A pair of national champions -- women's track and field hurdler Danielle Kohlwey and men's hockey forward Parker Mackay -- were bestowed with the University of Minnesota Duluth's Outstanding Male and Female Senior Athlete Awards for 2018-19 at the ninth annual Dinner with Champions presented by Subway banquet on Monday night (April 22) in the UMD Kirby Ballroom while Jason Balts (football) and Makenzie Morgen (volleyball) received this year's E.L. "Duce" Rasmussen Award as the school's top scholar-athletes. In addition, senior women's soccer goalkeeper Sisely Ng was the recipient of the Shjon Podein Community Service Award, which is presented annually to a UMD student-athlete who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the field of play and has made noteworthy humanitarian contributions in the Duluth and University communities.

The night also included the awarding of two team honors -- the Chancellor's Cup went to the volleyball Bulldogs for maintaining the best collective grade point average during the last two semesters (3.74) of any team while the UMD Team Impact Award was given to the women's tennis Bulldogs for averaging the most community service hours during the 2018-19 school year (47.8 hours per player). Both teams were three-peat winners.

Kohlwey is a five-time NCAA Division II All-American, attaining that honor three times in indoor track and twice in outdoor. This past March, the Onalaska, Wis., native captured the NCAA II indoor 60-meter hurdle crown to become UMD's fifth female individual national champion. In all, she has qualified for four NCAA II national outdoor meets (including the upcoming 2019 meet) and another three indoor events. Voted the 2019 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, Kohlwey has won six individual NSIC track titles (four indoor and two outdoor) during her Bulldog career. She currently holds seven school track and field records, two of which are also NSIC all-time bests (indoor 200-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles).  Kohlwey has also collared United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region recognition on five lifetime occasions (three indoor track and two outdoor track).


Mackay, a native of Irma, Alberta, saved some of his best hockey for last as he captained the Bulldogs to their second NCAA championship in as many years earlier this month. He closed out his farewell collegiate season ranking first on the UMD scoring charts while establishing career highs for points (33), goals (a team-leading 16), assists (17) and plus-minus rating (+19). During the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Mackay paced the nation in points with six as well as goals (four) and game-winners (two) and for his exceptional efforts was chosen the Most Outstanding Player at both the NCAA Frozen Four and the NCAA Midwest Regional and.  Mackay, who holds the distinction of being just one of four Bulldogs to take a shift in three Frozen Fours and the only one to serve in a team captaincy role for two national championship clubs (he was an assistant captain one year ago), racked up 70 points in 136 lifetime games at UMD and was a +33 to boot.


Balts graduated from UMD this past December with a B.A. Degree in education studies (emphasis in physical education) and owned a 3.98 cumulative grade point average. A three-time NSIC All-Academic Team honoree and a NSIC Butch Raymond Scholarship recipient for 2018-19, Balts was one of the 179 finalists nationwide (25 from the NCAA II ranks) for the 2018 National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. In 2017, he was chosen to the CoSIDA All-Academic first team in addition to receiving the NSIC Elite Award for football. Balts took his final snaps as a standout wide receiver and return specialist with the Bulldogs this past October, sustaining season-ending knee body injury one month into what had been a promising senior campaign. Selected the NSIC's 2018 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Balts caught at least one pass in each of his last 27 collegiate appearances and for his career amassed 2,259 receiving yards -- the fifth highest total in program history.  His 126 lifetime receptions are the ninth most ever turned in by a Bulldog. The Barron, Wis., native served as team captain in both 2017 and 2018 and collared All-NSIC first team honors as a junior after becoming just the sixth Bulldog to ever eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving yard mark in a single season (57 catches for a NSIC-leading 1,003 yards.). Balts is now a UMD football intern assistant coach, overseeing the Bulldog running backs.


An outside hitter from Appleton, Wis., Morgen maintains a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average as a biology major and is spending this semester studying in England. Like Balts, she was both a Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award and NSIC Butch Raymond Scholarship recipient for 2018-19. Morgen is also a two-time CoSiIDA Academic All-American (first team in 2018 and third team in 2017) and a back-to-back winner of the NSIC Elite 18 Award for volleyball (2018 and 2017). This past fall, she captained the Bulldogs to both the regular season and tournament titles while being bestowed with All-NSIC first team honors (after landing a spot on the second team in each of the previous two seasons). Morgen, who transferred to UMD from NCAA Division I University of Maryland-Baltimore Country in 2016, paced the 2018 Bulldogs in kills (a career-high 342) and ranked second in digs per set at 2.88. During the course of the her senior season, she became the 21st member of UMD's 1,000 kill club, eventually finishing with 1,063 kills and 952 digs while averaging 3.52 points per set. Morgen is a two-time Shjoin Podein Community Service Award finalist.


Since her arrival on the UMD campus in 2015, Ng has been heavily involved in an array of volunteering endeavors, including making weekly visits the past three years to Laura MacArthur Elementary School and interacting with children through the Keyzone afterschool program. Ng, a member of the All-NSIC second team this past fall and a 2018 NSIC All-Academic Team qualifier, has also volunteered her time with Habitat for Humantity, the Kid's Kitchen at the Damino Center, the St. Luke's physical therapy department, Congdon Park Elementary School, Glensheen's Winter Village and the Salvation Army.  Additionally, the White Bear Lake, Minn., native has helped raise funds for the Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center through UMD's Kicks for Causes program.


Also at the Dinner with Champions event, Tom Stafne was presented with the Bruce Bennett Service Award (exceptional service and commitment to UMD athletics), the Marsh Nelson Bulldog Award (recognizing leadership and support of the Bulldogs in the community) went to Pat and Patricia Francisco, and the Miner family received the UMD Cornerstone Award.