BURNSVILLE, MN – University of Mary cross country and track & field runner Alyssa Becker and wrestler Reece Barnhardt are the Marauders 2024-25 Northern Sun Honor Student-Athlete Award winners for their combination of academic excellence, involvement in the campus community and athletic success. 
 
Becker had a stellar senior season and won both the 2024 Northern Sun and NCAA Central Regional women's cross country championships before placing 6^th at the NCAA cross country championships to earn All-American honors for the second time in her distance career. Becker was the NSIC Senior Cross Country Athlete of the Year and the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Central Region Athlete of the Year.
 
During the 2025 NSIC indoor track & field championships Becker won both the 3000 and 5000 meter titles NSIC championships and was the NSIC High Point Performer on the way to earning NSIC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year recognition. She then earned second team All-American honors at the 2025 NCAA indoor championships.
 
The Seabeck, WA, native wraps up her athletic career at UMary as a 4-time All-American (two first team, two second team), claimed four NSIC individual titles, earned All-NSIC honors 11 times, performer, owns 13 All-Region honors, competed in five NCAA championships and was named the NSIC Cross Country Athlete of the Week three times.
 
Becker earned a nursing degree this spring from the University of Mary and owns a 3.96 GPA. The Dean's List student earned the Northern Sun Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction award and was named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence nine times and earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors six times.
 
Additionally Becker was the Marauders cross country Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative, was a member of the UMary Nursing Student Association and worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a local nursing home.
 
The University of Mary's first NCAA wrestling champion, Barnhardt won the 2025 NCAA Division II title at 133 pounds. He is also the Marauders first four-time NCAA All-American. The native of Bismarck, ND, was selected as both the Northern Sun's Outstanding Senior of the Year and the Wrestler of the Year for 2025 after leading UMary to an NCAA program-best sixth place team finish nationally.
 
The 4-time All-NSIC wrestler finished his UMary career with an overall record of 110-27, including a 101-22 record against NCAA Division II opponents, and an impressive 54-3 career dual record. He placed fourth at Nationals in both 2022 and 2024 and won the 2024 NCAA Super Regional V tournament. Barnhardt earned First Team All-NSIC honors in 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons. In 2022, he was named NWCA Division II Rookie of the Year and NSIC Wrestling Rookie of the Year.
 
Academically, Barnhardt became the first Marauders wrestler to earn NCAA Division II Academic All-America® honors from College Sports Communicators (CSC). He was twice named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence (2024-25, 2023-24) after earning NSIC All-Academic Team recognition for 2022-23. A four-time NWCA Division II Men's Individual Scholar All-American, he has maintained a 4.0 GPA for four consecutive semesters and earned Dean's List recognition in six semesters. He earned a degree in Respiratory Therapy from the University of Mary this spring with a Pre-Dental concentration.
 
In the community, Barnhardt's dedication to volunteerism is immeasurable. He has represented the wrestling program on the SAAC committee and frequently assists with game management duties at other sporting events. His community involvement includes volunteering at Special Olympics Bowling events and supporting various marathon organizations in Bismarck. Additionally, he gives back to the sport by coaching at Pursuit Wrestling Club, his former high school program, and mentoring youth wrestlers.
 
Barnhardt joins his older brother Tate as a Northern Sun Honor Student-Athlete Award winner. Tate was honored in 2019.

Becker and Barnhardt are UMary's nominees for the Northern Sun's Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award and the Dr. William Britton Scholar-Athlete Award, respectively. The Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence, in its 41^st year, recognizes the NSIC's top male student-athlete and the Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award, in its 40^th year, is presented to the NSIC's top female student-athlete.

The Britton Award was created in 1985 in honor of Dr. William Britton, a longtime faculty representative at Bemidji State University who served on the Athletic Board of Control of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference for 25 years. Britton retired from BSU in 1982 and passed away in March of 2019.

The Kelly Award is named in honor of Willis R. Kelly, an associate professor of physical education at the University of Minnesota-Morris. A member of the NSIC Hall of Fame, Kelly also coordinated the Minnesota-Morris Physical Education Department from 1970-87. She became the first director of women's intercollegiate athletics at Minnesota-Morris in 1976 and was later promoted to athletics director for the whole department. Kelly passed away in 1988.

The member institutions of the NSIC nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the Britton and Kelly Awards. The nominees must meet the following criteria: a grade point average of 3.5 or better (on a 4.0 scale); evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum grade point average (scholarship prizes and other academic recognition), evidence of participation in the life of the institution, and evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual's primary sport. The award is voted on by the NSIC Faculty Athletic Representatives.

The 30 student-athletes nominated for the NSIC's two most prestigious awards will also be recognized as NSIC Male and Female Honor Student-Athletes of the Year at their respective institutions. Schneider and Johnson will be recognized Tuesday, July 9 at the NSIC Hall of Fame Banquet in Bloomington, Minnesota and will each receive a $3,000 post-graduate scholarship.

Augustana's Liz Dierks is the NSIC's 2025 Kelly Award recipient. University of Minnesota Duluth's Austin Andrews received the 2025 Britton Award.

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