02 May 2018 Harding students receive awards
Harding University recently announced this year’s recipients of the athletic department’s highest awards.
Gavin De Los Santos, a member of the Harding University football team from Hot Springs, was honored in chapel as the men’s 2018 M.E. Berryhill Award winner. Madison Drennan from the cross-country and track and field teams was the women’s winner.
The Berryhill Award is the highest recognition the Harding athletic department gives and is named after former coach and athletics director M.E. Berryhill. The honor is given to a senior male and female athlete who possesses the characteristics of athletic excellence and academic achievement.
GAVIN DE LOS SANTOS
De Los Santos, a 2017 Associated Press first-team All-American offensive tackle, led Harding to an 11-4 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II national semifinals. He played in 49 games with 39 career starts. De Los Santos played on three NCAA playoff teams and helped guide the Bisons to a 24-5 record in his junior and senior seasons.
A kinesiology and health major with a 3.49 GPA, De Los Santos earned three Academic All-GAC honors and was a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation Campbell Trophy, given to the top student-athlete in college football.
Throughout his time at Harding, De Los Santos has been active in numerous campus activities and is beloved by his Bison Buddy elementary school friends.
De Los Santos is the 21st Harding football player to receive the Berryhill Award since its inception in 1963. The most recent football players to receive the award were Park Parish in 2017, Romo Westbrook in 2015 and Kyle Wess in 2007.
MADISON DRENNAN
Madison Drennan, a member of the Harding University women’s cross-country and track and field teams from Signal Mountain, Tenn., was honored as the 2018 female M.E. Berryhill Award winner.
Drennan is one of only seven Harding runners ever to earn first-team all-conference honors four times in cross-country. She has 10 career event victories in track and field and placed second in the 1,500 meters in each of the last two Great American Conference championships. Drennan is a social work major with a 3.66 GPA and is a three-time Academic All-GAC recipient.
Drennan is the 17th member of the Harding women’s track and field team to earn the Berryhill Award since its inception in 1984. Other recent winners include Kelsey Taylor in 2016, Ewa Zaborowska in 2015 and Kristen Celsor in 2014.
