The Briar Cliff Athletic Department announced the winners of its annual Champions of Character Awards Tuesday. The awards are highlighted by the Marian Pesky Champion of Character, Athlete of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. 

The Marian Pesky Champion of Character Awards are named for longtime Charger coach and administrator Marian Pesky, who currently serves as the Cliff's Champions of Character Director. The Champion of Character award is presented to a male and female student-athlete that exemplifies the five core values of the NAIA. This year's Female Champion of Character honoree is Katie Glover and Male Champion of Character is Andy Geelan. 

Glover is a senior captain for the Charger soccer team. She was nominated by Coach Paul Cox for her leadership on and off the field.

"Katie's guidance, leadership and commitment to Briar Cliff and the women's soccer team is unparalleled," said Cox. "She is the best kind of leader, leads by example, is not afraid to have the tough conversations, holds people accountable and to a higher standard, has integrity of the highest order and will run through a brick wall for her teammates and coaches."
 
Geelan is a senior member of BC basketball. His nomination from Coach Mark Svagera highlights his service to others and willingness to put the team first.
 
"Andy epitomizes what it means to be a Champion of Character on and off the court," said Svagera. "He is a servant leader in every sense of the word.  He is always the first to volunteer when volunteers are needed.  When he was not playing at the end of the season, he was always a positive and vocal leader on our team."
 
Gisselle Jimenez (women's soccer) was named Female Athlete of the Year while Jackson Lamb (men's basketball) and Robert Robinson (football) were named Co-Male Athlete of the Year. 
 
Jimenez led the Chargers in goals and points during the 2019 season and was a first-team all-GPAC honoree. The junior scored seven goals as a midfielder and helped the team to the GPAC semifinal. 
 
Lamb earned second-team All-American honors during his senior season in which he set the Cliff's career 3-point record and led the GPAC in scoring. His 23.8 points per game led the team and the conference and ranked fifth in the NAIA. Lamb's free throw percentage and 3-point baskets per game both ranked in the top-10 in the NAIA as well. He put up the second and fourth best single-game scoring totals in the NAIA this year (54 and 49 points).
 
Robert Robinson was named first-team All-American in his first season at the Cliff, the Chargers' first football All-American. Robinson was also named a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, an honor for small college defensive players. He ranked sixth in the NAIA in tackles for loss per game (1.9), seventh in fumbles forced per game (.300) and eighth in total sacks (10). Robinson's 10 sacks in a season is school record. Robinson was second on team in total tackles (81) and recorded one interception, which he returned for a touchdown. 
 
The Scholar-Athlete award is presented to the senior student-athletes with the highest cumulative GPA. Collin Glazek (track & field) and Erin Gaitsch (soccer) are the Male and Female Scholar-Athletes.
 
In addition to the Champions of Character Awards, Briar Cliff also nominated four Chargers for GPAC/NAIA awards. Coach Mark Svagera is the Briar Cliff nominee for the Coach of Character Award, Breanna Allen is the Briar Cliff nominee for the Emil S. Liston Award, Ruby Campa is the nominee for the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award and Grace Hanno is the nominee for the Dr. Leroy Walker Character Award.
 
The full list of presented awards for the 2019-20 year is below. A list of previous winners can be found HERE.
 
Best Play – Alyssa Carley, Women's Basketball (watch it HERE)
Best Game – Jackson Lamb, Men's Basketball
Best Upset – Men's Basketball vs. #1 Morningside
Freshman of the Year (Female) – Konnor Sudmann, Women's Basketball
Freshman of the Year (Male) – Jalen Bowman, Track & Field
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year (Female) – Alayna Allen, Softball
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year (Male) – Kory Woodruff, Football
Comeback Athlete of the Year – Ethan Freidel, Men's Basketball
Most Inspirational Athlete – Andrea Norton, Women's Volleyball
Scholar-Athlete (Female) – Erin Gaitsch, Women's Soccer
Scholar-Athlete (Male) – Collin Glazek, Track & Field
Athlete of the Year (Female) – Gisselle Jimenez, Women's Soccer
Co-Athlete of the Year (Male) – Jackson Lamb, Men's Basketball & Robert Robinson, Football
Marian Pesky Champion of Character (Male) – Andy Geelan, Men's Basketball
Marian Pesky Champion of Character (Female) – Katie Glover, Women's Soccer