Fortugno, Holz Named 2012 Scafani Award Winners

Seniors Marcus Fortugno and Clarissa Holz were honored as the respective 2012 Scafani Award Winners at the University of La Verne Athletic Department's Senior Blanket Awards ceremony Monday evening at Sheraton Ontario Airport.

Fortugno was bestowed the Anthony P. Scafani Male Athlete of the Year Award while Holz was named the Jesse Iles Scafani Female Athlete of the Year.

A three-time All-American in track & field, Fortugno recently won conference titles in 200 and 400 meters while also anchoring winning 4 x 100 meter relay at the SCIAC Championships on April 28.  He currently ranks No. 2 nationally in the 400 and No. 5 in the 200.  Last season Fortugno placed second in the 400 meters and third in the 200 meters at 2011 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships, and was named 2011 Division III West Region Male Track Athlete of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. 

Additionally, Fortugno is both the SCIAC & School Record Holder at 400 Meters with a clocking of 46.55 set in 2011, the fastest time in Division III last season.  He is a three-time SCIAC Champion at 400 meters and a two-time SCIAC Champion at 200 meters.

Holz has earned All-Conference honors in both track & field and basketball during her career. On the hardwood, she played two seasons and earned Second Team All-SCIAC honors as a sophomore in 2010.  That year she led the squad in rebounding and ranked second in scoring average. 

In track & field this season, she scored 4,270 points in the heptathlon on April 19, ranking among the Top 20 nationally in that event in Division III.  During her track & field career, she has earned All-SCIAC honors in the long jump (2012), high jump (2012), javelin (2012), 400 meter hurdles (2009, 2010) and 400 meters (2011).  Holz scored in three individual events and in one relay at the 2012 SCIAC Championships; La Verne Scholar-Athlete (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).

Additionally, seniors Jacob Ludvik and Micaela Castillo were selected as the 2012 La Verne Male and Female Scholar-Athletes, respectively.

A member of the SCIAC Champion baseball squad, Ludvik concluded the 2012 regular season with a team-high .405 batting average, which ranked third among conference leaders.  He led the SCIAC in doubles with 17 and was among the league leaders in hits, runs scored, total bases, and runs batted in.  Last season he was named First Team All-SCIAC and was honored earlier this season as representative on the D3baseball.com Team of the Week for the week of April 2-8.  He boasts of a 3.94 cumulative grade point average as a Movement & Sports Science major.

Castillo is a four-time letterwinner in both track & field and cross country, and has earned All-conference honors in both.  As a sophomore, she placed fourth overall in the 1500 meters at the 2010 SCIAC Championships, and in cross country she finished 17^th at the 2011 SCIAC championship meet in November to garner Second Team All-SCIAC accolades.  As a Movement & Sports Science major she has maintained a 3.91 grade point average.

During the ceremony, former Athletic Director Jimmy Paschal, who is retiring this year as Professor in the Movement & Sports Science Department, was also honored for his many contributions to La Verne Athletics during more than 40 years of service to the university.