FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Football player Jake Hess and swimming and diving standout Fi Connell earned the top honors at Northern Arizona University's 35th annual Golden Eagle Awards, which honor NAU student athletes for scholastic and athletic accomplishments.
Hess was chosen as the Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Connell was the Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. All told, 169 athletes were honored for making contributions to the athletics program while maintaining a minimum grade point average of 3.0.
Hess has a 3.55 cumulative GPA and will graduate this spring with a major in psychology. In two years since transferring to NAU from Boise State, he was a two-time Big Sky All-Academic selection, two-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award recipient and a 2012 Capital One Academic All-District 8 selection. On the field, Hess earned first-team All-Big Sky honors and received the David Couture Award as the Most Inspirational Player on the offensive unit. He was also a semifinalist for the 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy, an award that recognizes the top football scholar-athlete in the nation.
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Connell, who carries a 3.78 cumulative GPA and will graduate in May with a major in psychology and minor in health education, is a three-time WAC All-Academic selection and a four-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award recipient and has already been accepted to graduate school. On Tuesday, she earned NAU’s coveted Gold Axe award, a tribute to outstanding academic performance, leadership and service to the community.
In the pool Connell is a four-time CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major All-American. She is the program’s all-time record holder in the 100 and 200 backstroke and part of school records in the 200 and 400 medley relays. In her career, Connell totaled six WAC titles, three silver medals, and two bronze medals with 11 All-WAC First Team honors. Three of those medals came this season as Connell led NAU to a second-place finish at the 2013 WAC Championships.
The football program led the list of honorees with 38 student-athletes garnering Golden Eagle status, while the women's track and field program had 28 selections. Both the soccer and swimming and diving teams had 26 honorees.
Left to right: NAU president John Haeger, athletic director Lisa Campos, Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Jake Hess, psychology professor Meliksah Demir, Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Fi Connell, Golden Eagle Distributors president Kimberly Clements, Golden Eagle Distributors chairman Ginny Clements.
