Eight Wolverines Named NSCA Athletes of the Year
4/3/2020 10:55:00 AM | Baseball, General, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Volleyball, Water Polo, Wrestling
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) released its list of 2019-2020 College All-American Strength and Conditioning Athletes of the Year with eight University of Michigan student-athletes from six sports receiving honors.
The eight All-American recipients include, Benjamin Keizer (baseball), Molly Garrett (women's lacrosse), Emma Cooper (women's soccer), Paige Jones (volleyball), Maddie O'Reilly (water polo), Sofie Pontré (water polo), Jack Medley (wrestling) and Mason Parris (wrestling).
"These incredible student-athletes' dedication, consistency and effort with regards to their physical preparation has not only raised the level of their own performance, but that of their teammates as well," said Mike Favre, director of strength and conditioning. "Their leadership by example has been, and continues to be, an asset to the success of their respective teams at the University of Michigan."
Keizer led his team in pitching appearances with eight as a senior captain. He was 1-1 on the season with one save and a 4.35 earned-run average in 10.1 innings pitched in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Garrett is a two-year team captain for the women's lacrosse team. She had 11 goals and two assists for a team that was 5-1 when the season was canceled. She tied for the team lead with 26 draw controls.
Cooper is a junior at Michigan who played in 20 games with three starts in the 2019 season. She scored one goal on the season as the team went 17-6-1 and reached the NCAA Tournament third round.
Jones was a third team AVCA All-American and first team All-Big Ten as a sophomore. She led the team in kills (463) and service aces (39).
O'Reilly and Pontré had the water polo team at 11-8 and ranked No. 7 in the nation when the season came to a close. O'Reilly led the team in goals (36), assists (34) and points (70) as a junior. Pontré is a team captain in her junior season and tallied 15 goals, six assists and 21 steals.
Medley and Parris bookended the Wolverines' wrestling lineup at 125 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, and contributed to a 7-6 dual-meet record. Medley posted a 19-12 mark in his first full season in the varsity lineup, placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships and was seeded No. 14 for what would have been his NCAA Championships debut. Parris was a near-perfect 28-1 on the season with 18 bonus wins, including 11 pins. He took runner-up honors at Big Tens and earned the No. 2 NCAA seed.
The award recognizes an individual's athletic accomplishments and dedication to strength and conditioning. Nominated by their coaches, each individual's determination to improve in athletics while maintaining academic prominence to serve as a great model for all student-athletes also is honored.
Players Mentioned
