WESTVILLE, Ind. - Purdue University Northwest Athletics held its second annual Leo Awards on April 26, 2018 to honor and celebrate the athletic and academic achievements of its student-athletes and teams from the 2017-18 academic year. The ceremony was held in the Great Hall at the James B. Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex on the Westville campus.
After completing its first year as members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and competing at the NCAA Division II level, the event began by honoring the 90 PNW student-athletes who earned spots on either the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence or GLIAC All-Academic Teams. In addition, the department honored four athletes who claimed All-GLIAC recognition this year in sophomore Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) from volleyball, sophomore Michael Brownsea (Albury, Australia/Albury) from men's soccer and junior Moritz Gisy (Duesseldorf, Germany) and sophomore Leon Kah (Munich, Germany) from men's tennis.
The Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor went to senior baseball player Jimmy Skiff (Dyer, Ind./Andrean). Skiff was an electrical engineering major and the No. 1 pitcher in PNW's starting rotation. The Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award went to senior Gabrielle Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley) from volleyball. Martin was a communications major and the Pride's leader in both kills and digs during the season as well as being named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team.
Taking home the Female Athlete of the Year award was senior Kyleigh Payne (Bourbonnais, Ill./Kankakee CC/Bishop McNamara) from softball. Payne was leading the GLIAC at the time in batting average (.440), runs scored (42) and triples (9) and led PNW in hits (62), home runs (10), RBI (39) and slugging percentage (.851) as well.
Sophomore Michael Brownsea (Albury, Australia) from men's soccer team won the Male Athlete of the Year award. Brownsea was a defensive standout for the Pride during the season. earning All-GLIAC Honorable Mention recognition and helping the team claim a berth to the 2017 GLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament.
Senior cross country runner Salvador Cordova (Hammond, Ind./Bishop Noll) was awarded the prestigious John Friend Leadership Award, which honors student-athletes with exceptional work ethic, positive attitude and superb performance both on and off the playing field. Majoring in mathematics, Cordova also served as Vice President of the PNW Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, organized the Handprints for Hope event to help end sexual assault and was a national semifinalist for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup.
Completing the special award winners were the Male and Female Freshman of the Year awards. The female recipient was Jennifer Crague (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) from women's cross country, while the male winner was Kevin McCune (Munster, Ind./Andrean) from baseball.
Other award winners from the 2017-18 Leo Awards were as follows:
Chancellor's Cup (awarded to team with highest GPA)
Women's Basketball
Most Improved Female Athlete
Shyla Huppenthal (Boulder, Colo./Northglenn), Women's Cross Country
Most Improved Male Athlete
Austin Kordik (West Chicago, Ill./College of DuPage/Community), Baseball
Commitment to Community
Auburn Dodd (Chicago, Ill./Brooks), Volleyball
Pride-Hustle-Desire (Female)
Cynthia Basu-Chavez (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville), Women's Tennis
Pride-Hustle-Desire (Male)
Moritz Gisy (Duesseldorf, Germany), Men's Tennis
Sportsmanship Award
Jennifer Crague (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central), Women's Cross Country
Best Breakthrough Performance
Softball defeating No. 9 ranked Southern Indiana to start season 4-1
Community Cares Challenge
Men's Cross Country
Most Spirited Team
Softball
Most Improved Team
Women's Cross Country
Week of Wishes Challenge
Women's Cross Country
