EASTON, Pa. - The PARDees, the 13^th annual event that recognizes the individual and team accomplishments of Lafayette student-athletes, was held in Kirby Sports Center on Monday night. 

Student-athletes, coaching staff and athletic administration enjoyed food and festive activities before the award ceremony began at 7 p.m. Director of Athletics Sherryta Freeman and Lafayette College President Nicole Hurd gave remarks to the audience, while Gary Laubach, play-by-play voice for Lafayette Sports Network, emceed the evening show. 

Football took home Team of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year laurels after earning the program's 700^th victory and the Patriot League Championship title following a 49-21 victory over Lehigh on Nov. 18. The Leopards, under guidance of the Fred M. Kirby II '42 Head Football Coach John Troxell, compiled peak rankings of No. 16 in the AFCA Poll and No. 20 in the Stats Performance ballot on Oct. 20 en route to the most single-season wins in more than 40 years at Lafayette.

Julia Greeley of track and field and Andrew Campbell of men's swimming were crowned the Maroon Club Scholar-Athletes. Greeley compiled a 3.9 GPA as a civil engineering major, while Campbell had a 3.93 GPA, majoring in Biology.

Leopard of the Year was awarded to football's Jamar Curtis and field hockey's Lineke Spaans, each having breakout seasons with outstanding contributions on their respective fields. Curtis earned All-Patriot League and All-America honors after recording 1,460 rushing yards and finishing second in the nation in rushing. Meanwhile, Spaans, a co-captain for the team this year, totaled 32 points for All-Patriot League First Team, All-Mideast Region and All-American Second Team honors.

The Oaksie Award, given in honor of Dr. Wilbur Oaks '51, was allotted to Eric Ponieman of men's soccer for his community, leadership and service values. The junior defender is a peer mentor, editor for the Lafayette newspaper and director of the Lafayette men's soccer Earn Your Spots book club.

Matt Bayly, the director of Sports Medicine, presented the Courage Award to men's lacrosse senior defender Sean Rushton, who faced a season-ending injury in the spring of 2023. Rushton spent countless hours rehabbing his knee and returned to action this February, scoring a goal during his first game back as the Leopards took down Hampton.

The PARDS Award represents what it means to be a student-athlete on College Hill: Passionate, Accountable, Resilient, Driven and Selfless. Sam Fowler of the men's cross country and track and field teams took home the prestigious laurel because of his dedication to Lafayette athletics and the track leadership council.

The 1913 Trophy, a senior scholar-athlete award presented to one female and one male athlete, was awarded to volleyball's Gracie Gibson and Peter Lehman of men's lacrosse. Both recipients presented stellar academic achievements, as well as outstanding athletic careers on College Hill. Gibson maintained a 3.9 GPA in Psychology as a four-year starter and three-time Academic All-Patriot League selection. Lehman, an Economics major, was tabbed a Scholar All-American and led his team in goals scored in 2021-23.
 
Hale Lombard of men's soccer and Lexie Coldiron of women's lacrosse were awarded this year's Charles L. Albert '08 title. This honor is given to seniors with the most outstanding athletic careers. Lombard, the latest Leopard to score double-digit goals in a single season, had 71 points on the year with four All-Patriot League laurels to match, only the second player in Lafayette men's soccer history to complete that feat. Coldiron earned her second-consecutive All-Patriot League Second-Team honor on Monday afternoon after totaling 484 saves in nearly 50 starts for the Maroon and White.

Lafayette's 2024 Fashion Committee featuring Angel Awono, Sauda Ntaconayigize and Emma Shields, also crowned award winners for best shoes, India Ralph and Alex Darrah, best accessory, Maggie Klug, as well as the best dressed Leopard of the night, Andrew Bowsher.

Peter Lehman's game-winning men's lacrosse goal against Boston U. on April 13 was voted the 2023-24 Top Play, by student-athletes during the PARDees.


For the latest on the Lafayette College athletics, follow the Leopards on X @GoLeopards and Instagram @goleopards.