsborough's Female Athlete of the Year Mariana Richards, left, and Male Athlete of the Year Marvens Jn Baptiste, were among the student athletes and Department of Athletics staff honored at the College's recent Wave Athletic Awards Banquet. Photo: Rachel Olorunlana (@shotbyayo)
As Victories Pile Up, Annual Wave Banquet Forecasts Mounting Swell for KCC’s Athletics Program
The end-of-the-year Wave Athletics Awards Banquet is an opportunity for Kingsborough student-athletes to trade in their team uniforms for more formal attire and be recognized for their hard work and successes on the courts, tracks and fields across the tri-state area and beyond.
With women’s track star Mariana Richards earning two NJCAA Division III national titles in the 100m and 200m, KCC’s men’s soccer taking home its first New York City Community College Soccer Championship since 2009, and women’s basketball advancing to the CUNYAC championship game and the NJCAA’s Region XV Tournament, Kingsborough Athletics, led by Director Robert Allison since 2022, had much to celebrate.
And people are taking notice, according to former KCC baseball head coach and New York City Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) Baseball Commissioner Robert H. Pertsas ’73, who was in attendance to accept a lifetime achievement award from his alma mater.
“There’s a different vibe now, and it’s known elsewhere,” the New York Baseball Hall of Famer said.
That was all part of Allison’s five-year plan.
National track champion and women's basketball forward Mariana Richards has her hands full at the annual athletics banquet. Richards is one of the many student athletes helping to put Kingsborough's athletic program on the map.
“The first two years was about setting up the infrastructure, the next two years was about changing the culture, and now it’s about showing everyone who we are,” he said.
Athletes of the Year
Richards, a two-sport athlete, was the evening’s most celebrated Wave, taking home five awards, including Female Athlete of the Year. Men’s volleyball and men’s soccer player, Marvens Jn Baptiste, also a two-sport athlete, was named Male Athlete of the Year.
KCC's men's soccer team took home its first NYC Community College Championship title since 2009 last fall.
Even though it was a building year, KCC's women's basketball team made it to the CUNYAC championship game and the NJCAA's Division III Region XV Tournament. The team is ranked No. 14 nationally.
Both students set personal records and brought acclaim to Kingsborough in 2025 and
2026. In addition to her national titles, Richards was named 2026 NJCAA Division III
Outdoor Track & Field Women’s Track Athlete of the Year for the Northeast Region,
while also helping drive the women’s basketball team to the CUNYAC championships.
In men’s soccer, freshman Wave Baptiste scored the final point with an almost 30-yard free kick in the team’s championship game last October. It helped earn men’s soccer its first NYC Community College Soccer title in almost 15 years. In men’s volleyball, Baptiste was named CUNYAC Rookie of the Year and made CUNY’s men’s volleyball all-conference team.
In addition to the 2025-2026 victories, Kingsborough Athletics just hired two new head coaches, Brian Friedman in the revived baseball program and Regina Sellitto for women’s volleyball, and launched a new recruitment campaign, #TheBorough, on social media (@kingsborough_athletics).
“We’ve built a lot of traction just with our social media following,” he said, crediting the team’s social media manager, Angel Guidel Lopez. “There’s traction there. You have to meet [student-athletes] where they’re at in order to take them where they want to go.”
Below are the full list of award winners. Congratulations, student-athletes and KCC Athletics coaches and staff.
2025-2026 Wave Athletic Awards
Female Athlete of the Year: Mariana Richards
Male Athlete of the Year: Marvens Jn Baptiste
Scholar Athlete of the Year: Kianny Aristy, Nathan Pierre
Cathy Dactera Award: Mariana Richards
Paddy Amedure Award: Devon Charles
Wave Award: Denis Charles, Mariana Richards
Women’s Volleyball
MVP: Solandra Arizaga
Wave: Nikki Mortellaro
Scholar: Nancy Pierre
Men’s Volleyball
MVP: Justin James
Wave: Noah Yafaie
Scholar: Nathan Pierre
Men’s Soccer
MVP: Klesti Murataj
Cheer
Wave: Abel Mulugeta
Cross Country
MVP: Genny Damour
Wave: Sunaib Ahmad
Scholar: Natalie Burch
Wave: Omario Walters, Hazin Hakim
Scholar: Damario Gabriel
Women’s Basketball
MVP: Aneiyah Alexander
Wave: Mariana Richards
Scholar: Kianny Aristy
Men’s Basketball
MVP: Jesus Rodriguez
Wave: Jayden Ennon-Martin
Scholar: Jayden Ennon-Martin
Track and Field
MVP: Mariana Richards
Wave: Myles Miller-Charles
Scholar: Mariana Richards
Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert H. Pertsas
100th Career Win: Dr. Lambert Shell (Nov. 13, 2025 vs. Bronx Community College 99-84)
25+ Years of Service Award: Max Dubov, Paul Watson
Athletic Department Awards: Carl Hinson, Angel Guidel Lopez, Alvaro Margades
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