BURNSVILLE, Minn. - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has announced its 2019 Male and Female Honor Student-Athletes with
Kelly Pierce (football) and
Maddy Kunshier (track & field) selected to represent Concordia-St. Paul among the league's 32 student-athletes named to the annual list.
Pierce and Kunshier were CSP's institution nominees for the Britton Award (male) and Kelly Award (female) which went to Kirby Hora of Augustana football and Anna Winter of Upper Iowa volleyball.
The Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence is in its 35th year and recognizes the top male student-athlete and the Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award is in its 34th year and recognizes the top female student-athlete.
The member institutions of the NSIC nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the Britton and Kelly Awards, which is then voted on by the NSIC Faculty Athletic Representatives.
The nominees must meet the following criteria:
- A grade point average of 3.5 or better (4.0 scale)
- Evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum GPA (scholarship prizes and other academic recognition)
- Evidence of participation in the life of the institution
- Evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual's primary sport
The 32 student-athletes nominated for the NSIC's two most prestigious individual awards will also be honored as NSIC Male and Female Honor Student-Athletes of the Year at their respective institutions. Hora and Winter will be recognized on Tuesday, July 9 at the 2019 NSIC Hall of Fame Banquet at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Lakeville, Minnesota and will each receive a $3,000 post-graduate scholarship.
#53 Kelly Pierce (DL, 6-3, 265, Jr., Gilbert, Iowa / HS)
- Psychology Major & Business Management Minor with a 3.7 GPA
- 2019 NSIC Britton Award Nominee as CSP's Male Student-Athlete of the Year
- 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District Team
- 2019 All-NSIC South Division Honorable Mention
- 2X NSIC All-Academic (2017, 2018)
- Primarily played 3-technique but saw action in multiple spots across the defensive line
- Registered 8.0 TFL and 5.5 sacks
- Added 35 total tackles, two forced fumbles, five QB hurries and a pass breakup
- His 0.5 sacks per game ranked 15th in the Northern Sun
- Had at least a half TFL in eight of 11 games and at least a half sack in six games
- Has played in 27 games in three seasons with 96 tackles, 16.5 TFL and 9.5 sacks
Maddy Kunshier (Sprints/Mid-Distance, 5-5, Sr., North Branch, Minn. / HS)
- Psychology Major with a 3.96 GPA
- 2x NSIC All-Academic (2016,2017)
- One of 15 CSP seniors to earn NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction honor
- Has CSP's best 400m time this season at 1:01.70 at the Lady Bear Twilight
- Has collected nine top-10 finishes this year, including three second place marks
- Posted a personal record of 59.38 in the 400m at the 2017 NSIC Championships
- Finished the 200m at the Tommie Twilight in 25.83 seconds for a personal record and fifth place in 2017
