Falotico wins second straight Male Athlete of the Year Award

MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin Athletic Department has announced that Gavin Falotico of both Men's Soccer and Men's Track & Field, has been named the 2016-17 Male Athlete of the Year. The Male Athlete of the Year award is the second straight for Falotico.

The CUW Athletic Department released its top stories of the season over the past few weeks and this week will announce its four major award winners from the 2016-17 season. On Monday, the Falcons announced the Female Athlete of the Year (Nora Imperl), while on Wednesday and Thursday the two Career Achievement Award recipients will be announced.

Falotico (Palatine, Ill.) was a standout two-sport athlete for CUW once again this season. It started in the fall, where he helped lead the Men's Soccer team to another successful season. Falotico then landed All-American honors in the spring as a javelin thrower for the Men's Track & Field team.

The All-American honors came on May 25 as Falotico competed at the NCAA Division III Championships. He qualified for the national meet at a last chance qualifier a week earlier and entered the competition ranked 17th out of 20. All he would go on to do was land another PR throw, this one landing at 62.31 meters, good for a seventh-place finish and All-American accolades.

Falotico also won the NACC meet in the javelin throw this season, the second straight year he has accomplished the feat. As a matter of fact, he was six-for-six in terms of winning the event at the meets he competed in up until the NCAA Championships.

The year started out on the pitch as Falotico helped lead the Men's Soccer program to another successful season. In fact, the Falcons started the season 5-0 and reached a top 25 national ranking for the first time in program history.

The sophomore was the top defender for the Falcons, standing out as a top center back in the region. Coaches took notice as Falotico was once again a First Team All-NACC selection, and was chosen as a Second Team All-Region selection. He helped anchor a defense that posted five shutouts throughout the season and one that allowed just one goal per match.

It was another outstanding season for Gavin Falotico. He followed up a 2015-16 Male Athlete of the Year honor with an even better year in 2016-17. For those reasons, Falotico is now a two-time CUW Male Athlete of the Year.

2016-17 CUW Athletics Awards
Female Athlete of the Year: Nora Imperl
Male Athlete of the Year: Gavin Falotico
Female Career Achievement: Announced June 28
Male Career Achievement: Announced June 29