CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – One male and female student-athlete from the Class of 2016 were selected as the Patriot League’s recipients of the Award of Outstanding Leadership and Character for the 2015-16 academic school year, announced on Thursday by the League office. Bucknell men’s soccer player Jesse Klug and American field hockey player Emilie Ikeda were chosen by vote based on each institution’s Senior Woman Administrator (SWA).
The Patriot League has established an Award of Outstanding Leadership and Character to recognize and honor those who demonstrate excellence in leadership and service while participating in Patriot League athletics, with one male and one female winner selected each year. Provided the minimum conduct standards are met, any Patriot League student-athlete and/or team is eligible for the award, which was first awarded at the conclusion of the 2011-12 academic year.
Hailing from Sammamish, Wash., Klug graduated with a major in Managing for Sustainability and minor in Social Justice with a 3.70 grade-point average, earning a perfect 4.0 in the fall 2015 semester. Some of his past honors include the Charles F. White Prize for Scholar-Athletes and the ECAC Merit Award, and he was also a member of the Mortar Board and Omicron Delta Kappa (service chair) honor societies. At the Bucknell Senior Athletics Awards Dinner at the beginning of May, Klug received the ‘Ray Bucknell Diversity Award and the Edward W. Pangburn Award.
Named a First-Team Senior All-America, Klug was an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ community on Bucknell’s campus. An open gay athlete, he was selected as one of 12 “Leaders in Action” nationwide in 2014 and published an essay titled “Open Letter on Homosexuality” on the website Outsports.com in the fall of his sophomore year. He also studied abroad in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua in the 2015 spring semester as part of a program called Social Change in Central America: Exploring Peace, Justice and Community Engagement.
Klug earned his second-straight CoSIDA Academic All-America third team honor and was also named the League’s men’s soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year in the fall. Despite missing six games after breaking his foot in late September, he returned to the lineup for the Bison's final three games of the regular season and produced a goal and five assists to help Bucknell clinch the fifth seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Klug finished the season ranked among the League leaders with 17 points from five goals and seven assists. He will graduate from Bucknell with 29 career goals and with his name in the Patriot League history books, tied for fifth with 77 career points.
A Harleysville, Pa. native, Ikeda graduated in May with a 3.86 GPA and a degree in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Political Science and Dance. She was named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll four times and was also a four time NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad selection.
Ikeda also served as the president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and organized numerous fundraising initiatives throughout the year for people who are underprivileged.
After starting every game her freshman campaign and the first four of her sophomore year, Ikeda suffered a severe concussion during a match on the opening weekend of her sophomore year. She dealt with headaches, challenges to her visual system, nausea, and depression and was told she would not be able to play the sport she loved ever again. During her Senior Day game against Bucknell, however, head coach Steve Jennings allowed her one final chance to get back on the field with limited playing time to ensure no injuries. After a hard fought win, Jennings described the moment as an indescribable grace in the midst of great adversity.
Klug and Ikeda were chosen from a poll of 11 total candidates which included Holy Cross’ Chris Conley (Men’s Cross Country), Boston University’s Tanner Cridland (Men’s Swimming & Diving), Lehigh’s Mike Garzillo (Baseball), Navy’s Patrick Keena (Men’s Lacrosse), Army’s Kelsey Minato (Women’s Basketball), Boston University’s Emily Tillo (Women’s Golf), Lehigh’s Kendall Garden (Women’s Lacrosse), Loyola University Maryland’s Cara Egan (Women’s Swimming & Diving), and Navy’s Darby Nelson (Women’s Rowing).