Rocco Honored By Connecticut Writers
First driver to be named state Male Athlete of the Year
The Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance is pleased to announce that Keith Rocco, the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion, has been named the Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year, and Maya Moore, a guard/forward on the national champion University of Connecticut women’s basketball team, has been named the Hank O’Donnell Female Athlete of the Year.
Both athletes will be honored at the 70th annual Gold Key Dinner, which will be held April 17 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.
Rocco, who competes in the SK Modified divisions at Stafford Motor Speedway, Thompson International Speedway and the Waterford Speedbowl, earned the national championship based on a formula that ranks performances at short tracks across the country. The best 18 finishes for each driver count toward the championship, and Rocco secured the title with his 18th victory in a full field of cars Aug. 14 at the Waterford Speedbowl. He finished with 22 victories in 2010 and also finished in the top five on in 45 races and in the top 10 in 56 races.
A native of Wallingford who lives in Meriden, Rocco is the first driver to win The Alliance’s Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year award since it was first given out in 1973.
Moore had a team-high 18.9 points per game and 150 assists in 2009-10 for the Huskies, who won their seventh NCAA championship following a 39-0 season. She ranked in the top 12 in the Big East in 10 statistical categories and had 14 double-doubles, and was named the 2010 Final Four Most Outstanding Player and the 2010 State Farm Wade Trophy Player of the Year.
A native of Collins Hill, Ga., Moore is currently a senior at UConn. She is the sixth UConn women’s basketball player to win the Hank O’Donnell Female Athlete of the Year award since it was first issued in 1984, joining Kerry Bascom (1991), Rebecca Lobo (1995), Jennifer Rizzotti (1996), Nykesha Sales (1999) and Diana Taurasi (2004).
Since 1940, the Alliance has recognized individuals from Connecticut who have achieved excellence on the youth, high school, college and professional levels. Those receiving the Gold Key this year include UConn-Avery Point baseball coach Roger Bidwell, Simsbury boys golf and boys soccer coach Ed Lynch, Notre Dame-Fairfield boys hockey coach Marty Roos and retired boys soccer coach Bill Wallach.
The Gold Key Dinner begins at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 17, 2011 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by contacting president Zac Boyer at zboyer@courant.com or by mailing a check to Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance, P.O. Box 70, Unionville, CT 06085. For more information on the history of the dinner, visit the Alliance web site at ctsportswriters.org. Additional honorees will be announced in the coming weeks.
Sources: Zac Boyer/Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance