Valparaiso University awarded 82 student-athletes with Presidential Academic Honors while also handing out the Laurel Award at the 19th Annual Academic Honors Banquet for Student-Athletes held on Sunday evening in the Harre Union.

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

Alyssa Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago H.S.), and Lindsey Gilman (South Bend, Ind./Marian H.S.), both members of the cross country and track and field teams, were presented with the annual Laurel Award, honoring the graduating senior student-athlete who achieved the highest cumulative grade point average. This is the first time since 2007 that two individuals shared the honor.  Bradford is a secondary education major while Gilman is a chemistry major.

Bradford and Gilman also were two of six individuals to earn the Finishing at the Top honors, given to graduating seniors with a cumulative grade point average of 3.9 or higher.  Joining Bradford and Gilman in Finishing at the Top were soccer player Jackie Kondratko (South Bend, Ind./Granger H.S.), a mechanical engineering major, football player Adam Rundh (Aalborg, Denmark/Orjanskolan H.S.), a finance and international business double major, cross country and track and field athlete Windy Santa Cruz (Fall Creek, Wis./Fall Creek H.S.), a chemistry major, and baseball player Matt Stucky (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran H.S.), a finance major.

In addition, a pair of senior student-athletes annually give remarks on their experiences throughout their Crusader careers.  This year Gilman joined soccer player Steve Shively (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central H.S.) in the honor of addressing the nearly 150 student-athletes, families, administration members, and professors that were in attendance.