FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 28, 2020) – The Seventh Annual Louie's Awards went virtual on Monday night as the Northern Arizona University Athletics Department and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee honored the best of the best for the 2019-20 year.
For the second year in a row, the Louie's Award winners were first nominated by coaches before all NAU Athletics staff and SAAC representatives had the opportunity to vote for the awardees.
Award nominees were in consideration for the fall 2019 and winter 2020 seasons in addition to the spring 2019 season for men's and women's tennis, men's and women's outdoor track & field and golf.
Senior distance runner Tyler Day and junior diver Jenny Cheetham were selected as the Male and Female Athletes of the Year respectively following historic seasons.
Day broke the American collegiate record in the men's 5000m run during the indoor season and was a double qualifier for the NCAA Championships in the 3K and 5K. Day was named the National Men's Track Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the season.
Meanwhile, Cheetham became the first women's diver in program history to earn All-American honors after becoming the just the third diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships on the 1-meter springboard. However, Cheetham – the 2020 1-meter WAC Champion – was unable to compete at the national championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Football's DJ Arnson and women's basketball's Caitlin Malvar were honored as the male and female recipients of The Lumberjack Award, given to the student-athletes who excels not only in competition, but in the community and classroom. The two teams also swept the Newcomer of the Year awards with Hendrix Johnson and Nina Radford receiving the honors.
NAU men's cross country was voted the Male Team of the Year while the swimming & diving was voted the Female Team of the Year after capturing their fourth and seventh consecutive Big Sky and WAC championships respectively.
For a full list of the 2020 Louie's award recipients, see the list below.
Male Newcomer of the Year: Hendrix Johnson, Football
Female Newcomer of the Year: Nina Radford, Women's Basketball
Male Athlete of the Year: Tyler Day, Track & Field
Female Athlete of the Year: Jenny Cheetham, Swimming & Diving
Jack That Gives Back: Helena McLeod, Track & Field
Guiding Axe Award: Jose Patino, Strength & Conditioning
Coach of the Year: Mike Smith, Director of Cross Country and Track & Field
True Blue Award: Joey Gatewood, Football
Inspiration Award: Luis Aguilar, Football; Lauren Orndoff, Women's Basketball
Sharp Axe Award: Women's Basketball
Record Breaking Performance: Tyler Day, Indoor Track & Field
The Lumberjack: DJ Arnson, Football; Caitlin Malvar, Women's Basketball
Male Team of the Year: Men's Cross Country
Female Team of the Year: Swimming & Diving
