Athlete Profile: Chris Santo

Cody Jones, Sports Editor

The Saint Anselm Hawks men’s basketball team would not be the same without senior forward Chris Santo. The history and secondary education major from Cherry Hill, New Jersey has been an instrumental part of the Hawks basketball program since he transferred to Saint A’s from the University of Vermont after his freshman year.

This year in particular was a breakout year for Chris. He finished the season with 620 points, giving him 1487 for his career, placing him among the top 15 scorers in Hawks men’s basketball history. Chris also broke the single-season Saint Anselm record for most field goals made as he went 252-405 on the season giving him an impressive 62.2 shooting percentage.

He also took home a long list of both conference and national recognitions this year including Northeast-10 Player of the Year, four Northeast-10 Player of the Week awards, was selected to the Northeast-10 First Team, the All Championship team, and the Daktronics East All-Region First Team. In addition, Chris is also eligible to be chosen for the Daktronics All-America Team which will be announced on Monday, March 23.

Overall, the Hawks basketball team had a very successful season and played for the Northeast-10 Conference Title as well as played in the first round of the NCAA Division Two Tournament. The team was able to accomplish a lot despite losing junior forward Mike McCahey earlier in the season to injury. Santo said that losing Mike was tough, but the team was able to achieve as much success as they did because they “rallied around each other to get past it.” As a result they were able to finish the regular season strong and contended on both the conference and national levels.

Chris’s family has been a major part of his basketball career at Saint A’s. His parents haven’t missed a single game all year, traveling all the way from Cherry Hill, New Jersey to support Chris and watch the Hawks play.

In addition to his busy basketball schedule, Chris student teaches at Goffstown High School as he works towards completing his secondary education certification.

Although his playing career on the Hilltop has now concluded, Chris plans to pursue the possibility of playing basketball overseas. Given the hard work and determination Chris has put in at Saint A’s, he definitely has a good chance to continue his playing career.