SOMERS, Wis. -- Junior wrestler Nick Becker and senior cross country runner Moriah Palmer were named the Wisconsin-Parkside male and female Athletes of the Year for the second consecutive season on Monday at the 16th annual student-athlete banquet in the Student Ballroom.
Becker was named the male Athlete of the Year after earning his second straight national championship at 174 pounds. Becker finished the season with a perfect 25-0 record and ran his school-record winning streak to 66 consecutive matches. He was named the Super Region Two Wrestler of the Year as well as being named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Wrestler of the Year.
Palmer was selected as the female Athlete of the Year after earning All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship in St. Leo, Fla. Palmer finished 27th overall in the field as she completed the 6k course in a time of 21:15.8, which marked the second straight season in which Palmer has earned All-America honors. Last year, she finished 35th overall at the NCAA Championships at Missouri Southern State.
Senior Rebecca Roembke of the Ranger volleyball team was the lone student-athlete to earn multiple honors on the night as she was presented with the Career Achievement Award as well as earning the Academic Athlete of the Year. On the court, Roembke was named Second Team All-GLVC in 2016 after being named an All-American in 2015. Roembke finished her career third all-time at Wisconsin-Parkside with 1,229 kills and sixth in career digs with 1,220, and is just the second player in Ranger history to notch 1,000 career kills and digs.
Senior Ronzel Darling was the recipient of the male Career Achievement Award after securing three trips to the NCAA Wrestling Championship and earning All-America honors in 2016. He finished his career with over 100 wins and was also a four-time NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic Team honoree.
Adrianna Bratel of the women's soccer team and Max Widmar of the baseball program earned the Newcomer of the Year award.
Bratel helped propel the Rangers into the GLVC Tournament as she posted a 6-3-2 overall record in goal and recorded five shutouts on the season. She earned GLVC Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording a shutout in the Rangers 0-0 tie with eighth-ranked Minnesota State-Mankato.
Widmar has played a key role in the Rangers success on the diamond as he ranks second on the team with a .375 batting average and is third on the squad with 27 RBIs. He was named GLVC Pitcher of the Week after his relief outing helped the Rangers rally to a victory over Truman State.
The Ranger Award, which is presented to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the attributes of intercollegiate athletics while at Wisconsin-Parkside, was presented to senior Carly Dundee of the softball program and Pat Niyork of the cross country and track and field team.
Dundee, who will be a strong candidate for all-conference honors, had a brilliant season in leading the softball team to its most wins in seven seasons. She led the team in virtually every offensive and pitching statistic and finished the season with 11 homers and 39 RBIs, while racking up 13 wins in the circle.
Niyork completed in cross country for the Rangers this season before an injury sidelined him for both the indoor and outdoor track seasons. As a true testament to his character, he received the honor for the second straight season despite seeing limited action during the year. An active member of the Rangers Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Niyork helped lead the Rangers to the NCAA Cross Country Championships as a junior while also winning the 5,000 meters at the GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Track and field senior Joel Davis was honored as the male Academic Athlete of the Year. Davis was a four-year member of the Ranger track and field program competing primarily in the sprints.
