Jacobs, LeClair Highlight Night at the Lied Winners

Gallery: (4-24-2022) A Night at the Lied
Lincoln – Nebraska Athletics celebrated its top student-athletes on Sunday, as A Night at the Lied returned to an in-person event to recognize the top performances of the 2021-22 year.  A Night at the Lied recognizes outstanding performances in competition, classroom and community outreach over the past 12 months. 

Seniors Andy Jacobs (Women's Track and Field) and Dylan LeClair (Men's Gymnastics) won the most coveted awards at the 32nd annual event, as they were selected as the 2021-22 Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively, by a vote of the faculty members of the Intercollegiate Athletic Committee.

Jacobs is the ninth female Husker track and field athlete to earn the honor and first since Tierra Williams in 2017. The Rochester, Minn., native is a two-time second-team All-Big Ten honoree in the pole vault. She earned four top-three finishes at the Big Ten Championships during her career and has 12 career titles in the event.  She has career bests of 13 feet, 8.5 inches indoors and 13 feet, 9.75 inches outdoors.  In the classroom, Jacobs was a third-team Academic All-American in 2021, when she was chosen as one of Nebraska's Outstanding Scholars. A four-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Jacobs received her undergraduate degrees in broadcasting, journalism and psychology in 2021. 

LeClair is the eighth Husker gymnast to be named Male Student-Athlete of the Year and the fourth in the last five seasons. LeClair has been in the lineup for the past three seasons, helping the Huskers to a trio of NCAA Finals appearances, including a fourth-place finish in 2022.  This season he has competed in every event for the Huskers, including a pair of appearances in the all-around. He led the Huskers off in five events at the NCAA Championships earlier this month. He has been a standout in the community and in the classroom during his career. A seven-time NU Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll member, he is a three-time Collegiate Gymnastics Association All-America Scholar-Athlete and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. He was named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship team on three occasions and was a Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award recipient in 2021. He will graduate next month with a degree in nutrition and health sciences 

Jacobs and LeClair will be Nebraska's Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients in 2022. The conference's most exclusive award was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence. The Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student from the graduating class of each university who had "attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work." Big Ten schools currently feature more than 9,800 students competing in intercollegiate athletics, but only 28 earn this prestigious award on an annual basis. In more than 100 years of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, more than 1,500 students have earned this distinction.

Billie Andrews (Softball) continued an outstanding season as she was named Best Female Athlete. Andrews has been a catalyst to the Huskers' 34-11 record, including an 18-game win streak that ended Saturday. A first-team All-Big Ten shortstop in 2021, Andrews is the first Husker softball player to win this honor. This season, she is hitting .340 with 18 homers, 46 RBIs and 46 runs scored, while topping NU in homers, RBI, runs scored, walks (31), on-base percentage (.455), slugging percentage (.764) and stolen bases (15). Andrews is currently ranked in the top-10 in the Big Ten in eight categories, including first in both homers and walks. Dating back to the 2021 Night at the Lied, Andrews is hitting .354 with 21 homers, 55 RBI and 55 runs scored in 57 contests. 

Ridge Lovett (Wrestling) was chosen as Best Male Athlete after reaching the NCAA Finals this past season at 149 pounds. Lovett posted a 24-4 record, including 10 wins over ranked opponents, and went 10-1 in dual matches for the Big Red. After placing fourth at the Big Ten Championship, Lovett reached the championship match before falling to three-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis in the finals. Lovett's efforts spurred Nebraska to a fifth-place showing at the NCAAs, the program's first top-five finish since 2009.  Lovett is the third Husker wrester to win the award since 2015. 

In a year filled with many outstanding performances by first-year Huskers, it was Lexi Rodriguez (Volleyball) and Alex Talley (Track and Field) who took home top honors. 

Rodriguez was chosen as the Outstanding Female Newcomer after helping the Husker volleyball team post a 26-8 record and NCAA runner-up finish in 2021. The AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Rodriguez appeared in all 34 matches, averaging 4.33 digs and 1.10 assists per set, as she set a school freshman mark for digs in a season with 524. A first-team All-American, she captured six weekly awards on the year, including four-time Freshman of the Week accolades.  She is the fifth Husker volleyball player to be named Outstanding Female Newcomer in the past seven years. 

Talley was tabbed as the Outstanding Male Newcomer after leading the Huskers to a third-place showing at the 202 Big Ten Indoor Championships. A transfer from North Dakota State, Talley was named the Big Ten Men's Field Athlete of the Championships after winning the weight throw and earning runner-up honors in the shot put.  Talley, who set NU's school record in the weight throw (73- 3 ½) in his first meet as a Husker, become the first male Husker in school history to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships in both the weight throw and shot put, garnering first-team honors in the weight throw with a seventh-place finish, while his 12th place effort in the shot put earned him second-team All-America accolades. 

A total of five student-athletes received the Outstanding Scholar Award, which is presented to student-athletes in their final season of eligibility or who are graduating next month while carrying a 3.90 or better GPA. The Husker soccer program featured three of the honorees in Natalie Cooke, Hannah Young and Ashley Zugay, as well as Kirsten Baete (Women's Golf) and Tom Westenberger (Men's Golf).

The Herman Trophy GPA Award winners featured a pair of teams reclaiming the title after several years with the women's cross country and men's tennis team taking top honors. Matt Wackerly's women's cross country team claimed its 10th honor with a team GPA of 3.741 in 2021, the third-highest GPA since the award began in 1995. The men's tennis team under Coach Sean Maymi earned its ninth Herman Trophy GPA Award and first since 2016 with a team GPA of 3.459.

Life Skills presented the Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award on Sunday. This award, named in honor of the late Husker punter Sam Foltz, was presented to 27 student-athletes across all sports who exhibit strong leadership qualities, commitment to service and ability to encourage/empower peers. The Life Skills program also named three winners across all sports of its most prestigious individual award - the Heart & Soul Award. The 2022 Heart & Soul winners were Cassidy Ray (Bowling), Karlee Seevers (Softball) and Ben Stille (Football)

Life Skills also honored the members of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team, as a total of 243 student-athletes were recognized. The student athletes on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team have combined to complete more than 4,000 hours of service of 2021-22.

Overall, a total of 348 Huskers earned academic medallions at A Night at the Lied. Gold medallions (113) were presented to those for highest academic honors (3.75-4.00 grade-point average). Silver medallions (96) were awarded to those for high honors (3.50-3.749 GPA), while bronze medallions (139) were presented to student-athletes with honors (3.00-3.499 GPA).

2021-22 University of Nebraska Athletic/Academic/Life Skills Awards
Female Student-Athlete of the Year & Big Ten Medal of Honor: Andy Jacobs, Track and Field

Male Student-Athlete of the Year & Big Ten Medal of Honor: Dylan LeClair, Men's Gymnastics

Best Female Athlete: Billie Andrews, Softball

Best Male Athlete: Ridge Lovett, Wrestling

Outstanding Female Newcomer: Lexi Rodriguez, Volleyball

Outstanding Male Newcomer: Alex Talley, Track and Field

Outstanding Scholar Awards (5): Kirsten Baete, Women's Golf; Natalie Cooke, Soccer; Tom Westenberger, Men's Golf; Hannah Young, Soccer; Ashley Zugay, Soccer

Heart & Soul Awards (3): Cassidy Ray, Bowling; Karlee Seevers, Softball; Ben Stille, Football.

Women's Herman Team GPA Award: Cross Country (3.741 GPA)

Men's Herman Team GPA Award: Tennis (3.459 GPA)

Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award (27): Brian Beach, Men's Cross Country; Elliott Brown, Football; Damion Daniels, Football; Kinsey Davis, Women's Gymnastics; Olivia Ferrell, Softball; Jessica Gardner, Women's Track & Field; Kendyl Hofmeister, Bowling; Maddie Holland, Women's Track & Field; Kenzie Knuckles, Volleyball; Gwen Maeha, Bowling; Omar Manning, Football; Matt Masker, Football; Daniel Mattern, Men's Track & Field; Brice Matthews, Baseball; Daniel Monahan, Wrestling;  Passmore Mudundulu, Men's Track & Field; Tristan Nelko, Men's Golf; Kristina Novak, Tennis; Cecelia Ossi, Rifle; Anni Raley, Softball; Madesyn Ronquillio, Swimming & Diving; Jaz Shelley, Women's Basketball; Taya Skelton, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field; Lindsey Thiele, Golf; Abby Volkmer, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field; Nic Wiedenhorn, Men's Tennis; Ashley Zugay, Soccer