PELLA—Three-time national champion men's track and field decathlete Will Daniels and American Rivers softball pitcher of the year Mariah Fritz took the male and female athlete of the year awards to cap the Central College Student-Athlete Advisory Council's (SAAC) Dutchies program Sunday night.
           
With students absent from campus due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the fifth annual Dutchies program was staged virtually, instead of the traditional event held in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. KNIA-KRLS radio sports director Trevor Castle, the Voice of the Dutch, again served as emcee as SAAC recognized the best in Dutch athletics from April 1, 2019 to March 15, 2020. A seven-member committee made the selections after narrowing nominations from coaches down to four finalists in each of eight categories.
           
Some Central teams connected together online to view the program which aired Sunday evening. The full program can be viewed through https://youtu.be/sR37LKhJvVg
  Male Athlete of the Year
Daniels is the first repeat winner of the Male Athlete of the Year Award, capturing top honors in outdoor track and field after being selected last year for his efforts in indoor track and field. Abi Davis was a two-time selection as the Female Athlete of the Year Award winner in indoor and outdoor track and field, respectively, in 2016 and 2017.
Daniels is among the most decorated Central athletes in school history. He captured his third NCAA title last spring, winning the decathlon with 7,421 points, the second-highest point total in Division III history. A five-time all-American, Daniels was the Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in men's track and field and last month received the American Rivers' highest honor as the Duane Schroeder Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Female Athlete of the Year
With a pitching staff short on numbers, the softball team rode Fritz's right arm to produce a dramatic late-season surge for a conference title and NCAA tournament berth. The league pitcher of the year and all-region selection was 20-9 with two saves, throwing 172 innings and recording all 12 of Central's conference wins. She was the American Rivers nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Female Freshman Athlete of the Year
A key to the women's basketball team's turnaround season, Kelsea Hurley (Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) was a second-team all-conference pick as a guard after leading Central in scoring with 13.8 points a game. She also averaged 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists with 58 3-point goals.

Male Freshman Athlete of the Year
Drake Lewis (Lathrop, Mo.) arrived at Central at the start of the spring semester last year but made a swift impact in men's track and field.  He leaped 6-9 to take the American Rivers outdoor high jump title, then earned all-America distinction by placing eighth at the NCAA meet.

Record-breaking Performance of the Year
A two-time second team women's basketball all-conference forward, senior Kendall Brown (senior, Moravia) broke her own school record with 79 blocks, ranking 10th in Division III in a turnaround season for the women's basketball squad. She also established a new career mark with 238.

Moment of the Year
Trailing Wis.-Oshkosh 31-7 at halftime in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs, Central's season was all but over. The Dutch clawed to within 31-24 and had first down on the Oshkosh 34, but just 28 seconds remained. With an epic play in a season littered with them, a scrambling Blaine Hawkins narrowly averted a sack, then found Erik Knaack in full stride in the corner of the end zone for a tying score and an eventual 38-37 overtime win.
VIDEO: https://twitter.com/CentralDutch/status/1198385168056291330?s=20

Coaching Staff of the Year
The year's biggest surprise, Central's men's soccer team was picked to finish fifth in the conference. Instead, coach Garry Laidlaw's squad took home its first-ever league title as well as land its first NCAA tournament berth. Assistants Will Foskett, Greg Walter and Zach Jensen joined Laidlaw in receiving conference staff of the year honors.

Team of the Year
It was a season of firsts for the men's soccer team. Unheralded in the preseason, Central emerged with its first league championship, its first NCAA playoff berth and its first all-America honoree in defender Taylor Petkovich (senior, Littleton, Colo., Heritage HS). He was joined by goalkeeper Andrew Mathys (senior, Elburn, Ill., Kaneland HS) and defenders Landon Daniels (senior, Webster City) and Brant Mueller (sophomore, Bettendorf) in anchoring a rock-solid defense in a 14-4-2 campaign.