DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University honored the accomplishments of its student-athletes, coaches, and teams at the eighth annual Victors Awards show on Tuesday night at the Egyptian Theatre in downtown DeKalb. The award show recognizes the successes from the 2016 spring, 2016 fall, and 2016-17 winter seasons.
 
Corey Thomas of the NIU football team was named Mr. Victor E. while Ally Lehman of the women's basketball team took home Miss Victor E. honors. The Mr. and Miss Victor E. Award goes to individuals who have excelled not only in athletics, but also in academics and in their community.
 
Corey Thomas was a three-year starter at defensive tackle for the NIU football team. He recorded a career-high 38 tackles as a senior and seven stops in NIU's comeback win at Eastern Michigan. He earned the Mental Toughness Award from the Chicago Chapter of the National Football Foundation and was named the Most Inspirational Player by the NIU coaching staff.
 
Ally Lehman finished third in the MAC in scoring (18.3), rebounds (9.6), and assists (6.5), earning First Team All-MAC honors. Lehman also recorded two triple-doubles during the season and was awarded MAC West Player of the Week honors six times. Following graduation, Lehman will begin four years of active duty with the United States Infantry.
 
Picking up her second award of the night, Lehman was joined by NIU football's Kenny Golladay in being honored as NIU's Athlete of the Year for their outstanding athletic performances over the past year. In just two seasons, Golladay finished his career ranked among NIU's all-time greats:  sixth in catches, fifth in receiving yards, and tied for eighth in touchdown catches. The Huskie earned First Team All-MAC selection as a senior and lead the Huskies in receiving with 1,156 yards for 87 catches, becoming the first player in school history to record back-to-back 1,000 yard receiving seasons.
 
The Community Service Champion, awarded to the individual who has gone above and beyond in service hours, was given to Lena Gautier of women's golf. Gautier volunteered over 40 hours in the DeKalb/Sycamore area this past year. She has spent time at the Zurich Women's Clinic, Kid's Golf Foundation, and at Feed my Starving Children.
 
The Community Service Team of the Year Award is determined by the amount of points each team accumulates. Points are received based on the amount of volunteering. The Huskie student-athletes volunteer with local schools, retirement homes, soup kitchens, community gardens, and DeKalb community organizations. The women's golf was awarded the Female Community Service Team of the Year. The team complied over 100 hours in the surrounding communities and averaged 21.13 hours per student-athlete. Baseball took home the award on the men's side after totaling 600 hours, an average of 17.43 hours per player. The team volunteers weekly at Heritage Woods of DeKalb and Hope Haven.
 
The Male and Female Team of the Year Awards were given to wrestling and volleyball. The Huskie wrestling team completed the 2016-17 season in record breaking fashion, scoring the most team points at the MAC Championships since 1985, sending the most wrestlers to NCAAs in 32 years, and advancing three grapplers to the Round of 12 at NCAAs. The team also extended their streak to 46 consecutive appearances at NCAAs. The volleyball team saw great success as they finished with a 25-6 record, a program-best 15-1 MAC record, a 14-game winning streak, and a clinch of the MAC West. The Huskies made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 after winning the MAC Championships.
 
The respective head coaches of the wrestling team and volleyball teams, Ryan Ludwig and Ray Gooden, were honored as NIU's Coaches of the Year.
 
Brock Hudkins of the NIU wrestling team and Alex Frenz from the Huskie softball team were named Newcomers of the Year. At 125 pounds, Hudkins placed third at the MAC Championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. At the national level, the freshman advanced to the prestigious Round of 12. He was also named to the NWCA All-Academic Team. Frenz was named Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year after posting a 16-8 record in 31 starts. She was named Third-Team NFCA All-Region honoree and was Second-Team All-MAC selection, while earning a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team as well as the MAC All-Tournament team. She posted a 2.27 earned run average, allowing 76 runs (57 earned in 175.2 innings pitched), and tallied a team-high 133 strikeouts.
 
Billy Kerr of athletic training was awarded the Huskie High Five Award for his willingness to go above and beyond for his student-athletes.

The Unsung Hero Award is given to an individual who has made significant strides towards serving the best interest of their team through his or her selfless commitment. Volleyball's Mary Grace Kelly received this year's award. She earned First-Team All-MAC honors as well as the MAC Tournament MVP award while leading the team in points. 
 
Play of the Year, which began with four nominees voted on at NIUHuskies.com, was narrowed down to two finalists that were voted on through a Twitter poll during the Victors. Trace Engelkes' pin at the NCAA Wrestling Championships edged out Jamyra Carter's 9.995 bar routine.
 
NIU's Faculty Athletic Representative, Matt Streb, was as in attendance to award Carlos Manzanas from the men's tennis team and Hope Schmelzle of cross country/track and field with the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. The Academic Team of the Year Awards were given to the NIU men's tennis and women's gymnastics teams.
 
Capping off the evening, Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics, Sean Frazier, presented the baseball and softball teams with the Victor's Cup. The Cup is awarded to the team who epitomized outstanding athletic, academic, and personal development, as well as community service achievement.   
 
 






2017 Victors Award Winners
 
Miss Victor E. – Ally Lehman, Women's Basketball
Mr. Victor E. – Corey Thomas, Football
Female Community Service Award – Women's Golf
Male Community Service Award – Baseball
Male Academic Team – Men's Tennis
Female Academic Team – Gymnastics
Male Presidential Award for Academic Excellence – Carlos Manzanas, Men's Tennis
Female Presidential Award for Academic Excellence – Hope Schmelzle, Cross Country/Track and Field
MAC Medal of Excellence – Mary Grace Kelly, Volleyball and Carlos Manzanas, Men's Tennis
Victor's Cup – Baseball and Softball
Female Newcomer – Alex Frenz, Softball
Male Newcomer – Brock Hudkins, Wrestling
Male Athlete of the Year – Kenny Golladay – Football
Female Athlete of the Year – Ally Lehman – Women's Basketball
Female Team of the Year – Volleyball
Male Team of the Year – Wrestling
Huskie Comeback Award – Katherine Prentice, Gymnastics
Unsung Hero- Mary Grace Kelly, Volleyball
Huskie High Five – Billy Kerr, Athletic Training
Women's Team Coach of the Year – Ray Gooden, Volleyball
Men's Team Coach of the Year – Ryan Ludwig, Wrestling
Community Service Champion – Lena Gautier, Women's Golf