Rutski, Brown Named SUNY Scholar Athletes of the Year for Hudson Valley Bowling

Hudson Valley Community College is proud to announce that sophomore bowlers Aidan Rutski and Laney Brown have been named SUNY Scholar Athletes of the Year in the At-Large category for the 2025-26 winter season, recognizing their outstanding achievements both academically and athletically.

Rutski, a Business Administration major with a 3.37 GPA, delivered a standout season for the Vikings men's bowling team. He achieved a perfect 300 game during conference play and played a pivotal role in the program's success throughout the year. Rutski helped lead Hudson Valley to a 28th overall conference championship, a second-place finish at Regionals, and a seventh-place showing at the national tournament. Individually, he placed 28th in the All-Events standings at nationals, capping off an impressive sophomore campaign.

On the women's side, Brown, also a sophomore Business Administration major, compiled a 3.64 GPA while leading the Vikings to one of their most successful seasons in recent history. She was instrumental in securing the program's first Region 3 Championship since 2010 and earned All-Region honors. Brown also captured the Region 3 Doubles title alongside teammate Jennifer Doty. On the national stage, she earned All-American honors, finishing third in the NJCAA All-Events standings with 2,219 pins. She helped guide the team to a third-place finish at nationals while also securing the top non-scholarship title. Individually, Brown placed 10th in singles competition and third overall in doubles.

More than 20 student-athletes are being honored with the SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards for combining academic achievement with success in the arena of athletic competition during the 2025-26 winter season.

The SUNY Winter Scholar Athlete Awards recognizes 24 student-athletes from SUNY colleges and universities sponsoring intercollegiate athletics at the four- and two-year levels who were nominated and voted upon by representatives of their respective institutions.

Nominating information includes cumulative grade point average, current and career statistics, and athletic and academic honors.

More than 14,000 student-athletes compete at SUNY institutions representing 53 different colleges and universities at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division III/USCAA and NJCAA levels and are eligible for the awards.

The four NCAA Division I member institutions that comprise the NCAA Division I Category for the SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards include University at Albany, Binghamton, University at Buffalo and Stony Brook, while 19 institutions make up the NCAA Division III/USCAA Category and include Alfred State, Brockport, Buffalo State, Canton, Cobleskill, Cortland, Delhi, Farmingdale, Fredonia, Geneseo, Maritime, Morrisville, New Paltz, Old Westbury, Oneonta, Oswego, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and SUNY Poly.

ESF, the lone four-year SUNY institution sponsoring intercollegiate athletics that is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) instead of the NCAA, participates in the program with the 19 NCAA Division III members for a total of 20 colleges and universities.

The NJCAA Category features the 29 two-year community colleges spread out across the state of New York: Adirondack, Broome, Cayuga, Clinton, Columbia Greene, Corning, Dutchess, Erie, FIT, Finger Lakes, Fulton Montgomery, Genesee, Herkimer, Hudson Valley, Jamestown, Jefferson, Mohawk Valley, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, North Country, Onondaga, Orange, Rockland, Schenectady, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tompkins and Ulster.

The SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards recognize outstanding academic and athletic success in 29 different sports and are presented three times a year to coincide with the specific sports contested in the fall, winter and spring seasons. The Scholar Athletes of the Year in each sport will then be nominated for an overall Scholar Athlete of the Year for men's sports and women's sports in each category.

The Fall Scholar Athletes of the Year were announced in January and the spring winners will be released in June. The overall male and female Scholar Athletes of the Year in each division will be announced in July. Student-athletes will receive photo plaques commemorating their accomplishments.

Because sport sponsorship varies among institutions, a minimum sponsorship formula has been developed for award selections. At least three (3) institutions must sponsor the sport in the Division I category, while at least five (5) institutions must sponsor the sport in the SUNY Division III/USCAA and SUNY NJCAA categories. For sports that do not meet the minimum threshold to be a viable award, an at-large category has been developed for each level and each season.