ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Maggie Beckmann was named the Presidential Award winner while Cecelia Miller was the Dr. LuAnn Reif Scholar-Athlete of the Year to highlight the end of the year Bennies Awards ceremony presented by the College of Saint Benedict on Sunday.

In recognition of a high achieving and special year by student-athletes, coaches and teams, Saint Ben's recognized successes and accomplishments of the 2022-23 athletic seasons. In addition, strength and conditioning coach Jerron Granberry was named the Margy Hughes Inspirational Award recipient for 2022-23. And, the department announces its second Chi Alpha Sigma class.

As a member of the CSB track and field teams Maggie Beckmann was honored with one CSB's top departmental awards after five years of academic and athletic success matched with her inspirational leadership persona. She truly stands tall as what it is to be a Presidential Award honoree. Maggie, who has been on the Dean's List in 2021 and 2022, has a 3.5 GPA in biology with a minor of philosophy.

Her list of academic honors is significant including USTFCCCA All-Academic in 2022, Academic All-MIAC, 2022 Chi Sigma Alpha Inductee and Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day Spotlight Scholar.

A team captain for track and field, Beckmann has been active at CSB as a member of the Chamber Choir since 2018 and a Pre-Dental Club member since 2018 while also serving on the Q+ (Queer Proud Lavender Union for Students). In competition, Maggie has stepped up in a big way. She is an inspiring team leader as shown through her mentorship as a captain for track and field and her example in competition as well as in the classroom. This spring she has set school records in the discus and weight throw while also owning the school record in the hammer throw. Beckmann was All-MIAC in the weight throw in 2023 indoors and earned All-MIAC in the weight throw in 2022. In addition, she was an All-MIAC honorable mention in the discus in 2022.

At CSB she has been named the program's Most Valuable Field Athlete in 2021 and 2022, earned Athlete of the Week honors on Feb. 15, 2021, and earned the CSB Most Improved Field Athlete in 2020.

She has been a servant leader at Saint Benedict, including working with the "Around Cloud Tutors" program, a virtual effort for St. Cloud Area High School from fall of 2020 to spring of 2022. She virtually tutored high school students in STEM subjects during the school year for over 80 hours. Additionally, she worked with other member of the Pre-Dental Club leadership team to create events for pre-dental students about the dental field and how to dental school. She has a big heart as shown by going on a Guatemala Mission in 2018 to San Lucus Oliman to assist in building a school.

Beckman, who loves arts and crafts, music, lifting weights, water sports and nail art, has a strong belief in social justice.

"She has a bigger-than-life personality and it's contagious. Her positivity and passion permeate through our whole team. And it's not something that just stays with the throwers. She takes as much joy out of any of her teammate's success as she does her own," said CSB Head Coach of Track and Field Robin Balder-Lanoue. "She's the first to be there to congratulate someone who just set a school record or had a great race. She's so excited about what she's doing every single day and she carries that excitement into each meet we compete in."

Beckmann, who received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in May 2022, is focused on going to dental school. Inspired by her uncle, Maggie has had a lifelong passion for dentistry. "I love dentistry," said Beckmann, whose parents, Jim and Lisa, and brother Michael attended CSB or SJU.

"My time at CSB/SJU has fundamentally changed me for the better. The opportunities presented by a CSB/SJU education have allowed me to flourish academically and personally," said Beckmann. "I have been able to grow as a leader, who values empathy and compassion; as the chamber choir social chair for three years, the pre-dental club secretary for two years and as a track and field captain for the last two years, I have grown and learned important lessons about who I am. In my time here, an important part of my growth has come from becoming a part of a community, and I have worked to become a representative of the CSB community of excellence in and out of the classroom."

"Part of being a leader is helping the community that support you, so starting in the early days of the COVID pandemic, I virtually tutored area high school students in STEM classes. Through tutoring, I was shown the power of education and the confidence that comes with knowledge. When I leave CSB/SJU, I will continue to apply the lessons learned here and will use them to continue to inform my life decisions as a thread in the tapestry of CSB's history," she said.

 

Scholar Athlete - Cecelia Miller
Senior Cecelia Miller of the CSB soccer program was named CSB's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Miller, an elementary education major from St. Michael, Minn., is a 4.0 student-athlete, who has been active in service, in competition and a standout in the classroom.

Miller served as co-president for SAAC, which was involved in various service projects which benefitted the community and many in need. In competition, Cecelia was named to the All-MIAC All Playoff Team in Soccer after helping the soccer team to a 12-5-2 record and second in the league for a second straight year. She was also Academic All-MIAC for the third straight year.




Margy Hughes Inspirational Award - Jerron Granberry

Jerron Granberry was recognized with the Margy Hughes Inspirational Award for his dedication to student-athletes and CSB, in a presentation by Head Athletic Trainer and SAAC advisor Erin Ross and Margy Hughes.

 

The award is named after Margy Hughes who was a professor at St. Ben's for over 35 years. Margy was a leader in the Physical Education department and was instrumental in the development of Blazer (now, Bennie) Athletics. Upon her retirement CSB chose to remember and recognize her ongoing dedication to the college and athletic department in the naming of this award. This award was selected by the student-Athlete Advisory Committee with input provided by all student-athletes.

Granberry has put his heart and soul into his work.

"We honor an individual who has made arguably, a colossal impact on nearly every person in this room," said Ross. The recipient of this year's Inspirational Award has truly put his heart and soul into his work. Whether morning, afternoon or evening he is present with his whole being and his winter hat. Whether morning, afternoon or evening he was present with his whole being," noted CSB Head Athletic Trainer Erin Ross and SAAC Advisor in presenting the award on behalf of the SAAC.

Prior to joining CSB, Granberry was formerly the Director of Sports Performance at Redline Athletics in Coppell, Texas. Prior to that he was the Head Strength Coach for the University of Wyoming basketball and coed spirit teams. Additionally, he has done internships with the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets strength and conditioning programs.

Granberry has his CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) certification, his USA-Weightlifting 1 certification and is CPR/AED certified. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Florida where he was a 1,000-point scorer for the men's basketball program. He was a graduate transfer to the University of Wyoming where he played his final year of eligibility for head coach Larry Shyatt. Granberry went on to be a Graduate Assistant and later Assistant Director of Player Development for the Cowboys men's basketball program.