ALBANY, N.Y. – Stony Brook's Robert Becker and Jonas Bickus have earned SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year honors as announced on Tuesday by Chancellor John B. King, Jr., from the SUNY System. They were honored for combining academic achievement with success in the arena of athletic competition during the inaugural selection of the SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards.

"At Stony Brook, we are fortunate to have student-athletes like Jonas and Rob who strive for everyday excellence in athletics and academics. I am grateful to SUNY for recognizing them as Scholar Athletes of the Year and recognizing their countless positive impact on our campus," said Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron. 
 
Becker who competes on the Seawolves' men's cross country and track & field teams was named to the All-CAA team after placing in the top 15 at the CAA championship meet this fall. He finished fifth with a final time of 24:38.8 (8K). Becker came in 10^th place at the ECAC championship and earned a 20^th place finish at the NCAA DI Northeast Regionals to take hoem All-Region honors. Earlier in the season he won the 2022 Providence Friar Invitational and the Stony Brook Season Opener. Becker holds a 3.78 GPA as a history major.
 
Bickus, a member of the men's soccer program was named to the All-CAA Third Team after the sophomore led the attack for Stony Brook in 2022 with a team-high and career-best 15 points (six goals and three assists). Bickus also led the team with 33 total shots and 17 shots on goal. He was one of three Seawolves to make 15 starts during the regular season leading his team to two wins with two goals in the 4-1 win over Saint Peter's and one goal in the 2-0 win against the College of Charleston. Bickus is a business management major maintaining a 3.71 GPA.
 
The Fall SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards recognized 21 student athletes from SUNY colleges and universities sponsoring intercollegiate athletics at the four- and two-year levels who were nominated and voted upon by representatives of their respective institutions.
 
Nominating information includes cumulative grade point average, current and career statistics, and athletic and academic honors.
 
More than 14,000 student-athletes compete at SUNY institutions representing 53 different colleges and universities at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division III/USCAA and NJCAA levels and are eligible for the awards.
 
About Stony Brook Athletics:
Stony Brook University's Athletics Department sponsors 18 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that compete at the NCAA Division I level. Their world-class facilities include the 12,300-seat Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, and a sports complex housing the 4,000-seat Island Federal Arena, which opened in the Fall of 2014. All of Stony Brook's men's and women's programs offer athletic scholarships. For more information about the Stony Brook Seawolves, visit stonybrookathletics.com.
 
About the State University of New York:
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY's 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the state's only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.3 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2021, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit suny.edu.