2023 Victors Awards Celebrate the Accomplishments of Huskie Student-Athletes

DEKALB, Ill. – NIU Athletics held its annual “Victors” awards show on Thursday night (May 4) in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in the Holmes Student Center as the on- and off-field achievements of Huskie student-athletes were recognized and celebrated. The NIU softball and wrestling teams each collected six awards on the night while the women’s gymnastics program picked up five awards.

Izzak Olejnik was named both the Male Athlete of the Year and Mr. Victor E. Huskie after taking eighth place and All-America honors at the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Olejnik won his second consecutive Mid-American Conference title at 165 pounds, was named Most Outstanding Wrestling at the MAC Championships and finished the season with a 31-6 record. 
 

Along with Olejnik’s pair of awards, the Huskie wrestling team picked up the Male Team of the Year award after having four wrestlers place in the top-three at the conference championship. NIU Wrestling was also awarded the Men’s Victors Cup, which is awarded to the team who epitomizes outstanding athletic, academic, personal development and community service achievement.

Wrestling’s Ryan Ludwig was named the Men’s Team Coach of the Year and Blake West picked up Play of the Year honors for his last second comeback win over Northwestern’s eighth-ranked Michael DeAugustino. 
 

A’Jah Davis of the NIU Women’s Basketball team earned both the Female Athlete of the Year and Ms. Victor E. Huskie awards. Davis earned First Team All-MAC honors as she averaged a team-best 16.2 points per game. Davis set a Huskie single-season record with 396 rebounds and broke the school career record with 54 double-doubles. Along with Davis’ two individual honors, the NIU Women’s Basketball team also received the Team Social Justice Award.

The Women’s Victors Cup highlighted the six honors taken home by the Huskie Softball program. Along with the Victors Cup, softball’s Avery Carnahan was honored as the Female Newcomer of the Year as she earned MAC All-Freshman Team honors in 2022 while hitting .268 playing primarily at shortstop.   

NIU Softball earned three other individual awards as Kelly Walinski picked up the Female Presidential Award for Academic Excellence, Madison Mathews received the Student-Athlete Social Justice Award and Delaney Ostrowski was honored as the Community Service Champion. In addition, the Huskie Softball team also received the Female Community Service Team of the Year award. 
 

The Female Team of the Year award went to the NIU Gymnastics team which set a school record with a team score of 196.350 against Eastern Michigan and finished second at the 2022 MAC Championships. Gymnastics head coach Sam Morreale earned the Women’s Team Coach of the Year Award and Gillian Dolitsky received the Huskie Comeback Award.

Natalie Hamp was recognized as NIU’s MAC Medal of Excellence Female Nominee and the Huskie Gymnastics team also claimed the Female Academic Team of the Year award. 
 

Liam Soraghan from the Huskie football team was named NIU’s MAC Medal of Excellence Male Nominee while Kacper Rutkiewicz picked up the Male Newcomer of the Year award after finishing third on the team in catches, second in receiving yards and leading NIU in touchdown receptions.

Drew Wiemers from the NIU Men’s Basketball team received the Male Presidential Award for Academic Excellence while the Male Academic Team of the Year went to the Huskie Men’s Tennis team.

Ella Mihacevich of the NIU Volleyball team was named the Unsung Hero. She was named MAC West Setter of the Week three times during the 2022 season and finished fourth in the league in assists.

The Male Community Service Team of the Year award was given to the NIU Baseball team, the Social Justice Administrator of the Year award went to Randi Napientek from the Student-Athlete Academic Support Services department and Director of Athletics Counseling Shyann Beach received the Huskie High Five, an award that honors a NIU employee whose contribution to athletics epitomizes the Huskie work ethic and dedication to student-athlete success. 
 

2023 Victors Awards Winners
Men’s Victors Cup: Wrestling
Women’s Victors Cup: Softball
Miss Victor E. Huskie: A’Jah Davis, Women’s Basketball
Mr. Victor E. Huskie: Izzak Olejnik, Wrestling
Female Team of the Year: Gymnastics
Male Team of the Year: Wrestling
Female Athlete of the Year: A’Jah Davis, Women’s Basketball
Male Athlete of the Year: Izzak Olejnik, Wrestling
Women’s Team Coach of the Year: Sam Morreale, Gymnastics
Men’s Team Coach of the Year: Ryan Ludwig, Wrestling
Female Newcomer of the Year: Avery Carnahan, Softball
Male Newcomer of the Year: Kacper Rutkiewicz, Football
Female Presidential Award for Academic Excellence: Kelly Walinski, Softball
Male Presidential Award for Academic Excellence: Drew Wiemers, Men’s Basketball
Huskie Comeback Award: Gillian Dolitsky, Gymnastics
MAC Medal of Excellence Female Nominee: Natalie Hamp, Gymnastics
MAC Medal of Excellence Male Nominee: Liam Soraghan, Football
Female Academic Team of the Year: Gymnastics
Male Academic Team of the Year: Men’s Tennis
Social Justice Administrator of the Year: Randi Napientek, SAASS
Team Social Justice Award: Women’s Basketball
Student-Athlete Social Justice Award: Madison Mathews, Softball
Huskie High Five: Shyann Beach, Athletics Counseling 
Unsung Hero: Ella Mihacevich, Volleyball
Community Service Champion: Delaney Ostrowski, Softball
Female Community Service Team of the Year: Softball
Male Community Service Team of the Year: Baseball
Play of the Year: Blake West, Wrestling