WILKES-BARRE, PA (May 8, 2026) -- As the conclusion the 2025-26 academic calendar approaches, the King's College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the winners of their annual awards on Friday afternoon. The winners were unveiled this past Tuesday, May 5 at the Senior Send Off event as graduating seniors and members of the department gathered to honor and recognize the 2026 senior class.

Brennan Robinson of the King's football team was recognized as the 2025-26 Male Senior Athlete of the Year. Robinson maximized his career at McCarthy Stadium, starting strong with the program's first MAC Rookie of the Year Award before earning three All-MAC honors, a pair of first team and one second team recognitions, throughout his career. After tearing his ACL in the spring season of his first year, Robinson battled adversity and finished his career with 2,893 rushing yards which ranks 2^nd all-time and 23 touchdowns which ranks sixth in program history. His single game 230 yards against Albright, 92-yard run in a win over Lebanon Valley, and 1,107 rushing yards in 2025 all rank among top six in the record books. All four of his active seasons, Robinson finished in the top 10 in program history in yards per carry, including the new program record of 8.1 yards per carry in 2024. The running back was also a two-time captain and part of the 2024 team that claimed the MAC Championship title and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Off the field, he is a four-time MAC Academic Honor Roll recipient and two-time Academic All-MAC honoree.

The 2025-26 Female Senior Athlete of the Year was presented to Brandy Varner of the King's women's track and field program. Brandy Varner was in a league of her own throughout her career as a Monarch. Though she is still competing, she currently holds two All-American honors, one first team and one second team, and has qualified for three events at the NCAA Division III Championships. At the regional level, Varner has collected seven USTFCCCA All-Region recognitions and earned gold in the shot put and discus at outdoor regional championships in 2025. She has dominated the MAC, earning MAC Field Athlete of the Year during both indoor and outdoor championships this season and a combined six-time gold medalist, five-time silver medalist, and two-time bronze medalist. Varner has been named MAC Field Athlete of the Week 10 times, three indoor and seven outdoor. The current program record holder in the indoor weight throw and outdoor discus, Varner ranks 5^th in the nation in discus, 15^th in shot put, and 32^nd in hammer throw. Off the field, she has been named to the MAC Academic Honor Roll and Academic All-MAC team in her career.
 
The Male Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year award was presented to Michael Cohen of the baseball team. Cohen maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout his four years. The exercise science physiology major on the pre-medicine track has collected MAC Academic Honor Roll and MAC Sportsmanship team recognitions and is a member of four honors societies at King's. He was heavily involved in SAAC, as we just heard his list of involvement as the Monarch Mission Award Winner, and also volunteered with both Geisinger and White Plains hospitals over the last two years. After graduating, Michael plans on applying to medical school, finish out his national SAAC term, and spend time with his family doing the things he loves.

Ava Butcher of the women's track and field team was named the Female Senior Scholar Athletes of the Year. Butcher is an elementary and special education major, currently pursuing her master's at King's, and achieved a near-perfect 3.962 GPA throughout her undergraduate career. A member of the women's track and field program, Butcher currently teaches at a local public school as an emotional support teacher. She also lectors at mass at church here on campus, is active in both the education and environmental clubs, and organizes cancer awareness fundraisers for individuals in her hometown. On the track, Ava is a gold, three-time silver, and bronze medalist, MAC Track Athlete of the Week, and USTFCCCA All-Region honoree. For her academic efforts, she was MAC Sportsmanship Award honoree, a MAC Academic Honor Roll recipient, and CSC Academic All District selection. After graduation, she plans to teach at a public school in special education and coach cross country and track and field.

The Monarch Mission award is presented to a student-athlete from the senior class who was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The student-athlete not only represented their respective team well on and off the field, but also exemplified the King's College mission – King's teaches its students not only how to make a living, but how to live. For just the second time in the award's history, the Monarch Mission award was presented to two deserving student-athletes.
 
The first recipient of the 2025-26 Monarch Mission Award was Michael Cohen from the King's baseball team. He served as a management council representative on the National Division III SAAC, vice president for MAC SAAC, and spent one year as secretary and two as treasurer for King's SAAC. He is highly involved in Special Olympics both through SAAC and his team, including the Challenger League Poconos. He attended the NCAA National Convention this past year, representing King's at the highest level of SAAC, and his work on the field and in the classroom is unmatched.
 
Katey Shoemaker of both the field hockey and women's track and field program received the second Monarch Mission Award in 2025-26. She has dedicated countless hours throughout her career to the betterment of SAAC, serving as the King's SAAC President the past two years and a three-year SAAC representative. She also spent two years on MAC SAAC, representing King's at the conference level. She has been highly involved in the King's community over her career from her involvement in two varsity athletic programs, her leadership roles in the education department, and her dedication in the classroom.

For the fourth year, the King's Athletic Department handed out several new awards, and those recipients can be found below:

• Championship Performance
  • Men's Winner: Owen Foytack wins gold in the mile and places 6^th in the 3,000 Meters at MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships
  • Women's Winner: Brandy Varner wins gold in the weight throw and shot put at MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships
• Record-Breaking Performance
  • Men's Winner: Ryan Lynch's career goals and single-game goals scored records
  • Women's Winner: Alyssa Fox throws program's first perfect game against Valley Forge
• Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
  • Men's Winner: Ben Rodner Tims – Men's Basketball
  • Women's Winne: Courtney Monard - Women's Soccer
• Play of the Year
  • Men's Winner: Ben Malley drains three-pointer to send the game to triple overtime in the win against Centenary
  • Women's Winner: Brandy Varner's shot put and weight throw to earn All-American honors at NCAA Indoor Championships

King's seniors will join their classmates at Commencement next Friday, May 15 at Mohegan Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.

--MONARCHS--