At each SUNY Athletic Conference championship, the conference awards the student athlete at the finals site with the highest GPA. Four Lakers have won this award, known as the Elite 20 award, during the 2025-26 academic year.

The SUNYAC Elite 20 Award recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The award is presented to the student athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the SUNYAC's 22 Championships.

So far this season, Lakers honored with the award within their respective sport include:

  • Women's cross country: Elena Gaffney
  • Men's basketball: Gary McLane
  • Women's indoor track and field: Elena Gaffney, Kaleigh Durso
  • Men's hockey: Josh Simpson

Gaffney, a sophomore on the women's cross country and track and field teams, comes from Freeville. In cross country, Gaffney was named athlete of the week by the conference and athlete of the month at Oswego.

She broke the Oswego record in the women's 6K and finished fifth at the championships while being named first team all-conference. For indoor track, Gaffney has broken the 5000m record and the 3000m record, while also being a part of the women's distance relay medley team that qualified for regionals. At the SUNYAC Championships, Gaffney finished second overall in the women's 5000m.

McLane is a sophomore on the men's basketball team from Camillus. He started in all 28 games for the Lakers this season averaging 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and two assists per game. On the defensive end, McLane came up with 16 blocks and 69 steals.

Simpson is a sophomore on the men's ice hockey team from Ajax, Ontario. As a defenseman, he appeared in 29 games this season for the Lakers. He scored five goals and assisted on eight others for a season total of 13 points.

A sophomore on the women's track and field team, Durso hails from Utica. Durso competes in multiple events including the high jump, long jump, the 60-meter hurdles, the 200m, the 800m and shotput. At the SUNYAC Championships, she finished sixth overall in the high jump with a score of 1.47.

— Submitted by Intercollegiate Athletics