Cornell forward Colin Greening, the ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year, has been selected as the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award winner for men’s ice hockey.
The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I men’s coaches, national hockey media and fans, is awarded annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey.
“It’s an incredible honor just to be part of the 20 great nominees, let alone the 10 finalists, and to be declared the winner is something I can only dream of. It’s special to me because it encompasses all the many facets of a person’s character, including the community service and the classroom, things that I take very seriously,” Greening said. “This award highlights all of the attributes of the type of person that I want to be. To be the winner among so many great people – when you look at all the different attributes of everyone in the top 10 and 20 for this award – to be the winner is absolutely incredible.”
Greening maintains a 3.95 grade point average in applied economics and management and is a member of Cornell’s Red Key Honor Society, which is limited to student-athletes who show tremendous leadership, integrity and responsibility within their varsity program in addition to a commitment to community service and academics.
Greening is extremely active in the Ithaca community with local elementary schools and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. He assisted the Porte De Belen Foundation’s trip to the Dominican Republic, by helping raise funds for building materials and collecting athletic equipment to be donated to the children of the region. For his efforts, he was one of only 25 students to be named a Cornell Campus “Changemaker.”
“Colin’s very deserving of such an honor. There couldn’t be a more complete definition of a student-athlete,” said Cornell head coach Mike Schafer. “Colin’s been a role model for kids in the community, his teammates and fellow student-athletes and others on the Cornell campus. He’s highly respected by the faculty and others who have been touched by his great enthusiasm and personality on campus.”
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
First Team
Matt Fairchild, F, Air Force
Colin Greening, F, Cornell
Dion Knelsen, C, Alaska
Garrett Raboin, D, St. Cloud State
Eli Vlaisavljevich, D, Michigan Tech
Second Team
Jean-Marc Beaudoin, F, Quinnipiac
Cody Chupp, F, Ferris State
Martin Nolet, D, Massachusetts
Rhett Rakhshani, F, Denver
Dan Ringwald, D, RIT
