Hendriks, Novak and Foley Selected as St. Cloud State Senior Athletes of the Year

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Athletics has named swim & dive athlete Raf Hendriks (Berg en Terblijt, Netherlands), wrestler Nick Novak (New Prague, Minn.) and volleyball athlete Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa) as the 2024-25 St. Cloud State Senior Athletes of the Year. The award is annually given to the top male and female Husky with the most impressive comprehensive collegiate career who exhausted or concluded his or her collegiate eligibility. All three athletes have experienced great success in their sport, earning multiple All-Conference and All-America honors while leading their programs to new heights.

Hendriks and Novak being named co-male Senior Athlete of the Year marks the third time a co-athlete of the year has been named, following 2007-08 when Jenny Gensch (softball) and Amanda Kunkel (track & field) were named co-female and in 2008-09 when Ryan Kees (football) and Brad Padgett (wrestling) were named co-male.

"St. Cloud State University is incredibly proud of every one of our student-athletes," said Director of Athletics Holly Schreiner. "But these three individuals exemplified what being a Husky is all about. We were incredibly fortunate to have all three of them represent our department and University both in competition and in the classroom. All three individuals are standouts in so many ways."

Hendriks will leave SCSU as arguably the most decorated men's swimmer in program history, capturing 25 All-America honors, 10 conference titles and eight school records over his five seasons with the Huskies. He's the third male swimmer to earn Senior Athlete of the Year honors, joining Mike Wencl (1999-00) and Alex Bryson (2014-15). At the conference level, Hendriks would make a clean sweep of his signature event, the 200-yard backstroke, winning five consecutive titles from 2021-25 while also taking home the top spot in the 100-yard backstroke in 2022 and 2023, the 200-yard medley relay in 2023 and 2024, and the 400-yard medley relay in 2023. At the national level, Hendriks also earned five first-team All-America honors in the 200 back, including a runner-up finish in the event at the 2025 NCAA meet. In total, he accumulated nine first team honors and 16 second team honors, with 11 of those honors coming in individual events and 14 in relay events. He earned six All-America honors at his final NCAA meet, including first team honors in the 200 back (second), 100 back (seventh) and 200 freestyle relay (fourth) to help the Huskies finish eighth nationally, its best team finish in program history. He will leave St. Cloud with eight school records, including three in individual events, setting the top times in the 200 freestyle (1:36.85), 100 backstroke (46.84) and 200 backstroke (1:42.14). In the classroom, Hendriks earned 2022-23 Academic All-GLIAC honors, 2024-25 CSC Academic All-District honors and was named a 2024-25 CSC Academic All-America Third Team recipient.

Novak joins a long list of highly accomplished grapplers to earn the Senior Male Athlete of the Year honor, becoming the 11^th wrestler to win the award. Over his decorated Husky career, Novak won the 2023 NCAA National Championship at 157 pounds, earned three All-America honors, won four regional championships and was twice named the wrestler of the year for Super Region V and the NCAA. Novak produced a 97-12 career record with 43 bonus point victories, was a four-time NCAA qualifier and became the 18^th individual national champion in program history with his national title at 157 pounds in 2023. He became the 22^nd wrestler in program history to earn three or more All-America honors after adding a runner-up finish at 157 pounds in 2024 and a fourth-place finish at 165 pounds in 2025. Novak helped lead the Huskies to four consecutive NCAA Super Region V championships (2022-25), three NSIC regular season championships (2022, 2024-25) and four top-five team finishes (2022 – fourth, 2023, third, 2024 – fifth, 2025 – third). For his accomplishments on the mat, he was named the 2023 and 2024 wrestler of the year for the NSIC and Super Region V and was named to the All-NSIC First Team three times (2023-25). In the classroom, Novak is a four-time NWCA Scholar All-American recipient (2022-25), three-time NSIC All-Academic selection (2023-25) and earned CSC Academic All-District and All-America honors in 2023-24 (2024-25 recognition still TBD).

Foley helped bring the SCSU volleyball program to new heights in her four seasons in the black and red, being named the 2023 AVCA DII National Player of the Year while earning four All-America honors, two NSIC Player of the Year honors, four NSIC all-conference honors and many other accolades. Foley made an immediate impact for the Huskies in her freshman campaign, earning 2021 AVCA DII National and Central Region as well as NSIC Freshman of the Year honors while leading the Huskies to the NSIC regular season and conference tournament championship titles. The pair of conference championships were the first since 1982 and began a run of five conference titles in four seasons for the Huskies, adding the 2022 and 2024 conference tournament titles and the 2024 regular season championship. She was named an AVCA First Team All-American three times in 2021, 2023 and 2024 while earning Second Team honors in 2022, was twice named the AVCA Central Regional Player of the Year (2023-24), twice the NSIC Player of the Year (2023-24), was named the 2023 DII National Player of the Year by the AVCA and D2CCA, and was a 2023 Honda DII Athlete of the Year finalist. She became the fifth female SCSU student-athlete to be named a national athlete of the year, joining Madison Brinkman (WSD, 2021-22), Heather Miller (IDTF, 2009-10), Erika Quigley (WBB, 2006-07) and Mary Ahlin (WSD, 1998-99). In her banner 2023 season, she led the NCAA in kills per set (5.00), ranked second nationally in points per game (5.51) and fourth in total kills (545). She holds six career program records, including kills (2,033) and points (2,290) and is one of five players in program history to tally 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. In the classroom, Foley earned three Academic All-NSIC honors (2022-24) and twice earned CSC Academic All-District and CSC First Team Academic All-America honors (2023-24).

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Athletics, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Purchase tickets at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.

PAST SCSU SENIOR ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
1996-97: Andrew Reigstad (Wrestling) & Sandra Dingham (Track & Field)
1997-98: Jon Hinzman (Basketball) & Carey Meinert (Track & Field)
1998-99: Michael McKinney (Baseball / Football) & Michelle Lechner (Softball)
1999-00: Mike Wencl (Swim & Dive) & Karissa Hoehn (Softball)
2000-01: Scott Meyer (Hockey) & Mary Ahlin (Swim & Dive)
2001-02: Mark Hartigan (Hockey) & Tina Schreiner (Basketball)
2002-03: Forrest Witt (Basketball) & Tesia Zuba (Swim & Dive)
2003-04: Keith Heckendorf (Football) & Brooke Gentzler (Softball)
2004-05: Nathan Miller (Basketball) & Abby Velta (Softball)
2005-06: Ryan Koch (Football / Track & Field) & Sascha Hansen (Basketball)
2006-07: Bobby Goepfert (Hockey) & Erika Quigley (Basketball)
2007-08: David Dreas (Hockey), Jenny Gensch (Softball) & Amanda Kunkel (Track & Field)
2008-09: Ryan Kees (Football), Brad Padgett (Wrestling) & Katie Tacheny (Basketball)
2009-10: Matt Schneck (Basketball) & Heather Miller (Track & Field)
2010-11: John Sundgren (Wrestling) & Talisha Barlow (Basketball)
2011-12: Derek Skala (Wrestling) & Emily Kerber (Golf)
2012-13: Drew LeBlanc (Hockey) & Stephanie Crandall (Swim & Dive)
2013-14: Phillip Klaphake (Football) & Jessica Benson (Basketball)
2014-15: Alex Bryson (Swim & Dive) & Carley Jeffery (Basketball)
2015-16: Clint Poster (Wrestling) & Brianna Stamer (Volleyball)
2016-17: Austin Goergen (Wrestling) & Sam Sunstrom (Track & Field / Cross Country)
2017-18: Larry Bomstad (Wrestling) & Andrea Bryson (Swim & Dive)
2018-19: Brett Velasquez (Wrestling) & Kate Kopeck (Softball)
2019-20: James Pleski (Wrestling) & Clara Krenz (Volleyball)
2020-21: Devin Fitzpatrick (Wrestling) & Maya Keating (Softball)
2021-22: Nick Perbix (Hockey) & Madeline Torve (Volleyball)
2022-23: Joey Bianchini (Wrestling) & Linsey Rachel (Volleyball)
2023-24: Luke Tupy (Baseball) & Paola Breña (Track & Field)

Saint Cloud State University Athletics

Hendriks, Novak and Foley Selected as St. Cloud State Senior Athletes of the Year

Players Mentioned

Kenzie Foley

Raf Hendriks

Nick Novak

Related Videos