presented the awards, which are based on academic achievement, athletic contribution, Christian commitment, leadership, campus involvement and service, as the culmination of the evening.

Richter, a major with a 3.64 GPA, was a four-year pitcher for the baseball team and plans to work in a sales or marketing position.  He was consistently on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference All-Academic Team and EMU’s Dean’s List.  Besides baseball, his campus life was filled with leadership on , EMU Royals Society and the .  He also volunteered at numerous places off campus.

“You are not an athlete just when you’re in season – you’re an athlete year round,” Richter explained in how he balanced his demanding schedule at EMU.  “Baseball provided me with the discipline I needed to enjoy a busy, but incredibly rewarding college career.”

Young, a captain with the women’s basketball team, was also on the Dean’s List and ODAC All-Academic Team, holding a 3.71 GPA with a major in and minor in .  She was a four-year member of Royals Society, helping with prospective students, as well as being a member of the .  Young was also a youth leader at her church and volunteered with a local food bank and the fall back-to-school backpack drive.

“Being a student-athlete has taught me to be mentally and physically strong in seemingly impossible situations,” said Young, who suffered a long-lasting shoulder injury her freshman season.  “God used basketball as the framework that I could grow in my relationship with Him, share my talents with others, and now go on to pursue a career in physical therapy.”

The Athletic Department staff also voted for Athlete of the Year winners.  Mitchell Leap (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) claimed the men’s honor with Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) taking the women’s.

Leap led the men’s soccer team in scoring for the fourth straight season, netting ten goals, which was also third-best in the conference.  He had five game-winning goals and was named All-ODAC First Team.  Leap graduates fourth in EMU history with 35 career goals and fifth with 80 career points.  Ygarza was a dynamic presence as a power forward for the basketball women, earning a spot on the All-ODAC First Team as a sophomore.  She led EMU with 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and was second in the ODAC in field goal percentage and free throws.

Also at the banquet, Newcomer of the Year Awards were given to Jenessa Derstine (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) in field hockey and Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, FL/Pace) in baseball.

Derstine, an attacker for the Lady Royals, led the team with 29 points this year.  She scored ten goals and assisted on nine others.  Her speed helped ignite EMU’s offense and landed her on the All-ODAC Third Team.  Rodriguez batted .374 with 28 runs and team highs of four homeruns and 41 RBIs.  His RBI total was third in the ODAC during the regular season and the third baseman was named All-ODAC Second Team.

As part of the dinner and banquet, four seniors gave short reflections on their time playing a sport at Eastern Mennonite: Valerie Landis (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown) from field hockey, Justin King (Lititz, PA/Warwick) from baseball, Pete Nelson (Harrisonburg, VA/Christopher Dock) from track and cross country, and Brent Yoder (Sarasota, FL/Sarasota Christian) from soccer.

King uniquely talked about playing four years of a collegiate sport even though the experience was not living up to the ideas he had beforehand.

“I have learned a lesson I would have not chosen to learn on my own, because it was painful,” said King.  “Through the ups and downs, the wins and losses, I have had to rely on God as my source of hope and strength when I was weak, discouraged, or overwhelmed.  The Apostle Paul says it best in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, ‘Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’’”

Landis was the lone senior on the field hockey team this fall and stepped into a leadership role which was not natural to her.  She said that will help her as she leaves college.

“I recognize that I am going to be a new member of a completely different team after graduation,” Landis explained.  “What I have learned over the past four years is that I can’t let my age or lack of experience hinder me from being responsible or taking initiative.  God has granted each of us the experience of being part of a team and it is my hope that we are able to leave this community as an athlete and a graduate and apply those interpersonal skills learned on either the court or field and apply them in the next stage of life, appropriately and meaningfully.”

Dr. Ronald Stoltzfus, Faculty Athletic Representative, and Dr. Nancy Heisey, Undergraduate Academic Dean, presented the Academic Achievement Awards to each team’s individual with the highest GPA.  Those awards went to: Richter and Brad Billings (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) in baseball, Jennifer Blankenship (Bassett, VA/Bassett) in women’s basketball, Owen Longacre (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) in men’s basketball, Nels Akerson (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) in men’s cross country, Alli Eanes (Harrisonburg, VA/Westmont Hilltop) in women’s cross country and track, Jenna Longenecker (Lancaster, PA/Conestoga Valley) in field hockey, Bryce Shank (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) in men’s soccer, Erica Detweiler (Hickory, NC/Fred T. Foard) in women’s soccer, Aaron Sloan (Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) in men’s track, and Kendall Garber (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) in men’s volleyball.

The evening included a special mention of , a senior student worker with the athletic events staff, who had passed away from cancer just a week prior to the banquet.

What is your major? What do you hope to do?

My first degree was in Communications, but this second one is in Environmental Sustainability. The next step is hopefully grad school for a Masters in renewable energy. It’s a growing field but it is also important for the future that we be responsible with our resources. I was interested especially in the Environmental Sustainability program at EMU because it incorporates social justice and sustainability.

What originally made you choose to come to EMU?

Probably the Mennonite aspect. I went to a Mennonite high school. Originally I was resistant as my parents wanted to send me here, but I appreciated the community and some of my friends from high school were already here. When I visited as a senior I stayed with one of my best friends who was on the track team, and that visit was a lot of it.

I was also recruited for the track team, which probably influenced my decision at the time, although I didn’t have the success I had hoped for. But after my four years I was happy with my decision, probably for different reasons than I originally came.

What has it been like athletically for you here, especially your unique story of running track, being the interim track coach two different times, and now running cross country?

From the beginning, even from the first time I met (then coaches) Paul Johnson and Lester Zook, I appreciated the community aspect of the teams and also the flexibility that I didn’t have to dedicate my whole life to athletics. I was able to participate in other activities and didn’t have to choose between track and singing with the chamber singers or the play. That was one of the most important aspects for me as an athlete, so as a coach I tried to continue that because at EMU there are lots of other opportunities besides athletics.

Now I probably try to be more of a leader than when I was in school before. I never was the most talented person on the team, but I try to work just as hard as everybody else. Cross country is hard to compare to track because of distances, etc., but I’m definitely having more success this season than when I ran cross country my sophomore year.

What has it been like being a student-athlete while at EMU?

It’s tough; it’s been a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding at the same time. You have to make some sacrifices, but I have learned to budget my time so I have more of a schedule in my day.

What are one or two things you have learned from playing your sport here that you will take with you when you leave?

Especially with cross country I think I’ve learned that everybody can contribute to a team in their own way. Not everybody is a leader and not everybody is going to run 25:00 in an 8k. But when everybody is working hard to get better it makes the whole team better. Work ethic goes a long way. I’m not the most talented guy on the team but I try to help in whatever way I can.

That’s one of the reasons I like the sports of cross country and track specifically. It’s an individual sport but there’s definitely a team aspect to it. I think that’s something that Coach Lewkowicz has worked hard to create is that team togetherness.

Nafziger shaved 15 seconds off his time from the ODAC Championships two weeks ago and to cross fourth Saturday at the meet hosted by Texas Lutheran in Sequin, TX.  With his time of 26:26.7, he was just 22 seconds behind winner John Kieffer on Centre College.

The finish also earned Nafziger All-South/Southeast Region First Team honors and he beat six runners who crossed in front of him at the ODAC meet.  He will now race on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the National Meet hosted by UW-Oshkosh.  Seniors Tim Smith of Roanoke and Sean Whitson of Virginia Wesleyan were second and third, respectively.

Coach Jason Lewkowicz said Nafziger is regaining his form after struggling with a midseason illness.

“I am thrilled for Dan,” said Lewkowicz.  “He has been through a lot this season and to put it all together on the big stage shows his toughness and determination.  He will represent EMU very well next week in Wisconsin.”

was EMU’s next runner at the regional meet, taking 89^th in 29:02.1.

The Royals’ young core provided the rest of the team scoring, headed by freshman who was 126^th in 30:40.2.  Classmate was 156^th in 32:14.4 followed two spots later by in 32:18.9.  crossed in another ten spots with a time of 34:37.8.

As a team, Eastern Mennonite took 19^th out of 23 teams.  The men had 480 points ahead of Southwestern (TX) at 526 and behind Birmingham-Southern, which had 465.  ODAC opponent Lynchburg took the team title by a single point over Centre, 112 to 113.