Valparaiso University awarded 132 student-athletes with Presidential Academic Honors while also handing out the Laurel Award at the 24th Annual Student-Athletes Academic Honors Banquet held on Sunday evening in the Christopher Center.

Presidential Academic Honors are awarded to student-athletes who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher after at least two semesters at Valpo.

Hayden Hast (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens), a member of the football team, was presented with the annual Laurel Award, honoring the graduating senior student-athlete who achieved the highest cumulative grade point average. Hast is on pace to graduate in May with a degree in electrical engineering.

Hast was also one of three individuals to earn the Finishing at the Top honor this year, given to graduating seniors with a cumulative grade point average of 3.9 or higher. Joining Hast were women’s soccer player Abby Kenyon (Canton, Ohio/Jackson), a meteorology and mathematics double major, and men’s soccer player Jacob Unger (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek), an exercise science major.

The evening also featured 13 individuals being honored as Outstanding Student-Athletes for carrying a cumulative grade point average of 3.9 or higher, regardless of their class in school. In addition, a pair of senior student-athletes annually speak on their experiences throughout their Crusader careers. This year, men’s basketball player Vashil Fernandez (Kingston, Jamaica/Princeton Day [Md.] Academy) and softball player Lindsey Norway (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Christian) had the honor of addressing the nearly 150 people in attendance.

Valparaiso University alum Amanda Meyer was the keynote speaker for the evening. A 2014 inductee into the Valparaiso University Athletics Hall of Fame, Meyer earned eight varsity letters during her five years at Valpo, as she was a member of the women’s soccer, women’s basketball and track and field teams. Meyer earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Valparaiso University and is now employed as a senior manager of technology operations at Ameriprise Financial Services.