Albany, NY—Russell Sage College's department of athletics announced their award winners for the 2021-2022 academic year at the annual awards banquet.  In addition to several honors bestowed for athletic and academic excellence, Sage also selected the Gator of the Year Award for the department's 21 varsity sports for the 2021-2022 year.

            RSC's junior track and field captain John Coddington (Amsterdam, NY/Broadalbin-Perth) was honored as the Male Athlete of the Year in an individual sport and also honored as the men's outdoor track and field Gator of the Year.

            Head Track and Field Coach Nick Jones commented about Coddington, "John has had an impressive start to his college career, setting five school records and was named the Empire 8 Indoor Track and Field Rookie of the Year and also became our first Empire 8 Champion." He added, "He is a hard worker and dedicated to perfecting the technical aspect of all of his events. John is a great teammate; he is always willing to help guide his teammates and is modeling the way to be a successful student-athlete."

            Coddington capped his first season competing earning acclaim as the 2022 Empire 8 Indoor Track and Field Co-Rookie of the Year after finishing as the conference runner-up in both the Shot Put and the Weight Throw and scored 16 points at the meet.  He continued to break school records at every meet and finished the indoor season earning a spot at the 2022 All-Atlantic Regional Track and Field Championships, where he was also named to the All-Region Team, a Sage first. He recorded the second-best throw in the shot put (14.75 meters) and fourth-best weight throw performance (15.81 meters) on the indoor season in the Mideast Region. 

            As a member of Sage's outdoor track and field squad, he has established the program's records in the shot put (14.79 meters), the discus (39.95 meters), and the hammer throw (46.36 meters). He has posted invitational wins and runner-up finishes in several events as well. He has earned two Empire 8 Outdoor Track Performer of the Week awards and won the program's first Empire 8 Championship as he opened the 2022 Outdoor Championship with a win in the hammer toss. He also picked up a third place finish in the shot out as well as a fifth place finish in the discus. He scored 18 points at the meet and competed at the 2022 All-Atlantic Regional Track and Field Championship in the shot put and the hammer toss. He earned Empire 8 All-Conference honors in the hammer and was named the 2022 Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field Co-Rookie of the Year as well as earning a spot on the Sportsman Team.