ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Sophia Jonas was named the Presidential Award winner and Emily Cavanaugh was selected 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 Athletic Department on Sunday (May 11).

CSB Director of Athletics Kelly Anderson Diercks served as the host at the awards event, which recognized successes and accomplishments in 2024-25 by student-athletes, coaches and teams. In a special award presentation, CSB licensed athletic trainer Grace Halvorson was named the Margy Hughes Inspirational Award recipient for 2024-25 for her extraordinary commitment and hard work on behalf of CSB student-athletes. The CSB Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) selected Halvorson as the 2025 honoree.
 

Jonas, an accounting major and a three-time All-MIAC honoree in basketball was given the Presidential Award for excelling in the classroom, in competition and as an inspirational leader in the greater community. Jonas was among a group of nine outstanding nominees including Lucy Lyngen, cross country; Emma Osland, lacrosse; Georgia Hinton, golf; Kate Moffat, hockey; Annie Waters, soccer; Megan Erickson, softball; Liz Hansen, swim and dive; Kalli Smith, indoor track and field; Lexi Torres, outdoor tack and field; and Audrey Spolidoro, volleyball.

CSB/SJU President Brian J. Bruess, Ph.D., presented the honor to Jonas, noting her success in academics, athletics and community engagement.    
 
A two-sport standout, Jonas is the first CSB student athlete in history to earn five College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, including three in basketball and twice in tennis. On the basketball court, she was a four-year starter and three-time All-MIAC selection who broke the CSB and MIAC career record for three-pointers with 264. She scored a total of 1,154 points, ranking her 12th all-time in program history. She has also been an All-MIAC performer in tennis who this past season held down spots at both No. 1 singles and doubles.
 
Jonas has been equally successful in the classroom, where she maintains a 3.904 GPA. She is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma national college athlete honor society and has earned Academic All-MIAC honors on multiple occasions.  In addition, she played a key role on the school's student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC), serving as co-president and helping spearhead efforts to prioritize mental health initiatives on campus, stock local food shelves and more.
 

Other awards handed out May 11 included academic team of the year, which went to CSB golf. This year's Bennie golf team maintained a GPA of 3.75 which edged basketball at 3.741 and soccer at 3.707. The average student-athlete GPA at CSB this school year was 3.607, up from 3.543 a year ago. Every varsity team maintained a team GPA of above 3.3.
 
The Dr. LuAnn Reif Scholar-Athlete of the Year, which is given to a junior or senior student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average and most credit hours earned, was presented to Emily Cavanaugh, a senior midfielder on the CSB soccer team.
 
The double major in communication and sociology maintains a 4.0 GPA. Cavanaugh, who played in 49 games during her career with the Bennies, is a two-time Academic All-MIAC honoree. She has been involved in the Bonner Leadership Program and co-directed this year's documentary "Monttainai: Everything in Between" – produced by Extending the Link (ETL), a nonprofit, student-founded and student-run group at CSB and SJU that makes short documentary films dealing with under-reported global social justice issues.
 
All six of the Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees had a 4.0 GPA, so the winner was determined by the most credits earned. The other nominees included junior Karoline Curlo, cross country/track and field; junior Megan Morgan, basketball; junior Myah Nelson, track and field; senior Em Oswald, swim and dive; and junior Addison Stephani, soccer.

Senior Sydney Hunst of the CSB hockey team presented the "Senior Reflection" about her experiences as a student-athlete at Saint Benedict.