Seventh ASHPYs Honors Everything AU Athletics Over Last Year

The seventh ASHPY awards were presented on Sunday (April 30) night by Ashland University's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, celebrating the best of AU's athletic department over the last calendar year.
 
"It was just so cool," said Trent Maddox, Ashland SAAC president and sophomore football quarterback. "It's easy to celebrate a group of student-athletes that have won this many championships. It's so fun to just be able to celebrate them. I think it went well. The right people were awarded the right awards."
 
Said Savaya Brockington, Ashland SAAC vice president and women's basketball junior guard, "It was super special. I'm so glad we had the chance to put it together. It was a huge success. Just a huge shoutout to all the nominees and the winners."
 
Two of the ASHPY awards given out on Sunday that had nothing to do with athletic performance, but of things much bigger, were the Perseverance & Courage Award to freshman women's soccer goalkeeper Sarah Watson, and the Light Giver Award, named after former Eagle track and field head coach Jud Logan, to fifth-year women's basketball guard Hallie Heidemann.
 
Watson shared her story during her acceptance speech of being an advocate for mental health following her father's suicide when she was 10, saying, "I didn't want to let that stop me. I wasn't going to continue to live life without changing the people around me, and having a positive impact on people around me.
 
"I just wanted everybody to know it's OK to not be OK. It's OK to reach out for help. It's OK to go see a therapist. It's OK to be on medication. It's OK to say that you need help."
 
"Truly inspiring," said Brockington. "I think just, appreciating her, and her coming up on stage to even share that story with us all. It was so impactful for her and who she is as an athlete."
 
"That and the Light Giver," Maddox said. "Sarah and Hallie, it's amazing to be able to be able to recognize their character and the way they handle themselves."
 
The list of remaining ASHPY awards presented Sunday night follows:
 

• Scholar Athlete: Women's basketball senior guard Sam Chable
• Community Service: Women's soccer
• Best International Athlete: Men's soccer freshman defender Francesco Chiappo
• Best Championship Performance: Women's basketball's NCAA Division II national championship
• Play of the Year: Football junior wide receiver Jake McLoughlin and sophomore tight end Nabil Abdus-Salaam teaming up for the game-clinching forced fumble against Notre Dame College in a home first-round playoff game
• Game of the Year: Men's basketball defeating nationally-ranked Hillsdale three times in 2022-23
• Record Breaking Performance: Heidemann (most career 3-point field goals and games played in program history)
• Team GPA: Women's basketball
• Eagle of the Year: Bob and Jan Archer
• Fan of the Year: Al Honaker
• Coach of the Year: Women's basketball head coach Kari Pickens
• Male Freshman of the Year: Men's basketball guard Simon Wheeler
• Female Freshman of the Year: Track and field sprinter Jade Avance
• Male Athlete of the Year: Football senior linebacker Michael Ayers
• Female Athlete of the Year: Senior women's basketball forward Annie Roshak

 
Ashland's SAAC has raised a $1,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and $1,000 for other various charities during 2022-23.