MARCY, N.Y. – The winners of the SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award were announced last week. Eighty-six student-athletes across the SUNY system were honored. This year’s recipients averaged a 3.55 GPA.

Included among the winners were three SUNYIT athletes. That total is up from one winner in both 2011-12 and 2012-13.

This year’s SUNYIT honorees are as follows:

Ryan James (Saratoga Springs, N.Y. / Saratoga Springs), Sr., Men’s Basketball

Brett Gifford (Cazenovia, N.Y. / Cazenovia), Sr., Men’s Lacrosse

Brett Gruener (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa), Jr., Men’s Soccer

All three athletes had outstanding seasons to go along with excellent GPA’s. James led SUNYIT in points-per-game this year and was named to the NEAC All-Conference 2^nd Team.

Gifford was named to his second-straight NEAC All-Conference 1^st Team as a Long-Stick Midfielder, and was ranked in the top-5 nationally for caused turnovers. The senior was recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team as well.

Finally, Gruener, the only junior to receive the honor, helped anchor a historically outstanding defense for the SUNYIT Men’s Soccer Team this year. Gruener, who was named to the All-NEAC 1^st Team as a defender, helped lead SUNYIT to its 3^rd NEAC Championship in the past 4 years.

To view the full SUNY-wide list of winners, click here.