ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul department of athletics has announced its 2019-20 CSP Male and Female Athletes of the Year with senior
Jordyn Clark (soccer) and junior
Chris Garrett (football) earning the honors.
The honor awards the top athletic performers among Concordia's student-athletes with criteria focused on, but not limited to, performance in competition. Nominations for the award were solicited from head coaches of each program and voted on by athletic department head coaches and administrators.
Clark is the first student-athlete to earn the honor from the soccer program since records of the department were displayed starting in the 2006-07 season while Garrett is the fifth recipient from the football program during the same time period. It's the first Athlete of the Year honor for the football team since Zach Moore captured the honor in 2013-14 when football (and fall season) had a run of three in four years.
JORDYN CLARK, soccer
(GK, 5-5, Sr., Eagan, Minn. / Eagan HS)
2019 NSIC Goalkeeper of the Year
2019 All-Central Region First Team goalkeeper
"I know we have some outstanding female student athletes at CSP this year and I am so proud to have coached one. 'Clarky' is an excellent candidate for this award based on so many quality characteristics. Jordyn's final year was outstanding and record breaking on many levels. She was able to achieve so much based on her mental toughness, determination to overcome injury and driven personality to win games. She is a team player of the highest level and has the kind of positive personality that coaches dream of! I will miss her dearly - 100% my kind of player." – Steve Bellis, head soccer coach.
- United Soccer Coaches & D2CCA All-Central Region First Team
- NSIC Goalkeeper of the Year
- Selected to the All-NSIC First Team
- Was named NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week (9/30)
- Led NSIC in shutouts (10) in league contests
- Set program record in wins with a 17-3-3 W-L record
- Set program single season record in shutouts (12.3)
- Set program record with 0.64 goals against average
- Made 82 saves for a .845 save percentage
- Made two shootout saves in the victory over Northeastern State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win
- Posted a career high nine saves as CSP posted first-ever win against Minnesota State (11/17), on the road to clinch the program's first-ever NSIC regular season championship
- Holds CSP career records in wins (26), shutouts (17.4), ties (8)
- Ranks second in career goals against average (.98), tied for third all-time in games played (47)
CHRIS GARRETT, football
(DE, 6-4, 230, Jr., Milwaukee, Wis. / Milwaukee Lutheran HS)
All-America First Team
Super Region 4 & NSIC Defensive Player of the Year
Cliff Harris Award finalist (DII Defensive Player of the Year)
Set Division II career record with 15 forced fumbles
"Not only do I think Chris is the best male athlete at CSP, I think he's arguably one of the best football players in the country as he's led the nation in sacks twice, and was one of the top 12 players in the country as a junior." – Shannon Currier, head football coach.
- 2019 Harlon Hill Trophy semifinalist from Super Region 4
- 2019 Cliff Harris Award finalist
- 2019 D2CCA, D2Football.com, Don Hansen & Associated Press All-America First Team selection
- 2019 AFCA All-America Second Team selection
- 2019 D2CCA & Don Hansen Super Region 4 Defensive Player of the Year
- 2019 D2CCA & Don Hansen All-Super Region 4 First Team
- 2019 NSIC Defensive Player of the Year
- Two-time All-NSIC South First Team selection
- 2018 AFCA & AP All-America First Team
- 2018 D2CCA All-America Second Team & Don Hansen All-America Third Team
- 2018 D2Football.com All-America Honorable Mention
- 2018 All-Super Region 4 First Team by D2CCA & Don Hansen's Football Gazette
- Two-time 2019 NSIC Defensive Player of the Week and earned D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Week once
- A two-time National Defensive Player of the Week and five-time NSIC Defensive Player of the Week choice in his career
- National leader with seven forced fumbles, 3rd most in DII history in a season
- Set DII career record with 15 forced fumbles
- Second-straight year leading NSIC in sacks (1.27/game), ranking 2nd in DII after leading the nation in 2018
- Second in the NSIC and ninth in NCAA DII with 1.9 TFLs per game
- Set CSP career sacks record with 36.5, ranking 13th in DII career history and second in NSIC history
- Ranks third in NCAA Division II history with 1.30 sacks per game in his career
- Has 48.5 career TFLs in just 28 games played following junior year, third most in CSP history
- Ranks 14th in NCAA Division II history with 1.73 career tackles for loss per game
- Finished the year ranked 18th in the NSIC with 69 total tackles and has 166 tackles in 28 career games
- Set school record with 6.5 TFLs and second-most sacks (5.0) in CSP history with NCAA DII & NSIC single game highs vs MSU Moorhead
- His 5.0 sacks against MSUM are seventh most in a single game in NCAA DII history
- His 6.5 TFLs against MSUM are 11th most in a single game in NCAA DII history
- His three forced fumbles against MSUM is tied for third most in a game in NCAA DII history, an achievement he matched as a freshman at Augustana
