ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- The Elizabethtown College Department of Athletics recognized the academic and athletic accomplishments of its student-athletes, announcing the 14th annual STAR Award Winners on Sunday in an in-person gathering at the Bowers Center fieldhouse. Awards given out included: male and female Team GPA, Team Service award, male and female Rookie of the Year, male and female Most Outstanding Student-Athlete, male and female Dr. Clair R. McCollough Award recipients (most improved), and male and female Distinguished Student-Athletes.
TEAM GPA AWARD (highest cumulative team GPA)
2025-2026 MALE TEAM AWARD WINNER: MEN'S SWIMMING (3.59)
2025-2026 FEMALE TEAM AWARD WINNER: SOFTBALL (3.71)
TEAM SERVICE AWARD
This award recognizes the Elizabethtown College Athletics program that has participated in the MOST IMPACTFUL service project this year
2025-2026 WINNER: MEN'S & WOMEN'S SWIMMING
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The award goes to the outstanding first-year female and male student-athlete who exhibit talent; a high level of competitiveness; and consistent mental, physical, and emotional toughness in executing his/her team role. The award is not given on just talent alone.
2025-2026 MALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: KYLER BENEDICT, TRACK & FIELD
Kyler showed off his hurdling abilities during the indoor season, already making it onto the school's Top 10 list at 9
th in the 60 meter hurdles. He earned 8
th place in arguably the toughest and deepest event in the conference at the Landmark Indoor Championships. Kyler currently ranks 7
th in program history outdoors in the 110 meter hurdles at 15-point-6-5 seconds and is in line to score again for the Blue Jays at the outdoor championship meet. Congratulations, Kyler!
2025-2026 FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: LILY BALDWIN, SOFTBALL
Lily has been a force on the field for Elizabethtown and has helped lead the team to their most wins to date since 2013. She leads the team in RBIs and triples and ranks in the Top 10 in doubles and RBIs for a single-season. Lily ranks Top 10 across the Landmark in 5 different major categories, including average, hits, doubles, triple, home runs and RBIs. Congratulations, Lily!
MOST OUTSTANDING STUDENT-ATHLETE
This award recognizes the top female and male student-athletes who are deemed to have compiled the most distinctive and/or extraordinary athletic record in the current academic year. Talent, competitiveness, toughness, and sportsmanship are qualities that should be consistently evident.
2025-2026 FEMALE MOST OUTSTANDING STUDENT-ATHLETE: DREW BRIDGES, FIELD HOCKEY & LACROSSE
Drew has not only excelled in one sport, but two, for Elizabethtown. In the fall, she blitzed the Landmark Conference on her way to being named First Team and Offensive Player of the Year for the Blue Jays. She was also an N-F-H-C-A All-Region First Team choice, ranking second in Region 5 in goals per game and points per game while also ranking top 10 nationally in those same categories. Drew has 24 goals and 11 assists this spring, helping Etown to a second consecutive playoff appearance. Notably, she reached the 100-career-point milestones for both field hockey and lacrosse this year. Congratulations, Drew!
2025-2026 MALE MOST OUTSTANDING STUDENT-ATHLETE: GANON SMITH, WRESTLING
Ganon dominated the 184-pound weight class all season long, going 40 and 1 overall, tying for the second-most wins in a single-season in program history. He became Elizabethtown's all-time career wins leader and won his weight class at 6 different tournaments, including the Region 3 title to qualify for the NCAA Championships. He went on to finish as the national runner-up at 184 pounds for the Blue Jays. Congratulations, Ganon!
DR. CLAIR R. McCOLLOUGH AWARD
The Dr. Clair R. McCollough Award was established in 1970-71 to honor the most-improved male and female senior student-athlete. Per the original award description, the most-improved student-athlete "exemplifies a maturity in the skills, knowledge, and competitive spirit of the game." For an athlete to reach this maturity, he or she must be dedicated to practice, accept coaching and apply it to the game, realize that contributing to the team effort is more important than self-gratification, understand that competitiveness is linked only to aspiring to perform at the highest level you are capable, possess a positive attitude which allows him/her to rise to the occasion physically, mentally, and emotionally and be a courteous winner, gracious in defeat, and an encouraging teammate and leader.
2025-2026 DR. CLAIR R. McCOLLOUGH AWARD MALE RECIPIENT: MARTY RATCHFORD, CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK & FIELD
Martin's path to becoming an all-Landmark runner thoroughly embodies the spirit of the award. He persisted through mileage increase struggles and saw himself steadily improving over his four years, going from 54
th at the conference meet as a freshman to 13
th this past season and having nearly dropped 3 whole minutes off his 8K time. A captain this past season for the Blue Jays, his dedication and willingness to accept coaching helped make that growth possible. Congratulations, Martin!
2025-2026 DR. CLAIR R. McCOLLOUGH AWARD FEMALE RECIPIENT: SKYLAR MUMFORD, SOCCER
Despite not being heavily recruited, Skylar showed promise her freshman season for the Jays. A season-ending injury suffered the following preseason put her Etown career on hold as she diligently worked her way back. Though she was able to return to play her junior season, it was in more of a reserve role. Skylar worked even harder and turned that into a far more successful senior season, earning All-Landmark First Team and United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-Region honors. Skylar went from on the brink of walking away after an injury to showcasing her perseverance, hard work, and commitment to development. Congratulations, Skylar!
DISTINGUISHED STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD
The Blue Jay Athletic Association Distinguished Student-Athlete Award recognizes Elizabethtown College student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in the areas of academic excellence, athletics achievement, service, and leadership. The recipient of this award demonstrates the ideals of citizenship and sportsmanship, and personifies the College motto "Educate for Service."
2025-2026 FEMALE DISTINGUISHED STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD WINNER: JENNA HOFFMANN, SOCCER
Jenna is the program's first four-time All-Landmark Conference player since Elizabethtown joined in 2014-15, concluding her career on the First Team this past fall. A three-time Academic All-District and Conference Honor Roll selection, she contributed to three playoff appearances for Etown. Jenna is the first Occupational Therapy student to complete her Master's in 4 years, having graduated with her bachelor's in 3 years and graduating with her Master's this May. Congratulations, Jenna!
2025-2026 MALE DISTINGUISHED STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD WINNER: DAVID WOOLLEY, BASEBALL
David will wind up as one of the most accomplished Blue Jays in baseball program history. A three-time all-conference and d3baseball.com and A-B-C-A All-Region selection, Woolley's name will sit among the tops of Elizabethtown and Landmark Conference record books for years to come, having broken the team and conference overall hits record this season, among several others and more still to come. David is a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll honoree as well. Congratulations, David!
