BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian University is going to take a look back at its 2020-21 athletic campaign over the next five weeks with a top 10 list of the top stories of the year voted on by the athletic administration. While the year was shortened and in certain sports cancelled by the pandemic, the Greyhounds plan to honor the stories that did occur during the academic year.
To begin the Top 10 Stories from the past year with a look at our No. 10 highlight – seniors Shane Mastro, Natalie Novotni and Peter Gingrich each being selected as the Landmark Conference Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year in one of their sports. Mastro was honored for men's indoor track & field while Novotni earned her award for women's cross country and Gringrich was named for men's outdoor track & field.
The Landmark Conference selects 22 senior scholar athletes each year to recognize the top student-athlete in each sport based on academics and athletics. The honorees must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 and are selected by a committee of Landmark Conference officers, athletics directors, senior woman administrators and sports information directors.
In three indoor track & field seasons, Mastro won the Landmark Conference title in the shot put all three years. In 2020, he captured the title in the event with a toss of 14.46 meters (47-5.25) and was third in the weight throw at 15.48 meters (50-9.5). Mastro was also named as United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Mideast Region in shot put last winter. During 2019, he won the shot put championship with a distance of 14.65 meters (48-0.75) and was third in the weight throw at 14.96 meters (49-1), and as a freshman in 2018, Mastro won Landmark Conference title in shot put with a toss of 13.82 meters (45-2.5), and he finished 12th in the weight throw at 11.15 meters (36-7).
In three cross country campaigns, Novotni was a two-time Landmark Conference Champion, winning the conference meet in both 2018 and 2019 to earn Landmark All-Conference First Team honors while being selected as the Landmark Conference Performer of the Year. She had a winning 6,000-meter time of 22:58.6 as a sophomore and a first-place time of 23:03.5 as a junior. As a team, the Greyhounds finished third in her freshman season when Novotni was 30th in the meet, and then runner-up in 2018 and 2019. She was a pair of Top 70 finishes at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional with a 32nd in 2018 and a 67th in 2019.
During the 2021 outdoor track & field season, Gingrich earned Landmark All-Conference Second Team honors in 800-meter relay with runner-up time of 1:56.89, and he also finished third in 4x400-meter relay in 3:36.70. In 2019, he was fourth in 4x400-meter relay in 3:27.41, fifth in 800-meter run in 1:56.46 and sixth in 1,500-meter run in 4:06.71 at Landmark Conference Championships with his 800-meter and 1,500-meter times being career bests. As a freshman in 2018, Gingrich finished ninth in the 800-meter run in 1:59.29 and 14th in the 1,500-meter run in 4:14.89 at the Landmark Conference Championships. He helped the 2018 and 2019 squads win Landmark Conference titles.
Read the full story about Mastro's honor at https://www.moraviansports.com/sports/mtrack/2020-21/releases/20210318evytcz.
Read the full story about Novotni's honor at https://www.moraviansports.com/sports/wxc/2020-21/releases/20210415kbcw5y.
Read the full story about Gringrich's honor at https://www.moraviansports.com/sports/mtrack/2020-21/releases/20210604h2kzvl.
The number nine story in the countdown will be released on Friday, July 9.
