SUWANEE, Ga. -- In voting done among members of the respective peer councils, Colorado College was honored as Athletic Training Staff of the Year and Trinity University was voted Sports Information Staff of the Year.
The Sports Information Staff of the Year award began prior to the 2016-17 season, while the Athletic Training Staff of the Year award was introduced ahead of the 2012-2013 season.
The Colorado College athletic training department is made up of seven staff members: Dr. John Pak, the Head Team Physician, Rich Bennett, Associate Athletics Director/Sports Performance and Wellness, Lauren Peterson, Associate Director, Athletic Trainer/Occupational Therapist, Holly Pechacek, Assistant ATC, Cody Ahlgrimm, Assistant ATC, Marcin Szczyglowski, Coordinator of Rehabilitation and Stacy Anderson, Athletic Insurance Coordinator.
The group covered athletic training duties for all 16 NCAA men’s and women’s varsity sports. The staff played a major role in Colorado College's five combined SCAC regular season and tournament titles throughout the year. It is the mission of the Colorado College Sports Medicine Staff to provide access to elite medical care. Through a personal, inclusive, physical and psychological wellness lens, we strive to enhance physical capability for optimal performance, provide injury prevention strategies, and stimulate recovery from injury/illness. Support for student-athletes is provided by a team of clinicians; including physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, strength and conditioning specialists, sports nutritionists, mental health specialists, and other allied health providers. By utilizing an evidence-based multi-disciplinary approach to promote injury prevention, wellness education, and effective management of athletic injuries and illnesses clinicians create an innovative and collaborative culture for optimum care for our student-athletes.
"Athletic trainers play a critical role in healthcare, providing expert injury prevention, evaluation, and rehabilitation to ensure the safety and longevity of student-athlete performance," said SCAC Commissioner Dwayne Hanberry. "Without the dedication of the highly skilled AT staff at Colorado College and the staffs across our conference, the performances we take for granted on our fields, courts, tracks and pools would not happen at the level they do."
This marks the third time in CC history to earn SCAC AT Staff of the Year honors, joining Trinity as the only other institution to win the award three times. Previously CC was also honored in 2017-18 and 2014-15.
The Trinity University sports information department is made up of four staff members: Justin Parker, Associate Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director, Peyton Thibault, Assistant AD for Multimedia, Garret Landin, Assistant AD for Sports Communication and Josh Moczygemba, Executive Producer – Tiger Network. This is the second-straight year, the third time in the last three years and fifth time overall Trinity has earned the honor. The Tigers’ SID staff previously won the award in 2016-17, 2018-19, 2021-22 and 2023-24. Trinity is the first staff to earn the prestigious award five different times.
Trinity’s sports information department handled media coverage and hosting duties for all 18 varsity sports, including covering SCAC Tournament Championships runs in men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, women’s swimming and diving, women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s track and baseball. Additionally, the Trinity staff hosted and coordinated media coverage for the opening two round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship and the 2025 NCAA Baseball San Antonio Super Regional. The relentless effort from Thibault and Landin to create and post original content to help promote Tiger student-athletes has seen the growth of its social media platforms rise to over 12,890 followers combined between the main athletic X and Instagram accounts.
"Sports Information Directors are the storytellers and strategists behind the scenes - ensuring athletes, teams, and programs are accurately represented, recognized, and remembered," said Hanberry. "As expectations and responsibilites of the SID position have expanded, the staffs at Trinity and across the SCAC have adapted to provide unique and dedicated coverage to ensure our student-athletes and coaches are recognized for their good work, both in and out of the classroom."
The Tiger Network, which will celebrate its 10 year anniversary this upcoming academic year, broadcasted more than 135 Trinity athletic events over the course of the year.
"Congratulations to both Rich and Justin and their respective staffs on receiving these honors from their peers," said Hanberry. "The recognition specific to the good work done by the athletic training staff at Colorado College and sports information staff at Trinity is certainly earned and should be honored."
