Lake Land Student-Athletes Honored

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois Athletics celebrated the success of its senior student-athletes on Thursday night with the annual Honors Reception held in the Baker/Warmoth Hall of Champions in Lantz Arena.  As part of the evening EIU honored student-athletes for their academic honors with 13 student-athletes and support members earning the Presidential Honor, presented to graduating seniors with a 3.75 or higher cumulative GPA.   The department also handed out the University Awards for seniors graduating with a 3.5 to 3.74 GPA.
 
The highlighted award for the evening was the presentation of the EIU Athletic Director's Award presented to the top senior male or female student-athlete that has represented the Panthers in athletic, academic and community arenas.  The finalists for this year's EIU Athletic Director's Award were Anne Bahr from women’s golf, Maria Baldwin from women’s cross country & track, Steve Fishman from men’s swimming and A.J. Hantak from football.   Baldwin was named this year's EIU Athletic Director's Award winner.
 
The Panthers announced the finalists for their Male & Female Senior Athlete of the Year and Male & Female Newcomer of the Year.  Those awards will be presented at the end of May following the completion of the Panthers 2017-18 athletic schedule.
 
The finalists for the Male Senior Athlete of the Year were Joe Duncan (baseball), Steve Fishman (swimming), Montell Goodwin (basketball), Mike Novotny (soccer) and Dougie Parks (baseball).
 
The finalists for the Female Senior Athlete of the Year were Maria Baldwin (cross country / track), Allie Hueston (volleyball), Haleigh Knapp (track & field), Darneisha Spann (track & field) and Jessica Wireman (softball).
 
The finalists for the Male Newcomer of the Year were Dustin Hatfield (cross country), Edgar Mesa (soccer), Tadiwa Mhode (track), Mack Smith (basketball) and Mark Williams (football).
 
The finalists for the Female Newcomer of the Year were Megan Burton (softball), Daphne Chang (golf), Pedra Hicks (track), Morgan LaMore (softball) and Taylor Steele (basketball).
 
The 12 EIU Presidential Award winners for this year included Matt Albert (Baseball), Anne Bahr (Golf), Niki Beringer (Swimming), Madi Fisher (Soccer), Steve Fishman (Swimming), Mitch Kimble (Football), Hannah Magda (Golf), Taylor Monahan (Softball), Hayley Richardson (Volleyball), Andrea Roberts (Softball), Alana Snider (Cheer), Darneisha Spann (Track & Field) and Grace Summers (Tennis).
 
The University Awards were presented to Austin Askin (Football), Maria Baldwin (XC/Track), Carrie Caplin (Soccer), Caroline Collet (XC/Track), Bradley Dewberry (Football), Cody Edwards (Football), Tyler Enright (Soccer), Alex Gowin (Golf), Haleigh Knapp (Track & Field), Bryan McPherson (Swimming), Zach Medawattage (Soccer), Ben Pitlock (Swimming), Grant Reiman (Tennis) and Trent Reiman (Tennis).