O’Connell, Sudol named Big Sky Scholar Athletes
7/12/2023 12:00:00 PM | Football, General, Women's Track and Field
The Big Sky Conference announced the recipients of its annual Scholar Athlete designations for the 2022-23 season on Wednesday. Patrick O'Connell and Holly Sudol represent Montana for the award that honors student-athletes that "exceled both in the realm of competition and in the classroom."
"This group is filled with Big Sky Champions and All-Americans alike, with each and every member meaning so much to their respective intuition for the entirety of their career," Big Sky Conference Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said. "I hope these honorees take pride in knowing their administrations held them in such high esteem that they designated them a 2023 Big Sky Scholar Athlete."
O'Connell, who is currently in training with the Seattle Seahawks, was one of Montana's best on the field and in the classroom during his career as a Grizzly.
The two-time Academic All-Big Sky pick graduated from UM with a 3.64 cumulative GPA, earning his master's in business administration. He earned a place on the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honors Society as one of the top overall student-athletes in the nation.
On the field, O'Connell was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award and a two-time first-team All-Big Sky selection after leading the league in both TFLs and sacks in both his junior and senior seasons, despite missing the bulk of three games due to injury as a senior.
He finished his career at UM ranked among the program's career leaders in sacks and TFLs with 28.5 sacks and 45 TFLs. His 45 tackles for loss tied him with the great Kroy Biermann and Josh Buss at No. 4 all-time in program history. He also finished his career with 28.5 career sacks, placing him at No. 6 all-time for the Grizzlies. With 242 career stops, he finished among the top 40 UM tacklers of all time as well.
The Kalispell native was also a two-time All-American and a two-time team defensive MVP who also earned the Tony Barbour Award his senior year, given annually to the player "who best exemplifies outstanding practice habits and makes an unselfish contribution to the betterment of the Grizzly Football Team."
Sudol adds to an impressive final year in Missoula with this honor. The 2023 Grizzly Cup winner also claimed a Big Sky Championship in the 400-meter hurdles during the outdoor track & field season, qualifying for regionals with a top-10 mark in school history.
She scored for Montana at a Big Sky Championship eight times in her career, including three different All-Conference honors. This year, she placed third in the 400-meter during the indoor Big Sky Championships and she has also twice reached the podium in the 400-meter hurdles during the outdoor season.
Sudol graduated this year with a degree in Management and Entrepreneurship with a cumulative GPA of 3.55. She is a six-time Academic All-Big Sky Conference selection.
Her career best time of 59.22, which she ran this year at the Bengal Invitational in Pocatello, makes her the second fastest Grizzly in the event since the 2000 season behind school record holder Kourtney Danreuther. Her PR of 54.80 in the 400-meter also makes her the third-fastest in the outdoor event this century, while she was even better indoors with a career best time of 54.74. For a full feature story on Sudol's career, click here.
The honor is given to a male and female student-athlete from each of the conference's full-time members. To be eligible, the student-athlete must have exhausted his or her intercollegiate athletic eligibility and/or be a member of the graduating class, earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 (on a 4.0) scale, been a participant in a Big Sky-sponsored sport, completed at least two (2) years of intercollegiate competition at the institution, and been a letter winner.
Cal Poly
Michael Roth, Football, Mechanical Engineering (Woodinville, Wash.)
Eastern Washington
Bobby Say, Men's Track & Field, Business Administration (Maple Valley, Wash.)
Hally Ruff, Women's Track & Field, Masters of Business Administration (Walla Walla, Wash.)
Hartford
Manuel Romero, Men's Golf, Business (Doral, Fla.)
Idaho
Vivek Ramesh, Men's Tennis, Psychology, (Cary, N.C.)
Savannah Foster, Soccer, Broadcasting and Digital Media, (Port Orchard, Wash.)
Idaho State
Brock Mackenzie, Men's Basketball, Masters of Business Administration (Sammamish, Wash.)
Destinee Rose-Haas, Women's Track and Field, Communications (Baldwin, Wisc.)
Montana
Patrick O'Connell, Football, Masters of Business Administration (Kalispell, Mont.)
Holly Sudol, Women's Track and Field, Management and Entrepreneurship (Edmonds, Wash.)
Montana State
Duncan Hamilton, Men's Track and Field, Mechanical Engineering (Bozeman, Mont.)
Lucy Corbett, Women's Track and Field, Chemistry (Bozeman, Mont.)
Northern Arizona
Coleman Owen, Football, Finance (Gilbert, Ariz.)
Regan Schenck, Women's Basketball, Masters of Human Relations (Woodinville, Wash.)
Northern Colorado
Blake Danni, Men's Golf, Business Administration (Cheyenne, Wyo.)
Michaela Boon, Volleyball Dietetics (Cortland, Neb.)
Portland State
Mataio Talalemotu, Football, Global Supply Chain Management (Beaverton, Ore.)
Olivia Dean, Softball, Business Administration: Management and Leadership (Chehalis, Wash.)
Sacramento State
Ori Maior, Men's Tennis, Economics (Yokneam Illit, Israel)
Tess Blair, Women's Golf, Business Finance (South Jordan, Utah)
UC Davis
Jayce Smalley, Football, Master of Professional Accountancy (Kaneohe, Hawaii)
Weber State
Caleb Whitney, Men's Track and Field, Finance and Business Economics (St. George, Utah)
Lauren Hoe, Softball, Exercise and Sport Science and Rehabilitation (Walla Walla, Wash.)
"This group is filled with Big Sky Champions and All-Americans alike, with each and every member meaning so much to their respective intuition for the entirety of their career," Big Sky Conference Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said. "I hope these honorees take pride in knowing their administrations held them in such high esteem that they designated them a 2023 Big Sky Scholar Athlete."
O'Connell, who is currently in training with the Seattle Seahawks, was one of Montana's best on the field and in the classroom during his career as a Grizzly.
The two-time Academic All-Big Sky pick graduated from UM with a 3.64 cumulative GPA, earning his master's in business administration. He earned a place on the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honors Society as one of the top overall student-athletes in the nation.
On the field, O'Connell was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award and a two-time first-team All-Big Sky selection after leading the league in both TFLs and sacks in both his junior and senior seasons, despite missing the bulk of three games due to injury as a senior.
He finished his career at UM ranked among the program's career leaders in sacks and TFLs with 28.5 sacks and 45 TFLs. His 45 tackles for loss tied him with the great Kroy Biermann and Josh Buss at No. 4 all-time in program history. He also finished his career with 28.5 career sacks, placing him at No. 6 all-time for the Grizzlies. With 242 career stops, he finished among the top 40 UM tacklers of all time as well.
The Kalispell native was also a two-time All-American and a two-time team defensive MVP who also earned the Tony Barbour Award his senior year, given annually to the player "who best exemplifies outstanding practice habits and makes an unselfish contribution to the betterment of the Grizzly Football Team."
Sudol adds to an impressive final year in Missoula with this honor. The 2023 Grizzly Cup winner also claimed a Big Sky Championship in the 400-meter hurdles during the outdoor track & field season, qualifying for regionals with a top-10 mark in school history.
She scored for Montana at a Big Sky Championship eight times in her career, including three different All-Conference honors. This year, she placed third in the 400-meter during the indoor Big Sky Championships and she has also twice reached the podium in the 400-meter hurdles during the outdoor season.
Sudol graduated this year with a degree in Management and Entrepreneurship with a cumulative GPA of 3.55. She is a six-time Academic All-Big Sky Conference selection.
Her career best time of 59.22, which she ran this year at the Bengal Invitational in Pocatello, makes her the second fastest Grizzly in the event since the 2000 season behind school record holder Kourtney Danreuther. Her PR of 54.80 in the 400-meter also makes her the third-fastest in the outdoor event this century, while she was even better indoors with a career best time of 54.74. For a full feature story on Sudol's career, click here.
The honor is given to a male and female student-athlete from each of the conference's full-time members. To be eligible, the student-athlete must have exhausted his or her intercollegiate athletic eligibility and/or be a member of the graduating class, earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 (on a 4.0) scale, been a participant in a Big Sky-sponsored sport, completed at least two (2) years of intercollegiate competition at the institution, and been a letter winner.
Cal Poly
Michael Roth, Football, Mechanical Engineering (Woodinville, Wash.)
Eastern Washington
Bobby Say, Men's Track & Field, Business Administration (Maple Valley, Wash.)
Hally Ruff, Women's Track & Field, Masters of Business Administration (Walla Walla, Wash.)
Hartford
Manuel Romero, Men's Golf, Business (Doral, Fla.)
Idaho
Vivek Ramesh, Men's Tennis, Psychology, (Cary, N.C.)
Savannah Foster, Soccer, Broadcasting and Digital Media, (Port Orchard, Wash.)
Idaho State
Brock Mackenzie, Men's Basketball, Masters of Business Administration (Sammamish, Wash.)
Destinee Rose-Haas, Women's Track and Field, Communications (Baldwin, Wisc.)
Montana
Patrick O'Connell, Football, Masters of Business Administration (Kalispell, Mont.)
Holly Sudol, Women's Track and Field, Management and Entrepreneurship (Edmonds, Wash.)
Montana State
Duncan Hamilton, Men's Track and Field, Mechanical Engineering (Bozeman, Mont.)
Lucy Corbett, Women's Track and Field, Chemistry (Bozeman, Mont.)
Northern Arizona
Coleman Owen, Football, Finance (Gilbert, Ariz.)
Regan Schenck, Women's Basketball, Masters of Human Relations (Woodinville, Wash.)
Northern Colorado
Blake Danni, Men's Golf, Business Administration (Cheyenne, Wyo.)
Michaela Boon, Volleyball Dietetics (Cortland, Neb.)
Portland State
Mataio Talalemotu, Football, Global Supply Chain Management (Beaverton, Ore.)
Olivia Dean, Softball, Business Administration: Management and Leadership (Chehalis, Wash.)
Sacramento State
Ori Maior, Men's Tennis, Economics (Yokneam Illit, Israel)
Tess Blair, Women's Golf, Business Finance (South Jordan, Utah)
UC Davis
Jayce Smalley, Football, Master of Professional Accountancy (Kaneohe, Hawaii)
Weber State
Caleb Whitney, Men's Track and Field, Finance and Business Economics (St. George, Utah)
Lauren Hoe, Softball, Exercise and Sport Science and Rehabilitation (Walla Walla, Wash.)
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