TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn student-athletes were honored at the year-end MVP and senior awards banquet on Monday night in the Washburn Memorial Union. Most Valuable Player awards for each team and seniors were honored for the past season of success at Washburn.

Also included in the awards program were the Ichabod Booster of the Year, the Washburn Senior Student-Athlete of the Year and the Ichabod and Lady Blues Senior Athlete Award - given to a player who has completed their eligibility and has shown both success on their field of competition, in the classroom and in the community. Capitol Federal Savings also presented six different student athletes with $20,000 in scholarship awards for the upcoming school year.

The Capitol Federal True Blue Scholars winners were Dylan Ready (football) and Kelsey Lewis (volleyball). The Capitol Federal Savings Scholarship winners are Connor Crimmins (baseball/football), Mark Biesma (baseball), Casyn Buchman (women's basketball/tennis) and Caysie Beetley (soccer). 

The Ichabod person of the Year was Brent Boles president of Schendel Pest Services.

The softball MVP was Alex Zordel. She finished second on the team this year with a .376 batting average and she led the team with 35 RBI. She finished with seven home runs and had a .963 fielding percentage. 

The Ichabod tennis MVP was Chance Joost. Joost finished 18-5 in singles play this year with a 13-1 record at the No. 6 spot. His last three singles wins came against ranked teams. In doubles play, he went 16-10 with an 11-5 record at the No. 3 spot. Chance was an all-MIAA player last year and a first team honoree in singles and doubles this year.

The Lady Blues tennis MVP was Casyn Buchman. Buchman joined the tennis team this spring after finishing her season with the basketball team. She went 12-6 this year with a 6-3 record at No. 2 singles and she went 16-8 in doubles play. Last year she earned all-MIAA honors in both singles and doubles and this year she earned the honor in doubles play. 

The Ichabod baseball MVP was Taylor Gentry. Gentry pitched 5 and 2/3 innings of relief at third-ranked Central Missouri to earn a win and he won the MIAA pitcher of the week award that week. Since then, he's gone on to win twice as a starter and his 4.20 ERA leads the team. He's first on the team with three wins and opponents are only batting .192 against him.

The Lady Blues basketball MVP was Laura Kinderknecht. She was the MVP of the MIAA and the Central Region. No other player in Washburn history combined to total as many points, 3-pointers and assists as she did. Kinderknecht finished her career 20th at Washburn with 1,019 points, third with 197 3-pointers and sixth with 312 assists while averaging 14.0 ppg.

Will McNeill was the Ichabod basketball MVP. He started the his senior season already with a thousand points and the school record for steals. When he ended his four-year career this season, he cemented himself as one of best to play at Washburn. He's third in career scoring with 1,071 points and his 247 career steals is nearly a hundred more steals than anyone else in Washburn history. He's second in career free throws made and in the top 20 in rebounding and assists. He's the only Washburn player to ever get 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 steals and 200 assists.

The Lady Blues soccer MVP was Tia Stovall. Stovall started every game but one in the last three years and she was a second team all-MIAA pick each of the last three seasons. She tied for the team lead with six goals this season and had 16 total points. She finished her career eighth all-time at Washburn with 13 goals and finished seventh with 42 total points.

The Lady Blues volleyball MVP was Jessica Fey. Fey had a dominating senior year as she hit .357, the fourth highest single-season attack percentage in school history. Overall, the two-time All-American hit .322 as a Lady Blue to finish third in school history. She, was  part of two MIAA championships and four trips to the NCAA tournament. She finished her career 13th in total kills and 13th in total blocks. She was named the MVP of the MIAA and the Central Region as a senior.

The Ichabod football offensive MVP was Steve Dieckhaus. Dieckhaus helped lead the Washburn offense to some of the best numbers in school history. He's been a starter on the offensive line in every game the last three years and he's been a part of six of the top 10 passing games in Washburn history as the team threw for over 375 yards in all of those games as a junior. He's an honorable mention all-American selection as a senior and a two-time all-MIAA honoree.

The Ichabod football defensive MVP was Bryce Atagi. Atagi has had over a hundred tackles in each of the last two years and he's moved into the top 10 in career history with 265 tackles. He's a two-time all-MIAA selection and an all-region honoree. This season as a junior he led the team and was third in the MIAA with 114 total tackles.

The Ichabod golf MVP will be handed out at the end of the season as it is based off of stroke average.

The Washburn senior scholar athlete was Laura Kinderknecht for having the highest total GPA of all the seniors in the athletic department. Kinderknecht was named a Capital One Academic All-American this year as she's carrying a 3.84 GPA in mathematics. She's also been a member of the MIAA academic honor roll and this year she will be an MIAA Scholar Athlete for having at least a 3.5 GPA and earning all-MIAA honors.

The senior student athletes of the year award is given to the Washburn male and female student-athlete that has shown what it truly means to be a student-athlete. Success on the playing field counts, their academics and their interaction with the rest of the team and other members of the athletic department, their work in the community and how they handle themselves as leaders on their teams during their entire athletic career are the criteria for the award. The men's winner was Bobby Chipman and the women's winner was Laura Kinderknecht.