Lions award quartet

Matthew Hess and Mikael Larsson were named Co-Athletes of the Year,

while Olga Hlushchanka and Lisa Faulkner shared the top honor for

female athletes at Vanguard University, the school’s athletic

department announced.

In addition, Hess and Silina Yohner were selected as Champions of

Character.

Hess, a junior forward, led the Lions men’s soccer team to a

13-6-1 overall record in the fall, scoring a team-leading 29 goals.

He was chosen to the All-Golden State Athletic Conference, All-Region

II, and NAIA All-America Honorable Mention teams for the third

consecutive season. He capped the year with his second Vangaurd Male

Athlete of the Year award and first Champion of Character selection.

Larsson of Gothenburg, Sweden grabbed All-America recognition in

March for leading the men’s distance medley relay team to a

third-place finish at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field championships.

He finished his two-year Vanguard career by establishing a new school

record, 2:35.23, in the marathon event at the NAIA Outdoor

championships.

Hlushchanka of Belarus, Minsk and Faulkner finished their junior

seasons by leading their respective teams to top 10 finishes at the

NAIA national tournament.

Hulshchanka was the top ranked women’s player in the NAIA and was

listed as the International Tennis Association’s “Player to Watch”,

as she led the third-ranked Lions (24-3) to third place at the NAIA

national tournament. She was undefeated (24-0) as Vanguard’s No. 1

singles player and led Vanguard to its first women’s tennis GSAC

championship.

Faulkner, also an NAIA Scholar-Athlete, debuted in a Lion uniform

after transferring to Vanguard from UC Irvine. The junior point guard

guided the Lions to its fifth GSAC championship and sixth appearance

at the NAIA women’s basketball championships.

The Lions (31-3) made it to the quarterfinal round as Faulkner led

the NAIA in assists with 9.82 per game and set a new school record

for assists in a single season. Both Hlushchanka and Faulkner were

named first-team NAIA All-Americans.

Yohner became the third recipient of Vanguard’s Female Champion of

Character award. The senior played four years of tennis for the Lions

and earned her second NAIA Scholar-Athlete laurel this spring,

possessing a 3.61 G.P.A. as a Liberal Studies student. She had one of

the most successful tennis careers in the nine-year history of the

Vanguard women’s program, earning All-GSAC and All-Region honors as a

freshman, and making two trips to the NAIA National Tournament.

The Champion of Character Award mirrors the honor established by

the NAIA and is given to an athlete who has excelled in representing

Vanguard academically, athletically, and spiritually.