UND athletics hands out annual awards at Night of Champions event

May 8—GRAND FORKS — UND runner Jadyn Keeler took home two of the highest honors Thursday night at the annual Night of Champions event at the Empire Arts Center.

Keeler was named the Grace Rhonemus Female Athlete of the Year and the Best Individual Performance during the event, which highlighted the 2025-26 UND athletics season.

Keeler became an All-American in cross country and track and field, while repeating as the Summit League's indoor distance triple crown champion. She has shattered six track school records this season and is the reigning Summit League cross country, indoor and outdoor track female athlete of the year.

Keeler led UND to the Summit League cross country championship this fall — the school's first Summit title. She won the individual championship in the event.

Keeler won the mile, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters at the Summit Indoor Championships. She became the first Summit athlete to win Summit MVP honors in back-to-back seasons.

UND hockey's Jake Livanavage was awarded the Red Jarrett Male Athlete of the Year. Livanavage earned All-America honors for the second-straight year. He finished his career with 82 points. Last month, he debuted in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Eli King of men's basketball received the honor of play of the year for his performance in a win over St. Thomas. Trailing 80-79 with 10 seconds to go, King stole an inbounds pass in the backcourt and quickly scored, then challenged a final shot from St. Thomas in the closing moments.

King's heroics put an end to St. Thomas' nation-best home winning streak.

The Female Unsung Hero Award went to Izzie McCormick of the volleyball program. She led the Hawks with 344 digs to become the 24th player in program history to finish with 1,000 career digs.

The Male Unsung Hero Award went to Bennett Zmolek of the hockey program. He served as team captain as UND returned to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2016. Zmolek led the team with 55 blocked shots and had a plus-18 rating.

The Female Newcomer of the Year award went to UND basketball's Mackenzie Hughes. She was the lone Hawk to start every game and had 19 games with at least 10 points.

The Male Newcomer of the Year went to hockey's Cole Reschny. He had 35 points and had 29 assists. He led all NCHC rookies in points and assists on the way to NCHC Rookie of the Year honors.

The Night of Champions event featured opening remarks from UND President Andy Armacost, Athletic Director Bill Chaves and Master of Ceremonies Darrin Looker.

Nominations for each award were submitted from consultations with each team's head coach, their athletic communications contact and student-athlete support services staff. All award winners were voted on by UND head coaches, athletics support staff, members of the student-athlete advistory committee and local media members.