Bocchieri, Dachille and Laurent Earn Skyline Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honors
Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)
New York, NY| Seniors Courtney Bocchieri (women's volleyball) and Andy Laurent (men's basketball), and junior James Dachille (men's cross country) all received Skyline Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in their respective sports on Thursday, as announced on the conference's website.
Scholar-Athlete of the Year is awarded to the All-Conference First-Team selection with the highest GPA in each Skyline-sponsored sport. In Bocchieri, Laurent and Dachille, St. Joseph's College (L.I.) ties SUNY Purchase with a conference-high of three Scholar-Athletes of the Year in 2016-17.
"St. Joseph's College is proud to have three of our student-athletes represented on such a prestigious list," said Assistant Vice President & Senior Director of Athletics & Recreation Shantey Hill on Thursday. "Courtney, Andy and James work hard to manage the demands of being a student-athlete and I'm thrilled that they are being rewarded for their diligence; it is well deserved."
Bocchieri's second-straight First-Team selection came after leading the Golden Eagles and the conference in hitting percentage (.280). The middle hitter's 225 kill count was good for eighth in the Skyline and was the eighth highest single-season total in St. Joseph's history. Bocchieri, who was named ECAC Division III Metro Offensive Player of the Week on October 19 and Skyline Conference Player of the Week on October 17, graduated the program in the top-10 in career kills with 445 in just two years as a Golden Eagle.
Laurent, also a First-Team selection for the second-straight year, led the Golden Eagles in several statistical categories, including points (15.0/game), rebounds (6.2/game), assists (3.2/game) and steals (1.7/game). Additionally, Laurent finished the season eighth in the conference in points-, assists- and minutes-per-game and fifth in steals-per-game. Laurent would also land on the All-Met Division III Second-Team, appear on the MBWA Divisions II-III Weekly Honorable Mention (Jan. 24) and wrap his career third all-time in program history in points (1,566), fourth in rebounds (565), sixth in assists (319) and seventh in three-pointers (140) and steals (151).
A Nassau Community College transfer, Dachille earned a sixth-place finish at the 2016 Skyline Conference Championships where the men's cross country team placed second. Dachille would go on to earn All-ECAC honors at the ECAC Championships with a 16th-place finish. The men's team would earn a sixth-place finish in field of 18 teams at the annual event.
