Andrew Hunter wins Knightly News Athlete of the Year Award

By Blake Myers

Knightly News Sports Reporter

andrew.hunter@mymail.centralpenn.edu

Andrew Hunter took home some hardware recently, as he was selected as the Knightly News Player of the Year at the Activities and Athletics Banquet, held in the Central Penn Conference Center on May 23.

Due to The Knightly News working very closely with Central Penn Knights athletics, the club developed this award to recognize a student-athlete who excels in three key areas. These areas represent work on the court or field, accolades in the classroom, and willingness to provide access or assistance to student and faculty reporters.

Hunter is the fifth student-athlete and the first Knights men’s soccer player to take home the honor. In previous years, Connor Graham (2019), Ja-Lynn Burton-Jones (2020), Sydney Bubb (2022) and Nate Jean-Philippe (2023) collected the award. There was no award winner in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hunter was stellar for the Knights over the last two seasons. He appeared in 29 games throughout his Central Penn career, leading the Knights to a 12-4-1 record and an Eastern States Athletics Conference championship berth in 2023. Hunter also managed to rack up 164 total saves through his two seasons as the Knights’ goalkeeper and was an anchor in Central Penn’s run of recent success.

Hunter was also an outstanding student, earning various awards for his in-the-classroom achievements. Hunter received a 2023 United States Collegiate Athletic Association Academic All-American designation and made the dean’s list several times. In addition, he was a student worker in the Athletic Department, where Hunter would work alongside the baseball team and basketball teams, helping keep score for basketball, working gameday operations for baseball and writing game recap stories for The Knightly News.

While involved as a student-athlete and student worker, he also rose to serve as The Knightly News Media Club’s vice president. During his time with the club, Hunter was also named the first Knightly News Sports Reporter and led the sports subcommittee for the group, working with a team to help improve sports broadcasts.

“I am very thankful for everything that has come my way, especially the opportunities that have presented themselves to me,” Hunter said after receiving the award.

He understands and exemplifies what it means to be a Central Penn Knight, on and off the field.

While Hunter has graduated and walked the stage to receive his diploma, he still works for the school in the athletics department. Beyond that, he seeks a fresh path and a new journey, and new experiences to conquer.

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Comment or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu.

Edited by media-club co-adviser and blog editor Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.