DETROIT (4/17/2024) -- A pair of graduate seniors on the University of Detroit Mercy men's and women's track and field program took home the most significant honor of the night as Allison Sherman and Zachary Zaborney were named this year's President's Award winners as the University of Detroit Mercy announced its 2023-24 Athletic Department Athletic and Academic awards at The Tommy's on Wednesday evening.

The President's Award is given to a male and female graduating senior who, during his/her tenure at Detroit Mercy, has shown academic and athletic excellence. These individuals are leaders on and off the field and represent the true essence of being a Titan student-athlete.

Sherman will leave the University as one of the most decorated runners in school history. She ended a fantastic cross country career that saw her earn two First Team Horizon League Accolades and two Second Team accolades, only the third Titan in school history to record four All-Conference honors. She registered four of the top 15 6k times in school history, including third with the 21:28 she had at the 2023 Horizon League Championship and 10th with a 21:54 at the 2022 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships. She also clocked a career 5k time of 17:47 for runner-up honors at the 2023 Canisius Alumni Classic, just 14 seconds shy of the school record. In indoor track and field, she scored for the Titans in the 5,000 and 3,000-meters this past year, posting a career time of 9:51.51 in the 3,000m for fourth and the second-best run in school history and was also fourth in the 5,000m in a school-record 16:47.58. In outdoor track and field, she has tallied points in three straight league 10,000m races, going from sixth as a sophomore to fifth as a junior and fourth last season in 36:12.16m, the second fastest time in school history. A two-time recipient of the Horizon League Sportsmanship Award in cross country and indoor track, she is a four-time member of the Cross Country All-Academic Team, a two-time member of the Outdoor All-Academic Team and earned her first Indoor All-Academic Team honor this season. 

Zaborney continued to improve every season and finished sixth at the 2024 indoor HL meet in the triple jump with a leap of 13.06-meters and was also ninth in the high jump. He recorded runner-up in the triple jump at Grand Valley and Michigan during the year. As a senior, he scored in a career leap of 13.59-meters in the triple jump at the indoor championships and improved that finish to fourth at the outdoor league meet. This year, he added the javelin to his track and field arsenal. Off the track, he is a five-time member of the Detroit Mercy Athletic Director's Roll, a four-time member of the Horizon League Fall and Spring Academic Honor Rolls and was All-Academic in indoor track.

The Titan Club Award (Male and female student-athlete on the merits of athletic performance and academic excellence) 

Luke Majick – The graduate senior in men's lacrosse has been a leader on and off the field since he transferred to UDM from Furman. He has scored a goal in 31 of his 41 career games as a Titan and is eighth in school history in points (93) and ninth in goals (56). The 2021 All-MAAC Second Team selection and Preseason All-ASUN honoree, Majick is a two-time team captain and currently leads the team with 29 points and 12 assists and is second with 17 goals. He is also a four-time member of the Detroit Mercy Athletic Director's Honor Roll. 

Abbey Lodato – After a freshman season that saw her earn the Horizon League Women's Soccer Freshman of the Year, she came back this season and helped the Titans get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. She started all 19 games while leading the team with six goals and 14 points. In two seasons, she has 22 points on eight goals and six assists. She is also a two-time member of the Detroit Mercy Athletic Director's Honor Roll. 

Reverend Norbert Huetter Award (Male and female student-athlete who sets an example for others by their display of attitude, dedication and leadership) 

Casey McCarthy – A young leader who has the traits of a graduate senior, the sophomore showed how important leadership skills are in helping the men's soccer team transition to a new coach and a slow start to the season. He kept the positive energy alive, which helped Detroit Mercy go on a winning streak and clinch a home game in the playoffs. He started all 18 games this past year and had two goals - both game-winners - against Cleveland State and Eastern Illinois. Off the field, he was an Honorable Mention All-Academic honoree and a two-time member of the Detroit Mercy Athletic Director's Honor Roll as well as a member of the Horizon League Fall Academic Honor Roll. 

Sarah Meek – A two-time team captain for women's lacrosse, she also helped the team through a coaching transition and has the team on the verge of clinching a playoff spot. Her leadership has been even more evident to not only the women's lacrosse team, but the entire athletic department as she was chosen as the President of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). This season, she picked up a career-best seven ground balls with two caused turnovers and a draw control at Xavier, the most ground balls at the time by a Titan since 2019, and is third on the team with 23 ground balls as well as second on the team with 14 caused turnovers. A three-time member of the Athletic Director Honor Roll and a two-time member of the MAC All-Academic Team, in her career, she has 54 draw controls, 35 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers and 19 points on 14 goals and five assists.

The Dad Butler Award (Awarded to a male and female student–athlete who has shown determination in the rehabilitation of an athletic injury)

Fisher Hudak - After suffering an injury that required surgery, he worked hard last spring and all summer to return from bilateral hip arthroscopy. He practiced with the men's soccer team during the preseason before suffering another injury that, unfortunately, forced him out of the 2023 campaign. This series of events did not bring him down, and he showed up and worked hard to get back. He was able to return from his injuries to play with the team and make an impact on the field in the spring. 

Jordan Kavanagh - The softball hurler came out of a two-year retirement due to a severe injury. She was not able to play in college due to the immense pain she experienced during her time at Western Michigan. When she transferred to UDM, she sat out the fall season to focus on rehab and has come back strong for the spring season. She is now not only pitching, but hitting. She tossed a complete game on the road last week in a win at #MetroSeries-rival Oakland and hit her first career homer at IUPUI. 

Larry Bleach Award (Male and female student-athlete who sets the strength and conditioning standards for other student-athletes to follow)

Ally Don Jean-Francois – The men's lacrosse senior has demonstrated how to be a leader and a role model in the weight room. He consistently displays a positive attitude while maintaining a very high work ethic. According to the coaching staff, he is what we look for in a Titan.

Kayla Smith – The track and field senior has dedicated herself and has taken every opportunity to make enormous strides in the weight room. Her attitude and work ethic are what we expect from each of our student-athletes, and she is consistently searching for ways to improve herself, and it has shown on and off the field. 

The Top Performance Award (Awarded to a male and female athlete or team and dedicated to the top athletic performance of the season)

Nathan Mysiorek - The men's fencing freshman made an immediate impact in his collegiate debut. He went 3-0 in the sabre against the University of Michigan and a 2-1 mark against Wayne State to go 5-1 overall, helping the Detroit Mercy's men's Sabre team to victories over WSU and U-M at the Titan Invitational. 

Kayla Smith - The indoor season proved to be gold for Smith as she posted a career-best 17.88 meters in the hammer for second in school history during the regular season. At the indoor Horizon League Championships, she tossed 17.37m and she became the first Titan indoor championship winner since 2000 and the first women's weight winner since Titan Hall-Of-Famer Andrea Karpala in 2005.

The women's lacrosse team took home three awards in the: 
Spirit Award - Awarded to an individual or team who exemplifies being a true Titan fan - encouraging, supporting, and assisting our student-athletes in their athletic endeavors
Earl Cureton Community Service Award - Reestablished in 2024 to honor a student-athlete or program for excellence in community service. It is named after the late Titan Hall-Of-Famer and two-time NBA champion Earl Cureton, who served as the Detroit Pistons' community ambassador and was involved in numerous community service projects and initiatives
Titan Cup - Competition encourages our teams to support their fellow student-athletes and department. Teams earned points by attending games, community service events, student-athlete development, etc. 

The team always came out to support all the other sports throughout the year and also started a community service initiative in setting up a reading program and going to Gesu Catholic School every week to read to the kids. 

The recipient of the 2024 Team Excellence Award went to the women's soccer team with a cumulative grade point average of 3.53 for the past academic year. 

53 Titan seniors were recognized and received their graduation stoles, while 24 student-athletes earned the Academic Excellence Award for earning at least a 3.0 GPA for every semester they participated in college athletics. 

Matthew Andres – Men's Soccer
Ella Brandt – Women's Lacrosse
Sophie Davis – Women's Lacrosse
Emma Donahue – Women's Lacrosse
Evan Eding – Men's Track & Field
Lucia Fleta Robles – Women's Basketball
Raegan Hammond – Women's Soccer
Kaila Hemphill – Women's Track & Field
Sidny Hessem – Women's Track & Field
Fisher Hudak – Men's Soccer
Tia Jokic – Women's Soccer
Alexa Krauth – Women's Track & Field
Alek Mauro – Men's Golf
Sarah Meek – Women's Lacrosse
Adriana Molina-Marroquín – Women's Fencing
Irene Murua – Women's Basketball
Paige Myers – Women's Soccer
Andri Myftari – Men's Soccer
MacKenzie Patterson – Women's Track & Field
Emma Trawally Porta – Women's Basketball
Joe Toole – Men's Track & Field
Sophia Ubaydi – Women's Golf
Olivia Warrington – Softball
Luke Winters – Men's Soccer