Voting has commenced for the second annual “Cardy Awards.” The Cardy’s is an award show that features the top achievements in Otterbein athletics, similar to the Oscars in film or the Grammy Awards in music.
Voting is on-going and open to all members of the Otterbein community. The different categories that student-athletes can receive awards in are: Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete, Best Male Breakthrough Athlete, Best Female Breakthrough Athlete, Best Male Newcomer, Best Female newcomer, Best Male Single-Game Performance, Best Female Single-Game Performance, Best Play, Best Game and Best Team.
Usually the Best Play award is one of the highlights of the show. The nominees this year are John Pyles’ 11-yard touchdown run against Capital, Jillian Strimbu’s game-winning penalty kick versus Kenyon, Chelsea Reed’s game winning assist to Madi Miller against Mount Union (women's basketball) and Michael Sullivan’s game-winning overtime goal against John Carroll (men's lacrosse). Video of all the plays can be seen here.
Junior running back John Pyles’ touchdown run came when Otterbein was already in control of the game against rival Capital, leading 44-21 with just under 4:00 to play. The run was impressive with Pyles bouncing off defenders, and using a spin-move to his advantage to score on the 11-yard scamper into the end zone. The win improved Otterbein to 3-1 in OAC play for the season.
Junior midfielder Jillian Strimbu wouldn’t even take all the credit for her game-winning goal against Kenyon. Strimbu, who has also been nominated for Best Female Athlete, credited senior KyLee Tuchfarber for giving her the opportunity to score the goal, which gave Otterbein a victory on its Memorial Stadium debut.
“KyLee really did most of the work by making the nice run down the sideline and drawing the foul in the box,” said Strimbu, a native of Avon Lake. “I really just needed to make the penalty kick.”
Tuchfarber, a senior from Marysville, said she was thinking about the overtime intermission speech from head coach Brandon Koons when drawing the foul.
“Brandon told us that we needed to get in the box and that the Kenyon players would foul us,” Tuchfarber said. “When I received the ball, I knew the time was running out so I did whatever I could to get in the box, and Kenyon’s player did exactly what Brandon said she would.”
The women’s basketball nomination was a Chelsea Reed half-court pass to fellow senior Madi Miller, who made the game-winning layup as time expired to give Otterbein a 71-70 victory over Mount Union. The pass concluded a three point comeback by the Cards in the final minute, as well as a great game for Reed, who finished with 12 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Miller showed great instincts by sprinting down the court, knowing there was only a few seconds left in the game.
"Once I saw we had secured the rebound I took off running down the court, knowing Chelsea would find me," Miller said. "Once I got the ball, I thought, 'I better not miss.' "
The last nominee came from the men’s lacrosse team during their 2015 season, when senior attack Mike Sullivan scored the game-winning goal against John Carroll. The match up was a repeat of the 2014 OAC championship game in which the Cardinals beat John Carroll to claim the inaugural OAC title. With an early lead in the 2015 OAC race up for grabs, Sullivan was fully aware of the magnitude of the situation.
“I knew that if we didn’t score, they were going to. That’s just the nature of sudden death overtime. I wasn't having the best game up to that point, but I knew I could make it up in one play,” Sullivan said. “I knew I was taking a risk on a shot that far away, but it paid off.”
All of the athletes were happy to be recognized for their achievements. Sullivan said, “I’m very proud of that play, and happy for myself and the team to be recognized for it.”
Strimbu said, “It means a lot to be nominated for an award. Our team had a great season so it is nice for our team and players to be recognized.”
Miller said, "I'm really excited to be nominated for this award. It's not just exciting for me though, the win was a whole team effort."
The Cardy Awards will take place on Friday, April 24 at the Rike Center, but it is only open to student-athletes, coaches, athletic administrators and special guests. Balloting will close on April 23 at 1:00 p.m.
