Igims, Long named PSAC Scholar Athletes of the Year

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University swept the 2024-25 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Pete Nevins Scholar Athlete of the Year awards with graduates Anna Igims and Brayden Long earning the conference’s top student-athlete honors in an announcement from the league office Wednesday.
 

Igims, a distance runner on the SRU women’s cross country and track & field teams, was named the PSAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, while Long, a quarterback on The Rock football team, was named the PSAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second straight year.
 
The Pete Nevins Scholar Athlete of the Year awards are nominated for and voted on by the athletic communication professionals at each of the 17 institutions in the PSAC. Each school can nominate only one male and one female for the award. Nominees must have been named to PSAC Top 10 honors in the fall, winter or spring, must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, must be at least sophomores in academic and athletic standing and must have significant athletic credentials. The award is named after the late Pete Nevins, who served as sports information director at East Stroudsburg for more than 30 years.

Igims was named to the PSAC Top 10 in all three seasons this year, completing her career as a five-time PSAC Top 10 honoree. Long picked up Fall Top 10 honors for the second straight year. 

 

This marks just the third time in the 35-year history of the Nevins Award that one institution swept both the male and female honors and it marks the second time that Slippery Rock has accomplished that feat. The Rock won both awards in 2016-17 with track & field standouts Sabrina Anderson and David Reinhardt. Shippensburg is the only other school in the league to sweep both awards in the same year with Cindy Kepler and Steve Economopoulos winning the awards in 1993-94.

 

Long becomes just the seventh overall student-athlete and the second male student-athlete in PSAC history to repeat as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The only other male athlete to earn back-to-back Nevins Awards was California (Pa.) baseball player Mike Larson in 2004 and 2005. Long also becomes the second Slippery Rock student-athlete on the list of two-time winners, joining Anderson, who was honored in 2016 and 2017.

 

Igims and Long become the 14th and 15th Slippery Rock winners of the PSAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award (full list available below). A look at their exceptional accomplishments can be found below.

ANNA IGIMS – Graduate Student – Pittsburgh, Pa. – XC/Track & Field

Academics: Igims graduated in 2024 with a 3.98 GPA and a degree in school wellness education with a minor in public health. She completed a full year of graduate work in 2024-25 with a perfect 4.0 GPA in the applied behavioral analysis program. A 2024 Academic All-America honoree, Igims is a three-time Academic All-District honoree, a six-time USTFCCA All-Academic selection, a five-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a five-time D2ADA Academic Achievement honoree. She was also the lone female student-athlete in the PSAC to earn the Division II 50th Anniversary Scholarship in 2024. She was named to the PSAC Top 10 in the fall, winter and spring in 2024-25 and finished her career with five selections to the PSAC Top 10, the third-most in PSAC history. Igims is currently on the ballot for the 2024-25 Academic All-America team and is a candidate for multiple NCAA major awards, including the postgraduate scholarship, the NCAA Woman of the Year award and the NCAA Impact award.

 

Athletics: Igims was unbeatable in the PSAC in 2024-25. She won seven PSAC individual titles and led Slippery Rock to team titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. She opened the year by winning the PSAC and Atlantic Region titles in cross country, becoming the first SRU female distance runner to ever accomplish that feat. She followed that up by earning All-America honors at the National Championships in the fall, becoming the first SRU female cross country All-American since 2010. She was named the PSAC and Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year in the fall. Igims then won three PSAC titles at the indoor conference meet, taking the crown in the distance medley relay, the mile and the 3,000-meter run. She earned All-Region honors with the fastest time in the region in four different events and placed 17th in the 5,000-meter run at the National Championships before being named the PSAC and Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year. Igims closed her year with a stellar spring, winning PSAC titles in the 1,500-meter run, 5,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase on the way to being named the Most Outstanding Track Athlete and the Overall MVP at the PSAC Championships. She broke the SRU record in the steeplechase twice during the year (10:17) and earned first team All-America honors with a seventh place finish at the National Championships. She was named the PSAC Track Athlete of the Year to complete a year-long sweep with three PSAC Athlete of the Year awards. Igims departs Slippery Rock with school records in the indoor mile (4:55), outdoor 5K (16:38) and steeplechase (10:17). She is a three-time All-American, a 14-time PSAC champion, a six-time PSAC Athlete of the Year, a three-time Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year, a 21-time All-PSAC honoree and a 21-time All-Region selection.

 

BRAYDEN LONG – Graduate Student – Hanover, Pa. – Football

Academics: Long was the most decorated Division II football student-athlete in the country in terms of academic and athletic honors in 2024-25. He was named the 2024 Academic All-American of the Year for Division II and was the first team quarterback on the Academic All-America team after graduating with a degree in sport management with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Long was also the only Division II finalist for the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy, known as the “Academic Heisman,” and was the only Division II member of the National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by the National Football Foundation. He was recognized on stage with some of the biggest names in football at the National Football Foundation Awards Dinner and College Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in Las Vegas. Long was also recognized alongside Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at the Maxwell Awards Gala at the College Hall of Fame in Atlanta. He was also the 2023-24 PSAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the D2 Conference Commissioner’s Association Atlantic Region Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the lone PSAC male athlete to earn the NCAA Division II 50th Anniversary Scholarship. 

 

Athletics: On the field last fall, Long quarterbacked The Rock football team to the national semifinals and a No. 3 final ranking after throwing for 3,470 yards to rank third among all players in Division II. He also ranked ninth in the nation in passing touchdowns with 28 and was 10th in the nation in points responsible for with 208 after rushing for six TD to account for 34 total touchdowns. He completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 3,470 yards with just eight interceptions on 450 attempts. He became the only QB in SRU history to top 3,000 yards in two separate seasons and leaves the program ranked No. 1 all-time in completions (631) and completion percentage (67%) and No. 2 all-time in passing yards (7,527) and passing TD (64), despite starting only two seasons. Long was named to All-PSAC, All-Region and All-America honors for the second straight year and was one of the eight national finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II Player of the Year for the second straight year. He finished in the top six in the national voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy in both 2023 and 2024 and was named the SRU Male Athlete of the Year in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. Long earned Academic All-America honors in both 2023 and 2024 and was both the PSAC and Super Region One Offensive Athlete of the Year in 2023-24.

 

ANNUAL SWEEPS OF NEVINS AWARD (3)
1993-94: Shippensburg (Cindy Kepler, Steve Economopoulos)
2016-17: Slippery Rock (Sabrina Anderson, David Reinhardt)
2024-25: Slippery Rock (Anna Igims, Brayden Long)
 
TWO-TIME NEVINS AWARD WINNERS (7)
Brayden Long, Slippery Rock, Football (2023-24, 2024-25)

Sabrina Anderson, Slippery Rock, Track & Field (2015-16, 2016-17)

Neely Spence, Shippensburg, Track & Field/XC (2010-11, 2011-12)
Mike Larson, California, Baseball (2003-04, 2004-05)
Laura Hall, Indiana, Volleyball (2001-02, 2002-03)
Molly Carr, Indiana, Basketball/Softball (1997-98, 1998-99)
Kara Hopkins, Edinboro, Volleyball/Swimming (1990-91, 1991-92)
 
SLIPPERY ROCK’S ALL-TIME NEVINS AWARD WINNERS
2024-25: Brayden Long, Football
2024-25: Anna Igims, Women’s XC/Track & Field
2023-24: Brayden Long, Football
2021-22: Connor Hamilton, Baseball
2017-18: Marcus Martin, Football

2016-17: Sabrina Anderson, Women’s Track & Field

2016-17: David Reinhardt, Men’s Track & Field

2015-16: Sabrina Anderson, Women’s Track & Field
2008-09: Jen Blasko, Women’s Volleyball

2007-08: Jen Hansen, Women’s Track & Field

2003-04: Karyn McCready, Women’s Track & Field
1999-00: Tim Kusniez, Football
1997-98: Dave Sabolcik, Football
1995-96: Lori Robinson, Women’s Basketball
1994-95: Mark Metzka, Men’s Basketball
 

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