ST. AUGUSTINE – The Flagler College Department of Athletics held its fifth annual Saints Choice Awards Tuesday night at the Lewis Auditorium.

Flagler student-athletes were able to vote for their own teammates and friends for various awards. A red carpet was draped over the front steps of the auditorium to give the attendees a celebrity feel like one would see at the Oscars.

The Male Athlete of the Year went to Trace McDonald of the men's lacrosse team. The senior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida earned first-team All-Peach Belt Conference honors and was named the PBC Tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring six goals and assisting on three more. So far this season, McDonald leads the team in points with 65 as he has scored 27 goals and tallied 38 assists. He was an honorable mention All-American by USA Lacrosse and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). He was named the PBC's Offensive Player of the Week on March 2.  

The Female Athlete of the Year went to Henriette Stranda of the women's golf team. The senior from Kråkstad, Norway is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation by SCOREBOARD. She is a first-team All-PBC selection this year and was a WGCA D2 All-American for the second year in a row last year. Stranda leads the team with a 73.75 strokes per round average and has finished in the top 10 in six of the eight tournament she has played in this year. She won the Eckerd Invitational and the Flagler Fall Slam. Stranda was named the PBC's Women's Golfer of the Week on Sept. 29.

The Male Team of the Year went to the men's tennis team. The Saints are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). They advanced to the Peach Belt Conference Tournament final last Sunday.

The Female Team of the Year went to the women's lacrosse team. They are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and are undefeated at 19-0. They just won the Gulf South Conference regular and post-season titles.

The Athletics Director's Award recipients were Miquel Fons of the men's cross country and track teams and Chloe Smith of the women's cross country and track teams. Fons holds a 3.954 cumulative grade point average and is an economics major with a political science minor while Rodriguez has a 3.972 GPA and is a digital media production and journalism major with minors in business administration and strategic communications.

The Golden Saint Award, which was presented by Flagler College President John Delaney, went to Amelia Fitzpatrick of the volleyball team.

The Resilience Award went to Jessica Wright of the women's lacrosse team.

Best Performance went to Abby Misch of the women's track & field team as she won two events at the PBC Indoor Track & Field Championships and earned the Outstanding Track Athlete of the Year at the same meet.

The Spirit Award was presented to junior cheerleader Meghan DeRice.

The Play of the Year went to Tim Wahlborg of the men's soccer team who scored the golden goal to defeat the University of North Georgia in the PBC Tournament title game.

Aniss Rafiq of the men's tennis team won the Resilience Award.

The Athlete of Character award, presented by Flagler's faculty athletics representative Dr. Allison Roberts, went to Matthew French of the men's golf team.

The Top Tier Award, presented by Flagler director of sports performance Connor Gettemy, went to men's lacrosse's Chase Grand.

PJ Herron of the men's golf team won the Male Newcomer of the Year award. The Deephaven, Minnesota native is currently ranked No. 109 by SCOREBOARD and is second on the team with a 72.67 strokes per round scoring average. He has two top 10 finishes this season, including one top five.         

Elena Ondobo of the women's tennis team won the Female Newcomer of the Year award. The Brussels, Belgium native earned first-team All-PBC honors in singles and was a second-team selection in doubles. Ondobo was the most valuable player in singles at the PBC Championship. She is currently ranked No. 15 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Ondobo holds an overall record of 32-6 in singles and is 19-4 this spring.

The Male Freshman of the Year went to Filip Hornburg of the men's soccer team. The Oslo, Norway native was named the PBC Freshman of the Year and the PBC Defensive Player of the Year. He was selected to the D2CCA and a United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region first-teams and was a D2CCA first-team All-American. Hornburg scored five goals and added three assists while playing a team-high 2,061 minutes.   

The Female Freshman of the Year went to Sofia Terzoli of the women's golf team. The Baveno, Italy native was named the PBC Freshman of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors. She is currently ranked No. 52 in the nation by SCOREBOARD and is second on the team in scoring with a 75.25 strokes per round average. Terzoli earned all-tournament honors when she finished second at the PBC Championship with a 9-over par 225. She has three top 10 finishes and a pair of top fives.

The Male Breakthrough Athlete of the Year went to Ilian Borlee of the men's tennis eam. The senior from Brussels, Belgium earned first team all-conference honors in singles and was one half of the most valuable doubles team at the PBC Championship last weekend. Borlee is currently ranked No. 14 in the nation in singles by the ITA. He is 25-4 in singles so far this season and is 16-2 this spring.

Marley Middlebrooks of the volleyball team was the recipient of the Female Breakthrough Athlete of the Year. The sophomore from Panama City, Florida earned first team All-PBC honors and was named the most valuable player of the PBC Tournament. Middlebrooks led the Saints with 491 kills, 3.75 kills per set and was second on the team with 46 aces as well as 350 digs.

The Male Silent Superstar of the Year went to Mason Manning of the men's basketball team while the Female Silent Superstar of the Year was Ella Pinder of the women's lacrosse team.

The Game of the Year was women's lacrosse's win over then-No. 1 Florida Southern College.

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