It was an absolutely incredible year for CHC and Griffin Athletics as the College enjoyed a fourth straight championship celebration, historic moments, broken records, playoff successes, MVP and Player of the Year accolades, and no shortage of awards and honors. CHC’s athletes continue to excel in the classroom and on the courts/fields.
The 2023-24 academic year saw 13 of the College’s 18 teams reach the postseason and no shortage of historical moments and milestones for CHC Athletics. Among the highlights: the men’s tennis team reached the championship final for the 11th consecutive year, the women’s basketball team reached the conference final for the first time since the College joined Division II and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the women’s cross country team finished as the runner-ups at the championship meet, their best ever finish. And of course, the hallmark moment of the season, another CACC Championship for the men’s lacrosse team, which has now won four consecutive titles.
Let’s take a look at the year in review for the CHC athletics program!
Four Teams Play for Titles, Achieving Historic Results
A Dynasty Worth Celebrating as Men’s Lacrosse Goes Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back
Another year, another triumph for the Chestnut Hill College Men’s Lacrosse Team as they claimed their fourth consecutive championship title, officially establishing themselves as the team to beat in CACC. An absolutely incredible achievement in its own right, it carries even more weight when considering that athletes in the Class of 2024 graduated from the College and the program having never lost a championship game and having amassed only 16 losses (just four in conference) across their four years.
Each championship special in its own way, 2024’s crown saw the Griffins face off against Wilmington University, the lone CACC team to pin a loss on CHC in the regular season. The title game offered the team a chance to avenge that loss and avenge it they did. A dominant second half helped the Griffins cruise to a final score of 17-8. Junior Sam Slater ’25 paced all scorers with seven of those goals en route to being named the CACC Championship Tournament MVP.
Women’s Basketball, Women’s Cross Country, and Men’s Tennis Contend for Titles
While of the CHC athletics programs only the men’s lacrosse team was able to claim a trophy in 2023-24, three of the College’s other teams reached the title games/meets of their respective sports. There is no shame in finishing in second place and all three Griffin teams showed heart and determination in reaching those championship events.
The men’s tennis team continues to be among the CACC’s best, reaching a remarkable 11th-consecutive CACC Championship final. While the team ultimately fell to Jefferson University, they did so in front of a supportive audience of students, faculty, and staff, who came out to support the Griffins as they played for a title on their own home court.
History was made for both the women’s basketball and women’s cross country teams as they reached the championship in their respective sports.
With each of the conference’s 11 teams taking part in the CACC Cross Country Championship meet, it came down to just Chestnut Hill College and Jefferson University on the final points tally. Jefferson edged out CHC but not before the Griffins set program records setting bests in their highest-ever finish at the meet and their highest points total (90). The Griffins placed three runners in the top 10 of the meet overall, another record with Gabby Hassler ’26 becoming the first Griffin to earn All-CACC honors for cross country in back-to-back seasons.
The women’s basketball team continued their strides toward becoming a CACC powerhouse as they finished the 2023 regular season with a 20-9 record (12-4 in conference play) and the second seed in the championship tournament. After defeating Dominican University in a nail-biter at home, the Griffins went on to a definitive 18-point victory over Goldey-Beacom College. This win ensured the Griffins a trip to the CACC final for the first time in program history. The Griffins played valiantly, ultimately falling short to Jefferson University, one of the top teams in the country.
Nine Teams Compete in Postseason Play
Beyond the CHC athletics teams competing in championships, two fall sports teams reached the conference semi-finals with the women’s volleyball team winning a CACC Tournament game for the first time in program history, defeating Dominican to reach the semifinals, but losing to eventual conference champion, the University of Bridgeport. The women’s tennis team reached the conference semi-finals for the fifth straight season, and in March, the women’s bowling team reached the conference semi-finals for the second consecutive year as Chestnut Hill College hosted the championship. They fell to eventual champion, Caldwell University.
Women’s soccer and men’s basketball reached the quarterfinals in conference tournament play while individual sport teams, men’s and women’s track and field, golf, and men’s cross country competed in their respective conference championship meets.
Impressive Academic and Athletics Honors for Students
Accolades were certainly not in short supply for CHC Athletics as individually, 32 athletes earned all-conference honors over the 2023-24 season with two athletes, Cole Stanchina ’24 and Sydney Watts ’25 earning all-conference honors in two sports (cross country and track and field). Both athletes also ended their seasons in historic measure with Watts breaking the College’s record time for the 5,000 meter race that stood since 2018 and Stanchina breaking the 10,000 meter mark that was set in 2019. Stanchina also earned all-region honors for both cross country and track and field – the first Griffin athlete in the history of the two programs to do so.
Sprint Football led the way with seven athletes named to the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) all-conference teams. Men’s Lacrosse followed closely behind with five players named to the CACC all-conference team, including the Goalkeeper of the Year (Julius Sorino) and the Defensive Player of the Year (Daniel Grubb). Three Griffin athletes also earned CACC Rookie of the Year honors in their respective sports: Elena Arenas Guisasola (Women’s Tennis); Abdoulaye Kamagate (Men’s Soccer) and Bridie McCann (Women’s Basketball).
CHC Athletics also received the NCAA Division II President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the second consecutive year, recording a four-year academic success rate (ASR) of 90% for the 2013-16 cohorts. The Presidents’ Award is given to schools that achieve a four-year ASR of 90 percent or higher. The ASR is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes that participate in NCAA sponsored sports, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships (these athletes are not included in the federal graduation rate). Chestnut Hill College ranks among the top 40 NCAA Division II schools with their 90% four-year ASR. Over the course of the College’s Division II history (2008-2024) the Griffins have had an average ASR of 87%.
Academically, Griffin athletes produced a 3.21 average GPA for the spring 2024 semester and a 3.18 average GPA for the fall and spring semesters combined. An impressive 16 out of 18 teams had a team GPA over 3.0 for fall and spring semester combined with the women’s tennis team compiling a 3.819 team GPA for the 2023-2024 academic year, the top mark among all teams. The men’s tennis team was the top men’s program at 3.682 for the academic year.
A record 35 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors were earned by student athletes in 2023-24, with 20 of those advancing to the national Academic All-America ballot voting. Less than 5% of all four year college athletes at any level (NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA etc.) ever earn Academic All-District honors. Senior Molly Killion ’24 earned Academic All-district honors in both women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse (part of women’s at-large program) this year, making her the first athlete in school history to earn Academic All-District accolades four times over the course of a collegiate career.
The Griffins also had a record 84 conference all-academic team honorees, equaling their number from last year. Seven athletes were named to the Philly-SIDA Area Academic teams for their respective sports with Stanchina earning recognition for both Men’s Cross Country and Men’s Track and Field (another Griffin first).
In addition to the individual academic honors, six teams earned academic recognition by their respective coach’s associations for their excellence in the classroom in 2023-24. The five teams are baseball, women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, men’s lacrosse and women’s and men’s tennis.