Berends, Sauder Named TU Athletes of the Year
UPLAND, Ind. – Adam Sauder and Alex Berends were recognized last week as the Taylor University men's and women's student-athletes of the year. The duo received the awards during Taylor's annual Honors Chapel.
Sauder, a defensive back for the Taylor football team, was named the 2015-16 Gates-Howard Award winner after earning NAIA First-Team All-American honors following his senior season. Sauder tallied 97 total tackles including eight tackles for loss and two sacks to go along with two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
The Leo, Indiana native served as a team captain and helped TU to a 7-3 record. Sauder was also named the MSFA Mideast League Defensive Player of the Year and was the top NAIA vote recipient for the 2015 Cliff Harris Award, which honors the top small-college defensive players in the nation. Sauder was also invited to attend a rookie camp tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Sauder graduated in December with a degree in marketing.
Berends was named the Natalie Steele Award winner for the second straight year following stellar cross country and track seasons. The sophomore amassed a 949-9 individual win-loss mark during the 2015 cross country season and collected victories in five of six regular season races for TU. The Hudsonville, Michigan native claimed her second straight Crossroads League Cross Country individual championship and led the Trojans to a third straight team title.
A five-time Crossroads League runner of the week during the cross country season, Berends posted the second-fastest time in TU cross country history, missing the record by one second. Berends also qualified for two events at both the NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships and posted runner-up finishes in the steeplechase and the 4x800-meter relay at the highly competitive Indiana Little State meet during the outdoor track and field season. Berends is the tenth student-athlete to be honored with the award in multiple years since the award's inception in 1979.
Berends is double majoring in political science and international studies and owns a 3.95 cumulative GPA.