WEST HAVEN, Conn. – On Thursday night, New Haven Athletics hosted its annual end-of-year celebration, highlighting the impacts made by its student-athletes throughout the year. Closing out its first year as a Division I program, the University Athletics Department honored Jayden Shwed (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) and Caitlin Daley (Norwich, Conn./Norwich Free Academy) as the first-ever recipients of the Blue & Gold Excellence Award.

The Blue & Gold Excellence Award recognizes one male and one female student-athlete who exemplify excellence in athletic performance, academic achievement, and commitment to Charger Core Values.

Shwed's accomplishments during his time at New Haven include being named an Academic All-Star by the FCS Athletic Directors Association, the Student Leadership Award from the Pompea College of Business, one of the only players in program history to run for a touchdown, catch a touchdown pass, and throw a touchdown pass in his career, and coaches describe him as "one of the only people I have met with a limitless supply of energy. I have never seen him get down on himself or on his teammates."

During her time with the Chargers, Daley has started every match since her sophomore year. This past year, she finished second in the nation in saves per game (8.86) and registered the third-most saves in a single game across the nation on Sept. 14 against UMass Lowell. Daley is a seven-time Dean's List scholar and has been named to the conference's Academic Honor Roll in all of her four years. Daley is described by her coaches as "extremely passionate about New Haven, often called upon by our team and athletic department to help represent the program, and well known amongst her peers and within our campus community."