INDIANAPOLIS – Detroit Mercy’s Ben Kendell and Cleveland State’s Grace Kauth have been named Horizon League Fall Scholar Athlete of the Season.

Ben Kendell touts a 3.987 GPA while studying electrical engineering at Detroit Mercy. The junior also garnered the award in the fall of 2015 and is a two-time member of the Horizon League Cross Country All-Academic Team. In addition, Kendell is a three-time member of the Detroit Mercy Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and was recognized on the Fall and Spring Academic Honor Roll.

Kendell was the top runner on the Detroit Mercy cross country squad in the fall winning two events and coming in second twice in six races. Kendell was the recipient of First Team All-League honors after finishing second overall in the Horizon League Championship, and became the first Titan to notch three top-five finishes at the conference meet.  The junior also broke the school’s all-time 8k record timing a 24:15 at the 15th Annual Greater Louisville Classic.

Grace Kauth repeated as Scholar-Athlete of the Season after claiming the award last fall. The volleyball star was a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, and has made the Dean’s List at Cleveland State in every semester of her collegiate career (six times). As a marketing major with a 3.88 GPA, Kauth also has been a three-time Horizon League Fall Academic Team Honoree on top of being a three-time Cleveland State Athletic Academic honoree. The senior also is active on campus being the President of Cleveland State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

On the court, Kauth enjoyed tremendous success leading the Vikings to consecutive Horizon League regular season and tournament championships. The outside hitter took home Horizon League Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year awards after finishing the season with 417 kills and 332 digs. The senior eclipsed 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs becoming only the sixth player to achieve the feat in Vikings history.

The Horizon League recognizes student-athletes at the conclusion of each of its three athletic seasons. To be eligible for Scholar-Athlete of the Season consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale) and are honored on a combination of athletic and academic achievement.