Valparaiso University’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) announced their year-end awards on Thursday afternoon at their annual picnic.

            Steve Bartholomew (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township H.S.) was named the Male Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row while Angie Porché (Lynwood, Ill./Thornton Fractional South H.S.) was named the Female Athlete of the Year.  Bryce Shafer (Wabash, Ind./Northfield H.S.) was voted the Male Newcomer of the Year while Amy Anderson (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.) and Amy Andracki (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.) shared the Female Newcomer of the Year honor.

            Bartholomew has the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year as well as the Outstanding Field Performer and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the weight throw.  Porché was an Honorable Mention All-American selection in volleyball and set a school record with 584 kills on the season.

            Shafer leads the Crusader baseball team with 35 strikeouts after earning Athlete of the Week honors in the Horizon League following his second collegiate start.  Anderson, a track and field athlete, was a member of the school-record breaking 4x400 relay that set the record at the Horizon League Indoor Championships.  Andracki, a swimmer, set school records in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke as a rookie as well as was a member of a pair of record-breaking relays.

            In addition, Zach Rodeghero (New Lenox, Ill./Providence Catholic H.S.) was the recipient of the Bill Steinbrecher Sportsmanship Award and Sara Hughes (San Antonio, Texas/Perrysburg [Ohio] H.S.) received the Rebecca D. Carter Memorial Award given to the male and female student-athletes who have exhibited a high degree of sportsmanship throughout the school year.

            The awards were voted on by SAAC, which has representatives from all 18 of Valparaiso’s athletic teams.