Harvard Athletics Class of 2025 Honored at Senior Letterwinners’ Dinner

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Athletics and the Harvard Varsity Club celebrated the Class of 2025 on Wednesday, at the annual Cory Thabit Family Senior Letterwinners’ Dinner, which took place inside the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. The event honored the standout achievements of this year’s graduating student-athletes.
 
Established in 1966 in honor of the late John P. Fadden’s service as an athletic trainer and friend to Harvard athletes for many years, the John P. Fadden Award is given annually to a senior student (Varsity, JV or Intramural) who has overcome physical adversity to make a contribution to an eligible program. This year featured two honorees – Ben Abercrombie of football and Grace Taylor of women’s lacrosse.
 
Abercrombie has overcome a life-altering injury while playing in his first career game as a first-year at Harvard in 2017 which left him paralyzed. He returned to Harvard in 2019 and has demonstrated remarkable resilience to complete his degree this spring. Abercrombie has become an integral part of the football team and has had the team’s Badger Award named in his honor, given to the player who best exemplifies his work ethic, resilience, and deep love for the game.
 
During her sophomore year, Taylor was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of thyroid cancer. After completing her treatment, she has dedicated her time to bridging the gap between age-specific resources to help build a better young adult and adolescent cancer program at Mass General Hospital. To date, Taylor has raised over $12,000 for the MGH AYA Program, funding free therapies for young people in the program. A four-year member of the women’s lacrosse team, Taylor earned selection as a finalist for the Honda Inspiration Award and acts as a major part of the team’s Team IMPACT Program.
 
The Carroll F. Getchell Manager of the Year Award is given annually to the manager in the senior class “who has best displayed integrity, courage, leadership, and ability” while an undergraduate manager. This year’s honoree was Noah Janfaza of men’s ice hockey, who served the Crimson as a four-year manager and played a critical role in the team’s logistical operations and on-ice success, including a pair of NCAA tournament appearances and an ECAC championship. As part of his duties, Janfaza helped facilitate team travel, meals, lodging, ticketing, analytics, and video coordination. Known for his work ethic, attention to detail, and high character, Janfaza distinguished himself as a team leader and also served as the program’s first-ever Team IMPACT fellow.
 
The Director’s Award recognizes the person (or persons) who, through their pursuit of excellence and service to Harvard Athletics, has displayed exceptional leadership, personal character, integrity, and commitment to education through athletics. This year’s award winner, as selected by Erin McDermott, The John D. Nichols ’53 Family Director of Athletics, was Lauren Scruggs of women’s fencing. Scruggs won a pair of medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Team USA, capturing gold in the women’s foil team competition and silver in the women’s foil individual event. She became the first Black female U.S. fencer to win a medal in an individual fencing event at the Olympics. In collegiate competition, she won the NCAA women’s foil event in 2023 and helped the Crimson win a national championship in 2024. Among her many other accolades, she has captured USFCA First Team All-America, First Team All-Ivy, and an outright Ivy League women’s fencing title in 2025.
 
Women’s volleyball’s Corinne Furey was the recipient of the Francis J. Toland Community Service Award, which is presented to the senior student-athlete who has made the most outstanding contribution to Harvard and its neighboring communities. A two-time team captain, Furey has served as a student leader on the Dean of Student’s “Mattering Working Group” – a group that focuses on two fundamental experiences: feeling valued by self and others and adding value to self and others. Furey has served as a mentor to youth in the local community, acted as a Bible study leader for female athletes, and earned selection as a United States Military Academic McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character Fellowship.
 
The Mary G. Paget Prize was first established in 1975 and is awarded each year to the senior student who has contributed the most to women’s athletics. Honored with the award earlier tonight was Reese Morgan of women’s rugby. Morgan helped Harvard win national titles during the 15s season in 2023 and 2024 alongside a national championship during the 7s season in 2024. A team captain and All-NIRA selection, Morgan has played an integral role in growing women’s sports on campus and beyond, organizing a youth clinic for National Girls and Women in Sports Day and helping develop a marketing revenue generation strategy to support all athletic programs at Harvard.
 
The 2024-25 recipient of the Arthur L. Boland Award was Robin Cruz-Abrams of women’s swimming and diving. Annually given to the senior varsity athlete who will be attending medical school and best exemplifies those characteristics and qualities which have been the hallmark of Dr. Boland’s care for Harvard athletes, Cruz-Abrams trained and served in the Civil Air Patrol, has acted as a campus EMT through Crimson EMS, and has competed as a four-year member of the women’s swimming and diving team after joining the program as a walk-on as a first-year.
 
The Francis H. Burr ’09 Scholarship is awarded to a pair of seniors, one from a men’s team and one from a women’s program, who combine as nearly as possible Burr’s remarkable qualities of character, leadership, scholarship and athletic ability. This year’s recipients were Gabriel Obholzer of men’s heavyweight rowing and Carly Lehman of women’s rugby.
 
An Empacher IRCA First Team All-American, Obholzer has played a critical role in the success of the first varsity eight over the last two seasons, helping the boat win at the Head of the Charles in 2023 and 2024, capture the Harvard-Yale Regatta in 2024 for the first time in 10 years, and recently claim the title at the 2025 Eastern Sprints. Rowing internationally for Great Britain, he won gold at the 2024 U23 World Rowing Championships in the men’s eight.
 
A team captain for Harvard, Lehman helped the Crimson win national titles during the 15s season in both 2023 and 2024 alongside a national championship during the 7s season in 2024. A Second Team All-America selection, she also captured All-Academic accolades three times. She earned selection as a nominee for the Sorensen Award as the nation’s top student-athlete in collegiate rugby. Off the field, Lehman has left her mark in the ROTC program, acting as the first student-athlete to serve as Battalion Commander of the Paul Rever Battalion, leading over 100 cadets. She is also the President of Harvard Athlete Ally.
 
The Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women’s Athletics Prize was established by the Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women’s Athletics (HRFWA) and first presented in 1986. The honor is awarded yearly to Harvard’s top scholar-athlete from a women’s team, with the nominees coming solely from Faculty Deans, Senior Tutors or Resident Deans. This year’s recipient is Emily Vermeule of women’s fencing. Vermeule helped the Crimson win the 2024 national championship, captured the 2024 NCAA women’s epee title, and earned selection as a three-time First Team All-American. A team captain, Vermeule plans to attend law school and work as a law clerk following graduation.
 
The John P. Reardon ’60 Men’s Award went to Jan Riecke of men’s soccer. Presented annually to the Crimson’s top scholar-athlete from a men’s team, and nominated solely from Faculty Deans, Senior Tutors or Resident Deans, Riecke earned All-Ivy honors in all four of his seasons, while also garnering CSC Academic All-District accolades three times. On the field, Riecke started all 65 of the team’s games from 2021-24 as a center back, playing 5,905 of a possible 5,393 minutes (99.4 percent). Off the pitch, Riecke wrote a senior thesis entitled “The Disparate Rates of National AI Innovation,” earned selection as a John Harvard Scholar, and served as a research intern at the Centre for Trustworthy Technology at the World Economic Forum.
 
Harvard’s most outstanding athlete from a men’s team is presented with the William J. Bingham ’16 Award. The 2024-25 recipient was Graham Blanks of men’s cross country and track & field. Blanks captured back-to-back NCAA national championships, winning the individual title at the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships in both 2023 and 2024 and becoming the first student-athlete in Ivy League history to win the NCAA men’s cross country individual title. On the international stage, Blanks represented Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, placing ninth in the final of the 5000m. A four-time USTFCCCA Cross Country All-American, he distinguished himself as the only student-athlete in program history to earn the honor in all four years of his career. A two-time Ivy League cross country individual champion, Blanks also captured Ivy titles in the indoor 3000m (2022), indoor 5000m (2022), outdoor 5000m (2023, 2024), and outdoor 10,000m (2023). A three-time CSC Academic All-American, Blanks captured USTFCCCA Men’s Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year in both 2023 and 2024.
 
The Radcliffe Prize was handed out to the athletic department’s most outstanding athlete from a women’s team. This year’s honoree was Harmoni Turner of women’s basketball. The 35^th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces, Turner became just the second student-athlete in program history to earn Honorable Mention AP All-America accolades. The 2025 Ivy League Player of the Year, Turner also captured Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors in 2022. Turner won the 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award as the first Ivy League player to capture the award. A unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection, Turner garnered Most Outstanding Player laurels at the 2025 Ivy League Tournament, leading the Crimson to a berth in the NCAA tournament.
 
The Harvard Varsity Club has been instrumental to the success of Harvard Athletics since it was founded in 1886. The Varsity Club preserves the traditions, fosters the ideals, and advances the interests of Harvard Athletics through a wide range of activities for our 20,000+ members. The annual Cory Thabit Family Senior Letterwinners’ Dinner, established in 1967 to honor the contributions of the outgoing senior class, is one example of the many functions provided by the Varsity Club.