BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) announced University of Minnesota Crookston's
Trevor Long, Jr., and
Paige Pitlick as 2019-20 NSIC Honor Student-Athletes.
The NSIC announced Minnesota State University's Maggie Knier as the recipient of the 2020 Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence. Alex Goettl of Minnesota State, was named the recipient of the 2020 Dr. William Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence.
Pitlick competed in softball, and also took up women's cross country as a senior, and holds a 3.76 GPA in biology and health sciences at Minnesota Crookston. She was very involved in several undergraduate research projects at Minnesota Crookston, including the freshwater sponge research on campus. Pitlick was a NSIC Butch Raymond Scholarship recipient and a NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction award winner. Pitlick was named Minnesota Crookston's 2019-20 Outstanding Female Athlete. She went down as one of the top pitchers in the history of Minnesota Crookston softball history, as well as one of the top student-athletes to come through the program. She set the Minnesota Crookston softball school records for strikeouts in a career, strikeouts/7 innings for career and season, strikeouts in a season, season ERA, and she holds the most strikeouts in a game since 2011 with 13. She helped the Golden Eagles to one of their best starts in program history, as they opened the 2020 season with a 6-10 mark. Pitlick posted a 3-5 mark as a senior with a 2.24 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched with 61 strikeouts and just 18 walks.
Long, Jr., competed in football for the Golden Eagles. He was a three-time NSIC All-Academic pick, and along with Pitlick, the recipient of the prestigious NSIC Butch Raymond Scholarship. Long holds a 3.74 GPA in biology and health sciences and was also very involved in undergraduate research projects for the Golden Eagles, including the freshwater sponge research at Minnesota Crookston. Long played safety and linebacker for the Golden Eagles over his five-year career in the Maroon and Gold. He was a lynchpin in the defense for Minnesota Crookston during the duration of his time as a Golden Eagle. As a senior, Long played in nine games with 41 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack. He finished with 243 tackles in his career for the University of Minnesota Crookston.
The 16 NSIC member institutions nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the Britton and Kelly Awards. The nominees must meet the following criteria: a grade point average of 3.20 or better (on a 4.0 scale); evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum grade point average (scholarship prizes and other academic recognition), evidence of participation in the life of the institution, and evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual's primary sport. The award is voted on by the NSIC Faculty Athletic Representatives.
The Britton Award was created in 1985 in honor of Dr. William Britton, a longtime faculty representative at Bemidji State. The Kelly Award is named in honor of Willis R. Kelly, an associate professor of physical education at the University of Minnesota, Morris. A member of the NSIC Hall of Fame, Kelly also coordinated the Minnesota-Morris Physical Education Department from 1970-87. She became the first director of women's intercollegiate athletics at Minnesota-Morris in 1976 and was later promoted to athletic director for the whole department.
The 32 student-athletes nominated for the awards will be honored as NSIC Male and Female Honor Student-Athletes of the Year at their respective institutions. Goettl and Knier will be presented with a $3,000 post-graduate scholarship.
