RICHMOND, Va. – Elon University athletics had a league-best six student-athletes honored as the latest recipients of the 2021-22 Colonial Athletic Association's Leadership and Sport Excellence Award as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning, June 28.
 
The award mimics the Chuck Boone Leadership Award in football and the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award in men's and women's basketball. One student-athlete, who represents the highest standards of teamwork, integrity, leadership and sportsmanship in his or her academic and athletic achievements, was selected in each of the other 19 sports sponsored by the Conference. The CAA's Faculty Athletic Representatives voted on the winners.
 
Among the six Phoenix athletes honored were Sam Bacon (men's soccer), Max Ferrari (men's golf), Kyle Frankel (men's tennis), Madison George (women's track & field), Andrew Miller (men's cross country) and Hannah Miller (women's cross country). Elon was one of five CAA schools to have multiple honorees along with Drexel (three), Hofstra (two), James Madison (two) and William & Mary (two).
 
Bacon was honored for the second time in his career to add to his laundry list of academic accomplishments at Elon. The Richmond, Va., native graduated this past spring as a Statistics and Computer Science major with a 3.97 grade-point-average and was also a member of the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team 3 first team this past fall. Bacon was also the recipient of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Scholarship for the Class of 2022 Honors Fellows cohort while being a member of the President's List and Athletic Director's Honor Roll for every semester at Elon posting a perfect 4.0 GPA three times. He concluded his athletic career at Elon as a three-year captain and starter and helped the Phoenix reach the CAA Tournament final for the first time in 2021.
 
Ferrari, who was the 2020-21 team MVP and the 2019-20 team Leadership Award winner, competed in five tournaments throughout the year. He was tied for fourth among Elon golfers at the Rod Myers Invitational and had a top 20 finish in the Phoenix Invitational, helping the squad to the team championship. Ferrari has also been named a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar during his career and has earned the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award. He earned a degree in finance and project management from Elon and is currently working on his master's degree in business analytics. 
 
Frankel, who earned both the Stein H. Basnight Award and CAA Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in 2021, will add another honor to his long list of awards at Elon. Throughout his career with the maroon and gold Frankel has won a total of 67 singles matches, the most in program history. Additionally, Frankel has been named to an All-CAA postseason team on five separate occasions, including being named the 2019 CAA Championship's Most Outstanding Performer after helping lead the Phoenix to its first-ever CAA title and a berth to the NCAA Tournament. A native of Oranjestad, Aruba, he graduated in the spring with his master's degree in economics.
 
An engineering major from Fountain Hills, Ariz., George has maintained a 4.0 GPA as a member of Elon's two-time defending CAA champion women's track and field team. She was also named a 2022 Goldwater Scholarship recipient, being one of 417 students to earn the distinction out of a pool of 5,000. George was also awarded the Elon Lumen Scholarship which awarded her $20,000 to further her research into making the first 3D printed pole vault spikes for women. Other academic accolades for George during her Elon career includes being an Honors Fellow and a Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society member. On the track, she helped the Phoenix win its second straight CAA outdoor track and field championship this past spring and also tied the outdoor school-record in the pole vault at 12' 9.5" (3.90m).
 
A team captain for the Elon men's cross country team, Andrew Miller has posted a 3.47 GPA as an exercise science major. The Fleming Island, Fla., native is an Honors Fellow at Elon while also being a consistent member on the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and appearing on the Dean's List twice. On the cross country course, Miller has been a three-time All-CAA athlete and holds the program's school-record in the 10,000-meters. He has also served as a volunteer for organizations such as Rise Against Hunger and the CityGate Dream Center.
 
Hannah Miller is also a team captain for the three-time CAA champion Phoenix women's cross country team and two-time women's track and field program. On the course and the track, she has been a valuable member to help both programs sweep the women's cross country title and women's track and field CAA championship for the past two seasons. She's also earned All-CAA recognition in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and holds the second-fastest time in school history. A native of Harrisonburg, Va., she holds a 4.0 GPA as an environmental and sustainability studies major and was honored with the Elon Athletics A.L. Hook Award this spring. She has also been on the President's List and Athletic Director's Honor Roll five times while also being an Honors Fellow.