CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheCCSA.com) – Incarnate Word sophomore Hector Ruvalcaba Cruz (Tijuana, Baja, Calif) has been named the CCSA Men's Swimmer of the Year, and fellow sophomore teammate Dawson Martinez (San Antonio, Texas) has been named CCSA Men's Diver of the Year for the 2017-18 season. In addition, NJIT senior Scott Quirie (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) has been named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the CCSA announced Thursday.
Ruvalcaba Cruz helped lead Incarnate Word's Men's Swimming and Diving team to the 2018 CCSA title. He won three events at the CCSA Championships including the 200-butterfly final, 400 IM and 200 IM. Ruvalcaba Cruz's performance earned him the Men's Most Outstanding Male Swimmer of the Championship award.
Martinez had a record-breaking performance at the 2018 CCSA Championships where he was named the Men's Most Outstanding Diver of the Championship. The Cardinal took the 3-meter dive competition with a total score of 421.50. He then claimed the 1-meter dive title with a score of 387.85. Martinez was also named the CCSA Diver of the Week three times this season.
Quirie boasts a 3.96 GPA at the NJIT. The chemical engineering major is part of Honor's College and has been on the Dean's List every semester since he started as a freshman. A member of the Chip Alpha Sigma Honors Society, Quirie has never received a grade lower than a B+ at NJIT. In the pool, he holds five individual NJIT records (50 back, 200 back, 100 IM, 200 IM, 400 IM) and is also part of three record relay teams (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 800 free relay). He won CCSA Swimmer of the Week Honors twice this season and at the CCSA Championships qualified for the finals in three events. In the 200 IM prelims, Quirie broke his own NJIT record with a time of 1:52.72. The senior also qualified for the 400 IM finals and the 200 back finals and finished 10th and 12th respectively.
Also nominated for Swimmer of the Year: Will Smith (Florida Atlantic), Jordan Mintz (Gardner-Webb), Sidrell Williams (Howard) and Nick Wukovits (Old Dominion).
Also nominated for Diver of the Year: Logan Downey (Florida Atlantic).
Also nominated for Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Connor Hodges (Florida Atlantic) and Jordan Mintz (Gardner-Webb).