SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Drury men's tennis player Yaroslav Sharyy and women's swimmer Mellie Wijk were honored with the Dr. Edsel Matthews Award at the Drury Athletics Gala on Monday night. The Drury Athletics Gala highlights celebrated the institution's graduating athletes, highlighting achievements by teams and individuals during the year, and announced award winners in several categories.
 
The Dr. Edsel Matthews Award is Drury's highest honor bestowed to a male and female NCAA student-athlete and honors outstanding achievement in a collegiate athletics career, academic excellence, leadership, and the character that embodies an elite student-athlete.
 
Dr. Matthews was Drury's head men's basketball coach in the 1970's, served as the institution's Director of Athletics from 2003 to 2012, and continued to be a guiding force for the department following his 2012 retirement. This year's ceremony marks the first time the awards have been handed out since his passing on Dec. 1, 2024.
 
Sharyy was named the men's winner of the Matthews Award as he finished a career that has seen the senior from Moscow, Russia, go 14-1 in singles this season and 13-1 in doubles. He is currently ranked 23^rd nationally in men's singles with a 14-1 record and he is ranked 23^rd nationally. In doubles, Sharyy has gone 13-1 with partner Lukas Rieber and the duo is ranked 21^st in Division II. Sharyy has been an All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection as a sophomore and junior, and this season has been named the league's Player of the Week four times. Sharyy owns a career record in singles at Drury of 40-7 and is 30-18 in doubles. He has been an Academic All-GLVC selection every year of his career and was an Academic All-District honoree last year. Sharyy also helped his team to NCAA-II Tournament appearances in each of the last two years.
 
Mellie Wijk won the women's Matthews Award. Wijk won two individual national championships and was the leading point-scorer at the year's NCAA-II Swimming & Diving Championships. The senior from Halmstad, Sweden, won the national title in the 200 Individual Medley, and the 200 Butterfly. She was the runner-up in the 100 Butterfly and the 200 Breaststroke and helped two relay teams to second place finishes. Wijk was the GLVC Swimmer of the Year in 2025 and 2024 and won 11 conference individual titles in her career. She was a 19-time All-American and helped Drury to a pair of third place finishes and an NCAA-II Runner-Up finish in 2025. Wijk was also a two-time Academic All-American, a three-time Academic All-District selection, and was an Academic All-GLVC honoree every year of her career.

Other awards from the Panthers Gala
 
Women's NCAA Academic Cup Champion- Triathlon
Men's NCAA Academic Cup Champion- Tennis 
Non-NCAA Academic Cup Champion- Bowling
 
Women's Newcomer of the Year, NCAA- Jonette Laegreid, swimming
Men's Newcomer of the Year, NCAA- Israel Zavaleta, diving
Men's Newcomer of the Year, non-NCAA- Jozef Kuchaslo, hockey
Bank of Missouri Community Impact Men's Student-Athlete of the Year- Cody Bahl, baseball
Bank of Missouri Community Impact Women's Student-Athlete of the Year- Kenna Trower, softball
Non-NCAA Team Impact Community Service Award- Men's Rugby
NCAA Team Impact Community Service Award- Wrestling
Best Women's Individual Performance, Non-NCAA- Amber Shetter, women's rugby
Best Men's Individual Performance, Non-NCAA- Haden Sanson, shotgun sports
Best Women's Individual Performance, NCAA- Caitlynn Daniels, women's basketball
Best Men's Individual Performance, NCAA- Ivan Adamchuk, swimming
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, non-NCAA- Luke Aston, hockey (Division I)
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, NCAA- Jeremiah Halter, wrestling
Leadership Award, non-NCAA- Trinity Morgan, cheer
Leadership Award, NCAA- Riek Riek, men's basketball
Comeback Athlete of the Year, non-NCAA- Daniel Kotov, men's rugby
Comeback Athlete of the Year, NCAA- Rhi Gibbons, women's basketball
Assistant Coach of the Year, non-NCAA- Cliff Cook, hockey
Assistant Coach of the Year, NCAA- Peter Kuster, wrestling
Coach of the Year, non-NCAA- Kevin Boyer, shotgun sports
Coach of the Year, NCAA- Brian Reynolds
Team of the Year, non-NCAA- hockey (Division I)
Women's Team of the Year, NCAA- swimming & diving
Men's Team of the Year, NCAA- swimming & diving
Women's Newcomer of the Year, non-NCAA- Tammy Eliasova, pickleball
Women's Outstanding Senior, non-NCAA- Trinity Morgan, cheer
Men's Outstanding Senior, non-NCAA- Clay Henderson, bass fishing
 

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