VILLANOVA, Pa.—On the eve of Villanova University commencement exercises, more than 100 graduating student-athletes of the Class of 2019 were celebrated at Finneran Pavilion on Thursday night.  The seniors from each of the Wildcats varsity programs were presented with watches by their head coaches, while four student-athletes took home the evening's major awards.  Track & field athletes Casey Comber and Nicole Hutchinson were named the Male and Female Senior Student-Athletes of the Year, while Julia Arrix from women's lacrosse and Chucky Smith from football were chosen as this year's Sister Mary Margaret Cribben Award winners. 
 
Celebrations such as this one are an opportune time to take a look back at the last four years, as well as ahead to what the future lies for the newest Villanova graduates.  Their collective accomplishments in athletic competition, academically and in the community over the past four years are all equally impressive.  The Class of 2019 has made 17 national postseason appearances and won 20 conference championships.  On an individual basis, the senior student-athletes have combined to win 121 individual conference titles while earning more than 200 all-conference honors. 
 
This group of student-athletes is also finishing their careers in top form; 19 of the 24 varsity sports competed in their conference tournaments this 2018-19.  The women's cross country and track & field teams completed their second straight BIG EAST "triple crown" with conference championships in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field.  The men's indoor and outdoor track & field teams also won BIG EAST titles, while the women's swimming & diving program captured its record sixth straight conference crown in dominant fashion.  The men's basketball team continued its incredible run of success by winning the BIG EAST regular season and tournament championships.
 
While excelling in competition, the senior student-athletes have consistently redefined the loftiest of benchmarks for academic achievement.  This is the first graduating class in school history that has had a collective grade-point average above a 3.2 for every semester of their collegiate careers.  In each of the last two years, Villanova has led all Division I schools in the percentage of its athletic programs receiving public recognition from the NCAA for having multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores that rank in the top 10 percent of their sport nationwide. 
 
The various varsity sports programs have combined to earn 42 team academic awards on a national level over the last four years, while the graduating class of student-athletes has garnered 59 national all-academic team selections and 291 academic all-conference selections.  Starting with the Fall 2016 semester, student-athletes with a semester GPA of 3.2 or higher have been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll.  This year's seniors have achieved this distinction 363 times in the five semesters since the award was introduced. 
 
A recurrent theme for Villanova student-athletes is to "touch every corner of campus" during their four years of undergraduate study.  During his remarks at Thursday evening's reception, Jackson recognized six senior student-athletes who have been ROTC members and two others who were recognized by the Fulbright scholarship program.  Michelle Mathews from volleyball, Chucky Smith from football, Kate Stenmoen from water polo, Zach Swenson from cross country and track & field each, Francis Garvey from swimming & diving and John Timon (mascot) have each been involved with ROTC programs during their careers.  Ellie Cayer from rowing was one of four current and former student-athletes to be named a Fulbright Scholar recently, while Taylor Wilson from women's swimming & diving was a semifinalist for the award.
 
Below are capsules of each of the four major award winners.
 
Male Student-Athlete of the Year
Casey Comber
Men's Cross Country/Track & Field
 
Comber has been an impact performer at the national level for the Wildcats during his collegiate career.  He is a three-time All-American, a nine-time BIG EAST champion and a 12-time All-BIG EAST performer overall, and is having the best year of his collegiate career in 2018-19.  Comber was an All-American during cross country season and went on to add first team All-America honors indoors with a second place finish in the Mile at the NCAA Championships.  At a meet in Boston in January, Comber also became the 41^st Villanovan to run a sub-four minute mile when he posted a time of 3:57.80.  Comber was named the Outstanding Track Performer at the 2019 indoor BIG EAST Championships and was the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year for the 2018 cross country season. 
 
The current year of competition will not be Comber's last at Villanova, as he plans to return for his final year of eligibility in 2019-20.  Comber is graduating from the Villanova School of Business with a double major in Marketing and Business Analytics, and has been accepted to a Master of Science in Analytics program for graduate school.  He has compiled a perfect 4.0 GPA in three of his collegiate semesters, made Dean's List every semester and been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in all six of the semesters since the award was introduced.  Comber is also a three-time selection to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, a four-time selection to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team and has been a Capital One Academic All-District honoree.  He has also volunteered at the St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service and the Special Olympics Fall Festival. 
 
Female Senior Student-Athlete of the Year
Nicole Hutchinson
Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
 
Hutchinson has been one of the top performers in a dominant Wildcats distance group that has helped the cross country and track & field teams capture consecutive BIG EAST "triple crowns" with conference titles in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field over the last two years.  She is a six-time All-American, an eight-time BIG EAST champion and a 17-time All-BIG EAST performer.  Hutchinson ranks second in school history in the 3000 meters, third in the Mile, sixth in the 5000 meters and eighth in the 1500 meters.  She has also been a part of Villanova's unrivaled legacy at the Penn Relays, where she has been a part of seven Championship of America titles.  In addition to her career at Villanova, Hutchinson has a wealth of international experience which includes running for her native Canada at the IAAF U20 Championships in Poland during the summer of 2016. 
 
Before her senior season of competition had even started, Hutchinson accepted a postgraduate position as an audit associate at PWC Vancouver.  She is majoring in Accountancy in the Villanova School of Business while pursuing a double minor in Business Law and Corporate Governance and International Business.  Hutchinson is a three-time Dean's List honoree and has been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in all six semesters since the award was introduced.  Hutchinson has been named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team three times in track & field and twice in cross country, and she is also a three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree.  In addition to working at PWC Vancouver, Hutchinson plans to continue her professional running career with an eye towards qualifying for the 2020 Olympics.
 

 
Sister Mary Margaret Cribben Award
Julia Arrix
Women's Lacrosse
 
Arrix overcame injuries during her collegiate career to play in 36 career games for the Wildcats, and along the way she emerged as one of the team's strongest leaders both on and off the field.  As a senior this season, she started all 18 games for Villanova and led the team with 32 ground balls on the year.  Arrix helped the Wildcats record the most successful season in their varsity history, with 10 victories and an appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament.  She finished her career with totals of 46 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers, but her story is one that goes well beyond her accomplishments on the field. 
 
During a preseason tournament her sophomore year, Arrix suffered a torn ACL and was unable to play during the 2017 season.  A setback in the spring also kept her out of fall ball, but she still kept up with all of the team's fitness and agility drills in preparation for the 2018 campaign.  When she was fully cleared to play in January, Arrix immediately passed her fitness test and went on to play in every game of her junior season.  She earned a starting spot midway through the season and entered her senior year in 2019 as a key leader on the team.  Arrix sustained a broken nose in practice prior to the start of the season, but this time luck was on her side as it was a clean break and she returned in time for the Wildcats season opener at Duke.  Arrix has been equally successful in her academic pursuits and is a three-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team.
 
Sister Mary Margaret Cribben Award
Chucky Smith
Football
 
Smith, a native of Newbury Park, Calif., came to Villanova as a walk-on member of the football roster.  In addition to playing in 28 career games and becoming a dependable performer on special teams for the Wildcats, Smith is also a member of the Navy ROTC program.  That means that as many as three times a week he would get up to run two to four miles before attending team meetings and practices which would start at 6:30 a.m.  Smith was voted to the football team's leadership council and has volunteered his time at Radnor Elementary School reading days as well as the football team's annual drives to recruit potential bone marrow donors to be added to the worldwide registry.  He is also the chair of a program that tutors inner city children. 
 
A Biology major, Smith has twice been named to the CAA Football All-Academic Team and is a two-time CAA Commissioner's Academic Award recipient.  His career totals on the gridiron include 41 total tackles (25 solo, 16 assisted), two fumble recoveries and half a tackle for loss.  Smith has played in all 22 of the Wildcats game over the last two seasons and will be returning to the team for his final year of athletic eligibility this fall.