RAPID CITY, S.D. – South Dakota Mines announced 21 winners at the 2025 Grubby's held in the Beck Ballroom on Thursday evening. 
Those winners are listed below. 

Pep Band MVP – Laura Hubbs
This year, the Pep Band honored Laura as its Most Improved member.
 
The pep band has been a staple of the athletic department for years, contributing to one of the best atmospheres in the RMAC across volleyball, basketball, and football. 
 
Football MVP – Connor Taylor
Connor Taylor is one of the best special teams players in school history. As kicker throughout his career, he won several RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week awards and set several school records.
 
He finished his career as an all-american, all-region selection and four-time all-conference selection. 
 
His school records included career points (259), field goals in a season (13), field goals in a career (36), career PATs (151), average yards per punt in a season (44.1), longest punt (81 yards) and punts in 20 in a season (16).
 
Volleyball MVP – Hannah Benes
Hannah has been a stellar libero/ds for the Hardrockers throughout her career, but took it to a new level last season. Her play earned her the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year award and an RMAC First Team All-Conference nod.

Benes has been among the national and RMAC leaders in aces in each of the last two seasons, setting school records in that category. 
 
Men's Cross Country MVP – Joran Lamoreaux
Joran Lamoreaux led the men's cross country team to its best season in school history. Traditionally, the best cross country conference in the country, the Hardrockers proved they belong with the top of the RMAC, even defeating a top 25 nationally ranked team.

Lamoreaux helped lead the group, posting three individual top-20 finishes.  

Women's Cross Country MVP – Allyson Heiden
Allyson Heiden had a great year as a senior for the women's cross country team, posting two top 10 finishes along with a top 40 finish at the RMAC Championships.

Soccer – MVP
Rider Grow was named the soccer MVP after a year where he continued to improve into one of the best defensive players in the RMAC.

He was one of the leading minutes getters, playing in 1,292 minutes and starting in 16 of 17 matches. He also had a shot on goal percentage 42.9%

Male Lifter of the Year – Wren Jacobs (Football)
Wren is a graduating senior from Strugis, S.D. He has been a multi-year starter for the football program, recording 74 total tackles.

Female Lifter of the Year – Abby Krumpus (Track & Field)
Krumpus has been a difference maker for the women's track & field team, where she has had a strong year.

She has recorded eight top five finishes between the indoor and outdoor season this year along, in addition to several more top 10s. Krumpus also holds spots on the Hardrocker top 10 lists in the Heptathlon, Javelin, pentathlon and indoor 55m hurdles.

Women's Basketball MVP – Morning Grace Spotted Bear
Morning Grace was in the top 10 in the RMAC in several categories this year, including rebounding, steals and blocks. In addition, she averaged 12.9 points per game for the season and had 12 double doubles. 

Men's Basketball MVP – Keagen Smith
Keagen averaged double-digits in scoring along with five rebounds per game in 2024-25. For his career, he scored over 1,100 points and became a top 30 scorer in school history. 

Smith is a two-time all-conference selection, a four time RMAC All-Academic selection and a three-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection.

Cheer MVP – Baylee Jewell
Baylee was an outstanding member of the community, volunteering for nearly 50 events and nearly 100 hours worth of community service. 

Jewell is a consistent member of the cheerleading squad, attending nearly every game throughout the fall and winter seasons.

Men's Golf MVP & Male Academic Athlete of the Year – Braydon Jones
Braydon is one of the most academically decorated athletes in school history as he has won three-straight RMAC Summit Awards, awarded for the highest GPA among competitors at the RMAC Championships. In addition, he is a two-time RMAC All-Academic First Team selection, the 2023-24 Men's Academic Golfer of the Year and a 2022-23 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Second Team selection.

Women's Golf MVP – Kenzie Schroeder
Kenzie, just a sophomore showed great improvement throughout the season this year, contributing to a women's team that set a school 54-hole record at the RMAC Championships for lowest strokes.

In addition, she picked up her first collegiate win at the Hardrocker Spring Invite.

Men's Track & Field MVP – Aidan Thompson
Aidan has had a phenomenal career at Mines, holding several places in the Hardrocker Top 10 marks as well as school records in the heptathlon and decathlon.

He is a five-time all-conference performer who most recently won his first conference championship at the RMAC Outdoor Championship in the decathlon. 

Women's Track & Field MVP – Adisyn Schenck
Adisyn Schenck had a strong year and continued to improve all the way through. Between the indoor and outdoor seasons, she won five events and placed in the top 10 22 times. Schenck was also and indoor all-conference performer, taking fourth in the shot put at the RMAC Indoor Championships.

Male Leader of the Year – Jake Martinelli (Football)
An inductee into the 2024 South Dakota Mines Leadership Hall of Fame, Martinelli has served as a leader on campus in many ways, as the president and multi-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as well as a three-year captain of the football, team despite not seeing significant field time until this past year.

Female Leader of the Year – Kiley Metzger (Volleyball)
Kiley was also a 2024 Inductee into the South Dakota Mines Leadership Hall of Fame. Kiley has been a significant piece of the culture change for the volleyball team, and a three-year captain. She is the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has served with the committee for multiple years. In addition, she is the president of the Women's Hardrocker Organization.

Male Athlete of the Year – Henry Dryden
Henry Dryden, a member of the football team has been stellar for the last two seasons. In 2023, he was named an All-Super Region 4 Second Team selection and an All-RMAC First Team selection. He would only top that in 2024, earning first team with both publications while adding a Don Hansen All-American award, a spot on the D2Football.com Elite 100 list and an AFCA All-American spot for the first time in school history.

Female Athlete of the Year – Alessandra Meoni
Alessandra Meoni is one of the best volleyball players in school history and in her two years with the school, was a two-time all-region selection, a two-time all-american and a two-time all-conference selection. 

The recording of the ceremony can be found here, while photos can be found here.

About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 11 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.