ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- A record total of 113 Augustana student-athletes were recognized at the 2024-25 Blanket Awards ceremony on Sunday. In order to receive a varsity "A" letter blanket, an Augustana athlete has to be in the same sport for four years and must letter at least three times. A total of 43 women and 70 men received their blanket at the annual ceremony, which was held in the Gerber Center.

Adam Thorsen (Mt. Morris/Ill.) of men's soccer was named the recipient of the Knut Erickson Award on the men's side, given to the student-athlete recognized at the Blanket Awards with the highest grade point average. Thorsen, a Finance and Account major, has a GPA of 3.95. On the women's side, Charlotte Newport (Baytown, Texas/Sterling) of women's water polo and Kira Nelson (Milan, Ill./Rockridge) of women's track & field and volleyball were named co-winners of the award. Each hold a GPA of 3.98.

Augustana also named the winners of the John Farwell Academic Team Awards, given to the team on each of the men's and women's sides with the highest GPA average. Men's water polo and women's swimming & diving were announced as this year's recipients. Men's swimming & diving and men's cross country were second and third on the men's side, while women's cross country and track & field made up second and third for the women.
 
2024-25 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS BLANKET AWARD WINNERS
The varsity "A" letter blanket is the highest award given by the Augustana College athletic department. In order to achieve it, the athlete must compete in his/her sport for four years and earn at least three varsity letters. The 113 2024-25 blanket award winners are as follows:

WOMEN

Basketball
Emma Berg (Antioch, Ill./Carmel Catholic)

Bowling
Cami Flores (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East)
Maddie Lathrop (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore)
Sarah Stevanovic (Coal Valley, Ill./Rock Island)

Golf
Ciera Krogman (Clinton, Iowa/Northeast)
Kelsey O'Connor (St. Charles, Ill./Burlington Central)

Lacrosse
Kyla Painter (Wildomar, Calif./Murriet Mesa)

Soccer
Abby DeGustino (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich)
Lexi Dominguez (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point)
Carson Kekelik (Munster, Ind./Munster)

Softball
Anna Maciejewski (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic)
Alyssa Magsombol (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew)
Rose Marmolejo (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora)
Meghan Nixon (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock)
Kennedy Williams (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich)

Swimming & Diving
Bella Casanovas (Yorkville, Ill./Rosary)
Hailey Glasnovich (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg)
Zoe Heiar (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert)
Annabella Valenti (Oswego, Ill./Oswego)
Brooke Walker (Le Roy, Ill./University)

Track & Field/Cross Country
Lina Maatouk (Casablanca, Morocco/Les Ecoles Riad)
Heather Michalski (North Aurora, Ill./Maine South)
Kira Nelson (Milan, Ill./Rockridge)
Lauren Oelke (Andalusia, Ill./Rockridge)
McKenzie Reser (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore)
Madison Wies (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South)
Bridget Wunderlich (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein)

Volleyball
Ashley Awbrey (Orion, Ill./Orion)
Kylie Collachia (Fulton, Ill./Fulton)
Kira Nelson (Milan, Ill./Rockridge)

Water Polo
Ocean Akau (Pana'ewa, Hawai'i/Kamehameha)
Sophie Arceneaux (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette)
Maggie Caliendo (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg)
Lauren Dickinson (La Habra, Calif./Troy)
Annie Opal Dickson (Imperial Beach, Calif./Mar Vista)
Abbey Ellis (Fresno, Calif./Sagner)
Jillian Hagmann (San Jose, Calif./Santa Teresa)
Charlotte Newport (Baytown, Texas/Sterling)
Lizzie Pelzman (Roseville, Calif./Roseville)

Wrestling
Sawyer Graham (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright)
Angie Guy (Houston, Texas/Kashmere)
Sandie Pfeil (Las Vegas, Nev./Silverado)
Sydney Tajkowski (Chicago, Ill./DePaul Prep)

MEN

Baseball
Cole Green (Batavia, Ill./Marmion Academy)
Nathan Melby (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons)

Basketball
Anthony Cooper (Ottawa, Ill./Ottawa)
Nicolas Giliberto (Phoenix, Ariz./Paradise Valley)
Colton Gillingham (Greeley, Colo./Greeley West)
Chase Larsen (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect)
Mike Hamilton (Elmwood Park, Ill./St. Patrick)
Matt Hawkins (Glenwood, Ill./Mount Carmel)

Football
John Bolton (Fox Lake, Ill./Grant)
Johnny Breeden (Frisco, Texas/Memorial)
Tristan Carone (Huntley, Ill./Huntley)
Jackson Certa (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland)
Joren Clem (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone)
Jake Coss (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central)
Liam Crawley (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson)
Mike DiGioia (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg)
Hugh Keany (Deer Park, Ill./Lake Zurich)
John Landers (Morris, Ill./Morris)
Arik Mistak (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary-Grove)
Jakob North (Fulton, Ill./Fulton)
Dakota Straight (Frankford, Ill./Providence)
Bill Unyi (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South)
Josh Woodrey (Chenoa, Ill./Prairie Central)

Golf
Adam Soczka (Wauwatosa, Wis./West)

Soccer
Jackson Binder (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore)
Jimmie Kucaba (Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North)
Patrick Mayer (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes)
Benjamin Samuelson (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island)
Ben Statz (Oregon, Wis./Oregon)
Adam Thorsen (Mt. Morris, Ill./Oregon)

Swimming & Diving
Tommy Anderson (Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger)
Albert Buvary (Naperville, Ill./St. Charles North)
Kacper Cebula (Huntley, Ill./Huntley)
Hunter Craft (Bend, Ore./Summit)
Christian Krawec (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove)
Gavin McCorry (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove)
Nathan Mesina (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward Central)
Lorenzo Moreno (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg)
Dante Rinaldi (Gurnee, Ill./Warren)
Holden Siena (Champaign, Ill./Centennial)

Tennis
Gustavo Fontenelle (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Anglo)
Arthur Hermange (Saclay, France/Lycee Blaise Pascal)
Gabriel Luna (Monterrey, Mexico/Naciones Unidos)
Nicolas Navarro (Valencia, Spain/Edelweiss)
Timothee Philip (Berneau, Belgium/Athenee)

Track & Field/Cross Country
Grant Ackard (Barrington, Ill./Barrington)
Donovan Garro (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island)
Alex Gazarek (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South)
Joe Gibbons (Rockford, Ill./Guilford)
Joe Langridge (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West)
Finbar Martin (Denver, Colo./Regis Jesuit)
Dakota Straight (Frankfort, Ill./Providence)

Volleyball
Aidan Bolen (Allen, Texas/Allen)
Aiden Bond (Aurora, Colo./Eagle Crest)
Garrett McNelis (Skokie, Ill./Niles North)
Zach Moreano (Gurnee, Ill./Warren)
Bill Unyi (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South)

Water Polo
Jake Fisher (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East)
Colin McDowell (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville)
Zander O'Dwyer (Lantana, Texas/Guyer)
Lucas Osborn (San Diego, Calif./Helix)
Will Riebel (Cypress, Texas/Bridgeland)
Jeremy Sherpa (Evanston, Ill./Evanston)
Henry Sothern (Portland, Ore./Grant)

Wrestling
Jacob Badger (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield)
Clay DeBaillie (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo)
Samuel Deyro (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest)
Kameron Hanel (Loveland, Colo./Thompson Valley)
Colby Lape (Milan, Ill./Rockridge)
Dominic Foster-Myers (Evans, Ga./Evans)
Jack Patting (Rock Island, Ill./Alleman)
Vinny Querciagrossa (Metamora, Ill./Metamora)
Mikey Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence)
Josh Woodrey (Chenoa, Ill./Prairie Central)