CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Athletics and the Harvard Varsity Club celebrated the Class of 2026 on Wednesday night at the annual Cory Thabit Family Senior Letterwinners' Dinner. The event took place at Bright-Landry Hockey Center and honored the achievements of this year's graduating student-athletes.
The John P. Fadden Award was established in 1966 in honor of the late John P. Fadden's service as an athletic trainer and friend to Harvard athletes for many years. The award is given annually to a senior student (Varsity, JV or Intramural) who has overcome physical adversity to make a contribution to an eligible program. This year's honoree was Andrew Perry of Men's Lacrosse, who had double-hip surgery in the summer of 2023, missed 2024, and returned to a starting role in 2025. This past season, the All-Ivy League performer was instrumental in the team's 8-0 start to the year, which propelled the Crimson to a second straight Ivy League tournament berth, a first in team history.
In 1981, the Committee on Athletics voted to name the Manager of the Year Award, established in 1972, for the late Carroll F. Getchell, long-time business manager in the Department of Athletics. Each year the Department recognizes that manager in the senior class "who has best displayed integrity, courage, leadership, and ability" while an undergraduate manager. This year's recipient of The Carroll F. Getchell Manager of the Year Award was Hugo Nunez of Men's Lacrosse. A four-year manager, Nunez assisted the staff both from a coaching perspective and operationally. A mathematics and computer science concentrator, Nunez also worked as a teaching fellow in the math department.
Established in 2007, the Director's Award recognizes the person (or persons) who, through their pursuit of excellence and service to Harvard Athletics, has displayed exceptional leadership, personal character, integrity and commitment to education through athletics. This year's recipient, as chosen by
Erin McDermott, The John D. Nichols '53 Director of Athletics, was Chandler Piggé of Men's Basketball. The two-year team captain presented on Performance Anxiety at Harvard's First-Year Student-Athlete Orientation, served as the team's Student-Athlete Wellness Leader, and acted as an Athlete-to-Athlete mentor, advising middle and high school students, all while earning All-Ivy League honors on the court.
The Francis J. Toland Community Service Award was created in honor of former Senior Associate Director of Athletics Fran Toland, who retired in 2000 after 41 years of service to Harvard athletics. The award is presented to the senior student-athlete who has made the most outstanding contribution to Harvard and its neighboring communities. Lily O'Donoghue-McDonald from Track and Field/Cross Country is this year's recipient of the award. The history & literature, government concentrator served as the Cambridge Chapter Co-President for Run Your City, a non-profit organization that focuses on community building through running. The 2025 cross country team captain also served as the co-chair for the Harvard Kennedy School Harvard Votes Challenge, working to spread voter awareness through community activities and digital efforts.
The Mary G. Paget Prize is awarded annually by the presidents of Radcliffe and Harvard in honor of Mary Guest Paget's many years of service as Director of Sports, Dance and Recreation at Radcliffe College. The prize was first established in 1975 and is awarded each year to the senior student who has contributed the most to women's athletics. The 2026 honoree was Eva Rankin of Women's Rugby. In addition to helping the Crimson to four national titles (15s – three, 7s – one), including three straight 15s championships, Rankin has served as a Battalion Commander in the Army ROTC, ran the Boston Marathon on behalf of Semper Fi & America's Fund, acted as a member of Harvard Model Congress, and participated with the Undergraduate Women of Harvard Athletics to name a few of her extracurricular activities.
The Arthur L. Boland Award was established in 2010 by the Department of Athletics to honor Arthur Boland, MD in commemoration of his 40 years of dedicated service to Harvard Athletics. The award is presented each year to a senior varsity athlete who will be attending medical school and who best exemplifies those characteristics and qualities which have been the hallmark of Dr. Art Boland's care for Harvard athletes. The recipient of the 2026 Boland Award was Katie Krupa of Women's Basketball.
The Francis H. Burr '09 Scholarship is a fund established in memory of Francis H. Burr '09 by his friends. First given in 1918, it is awarded to two seniors, from a men's team and a women's team, who combine as nearly as possible Burr's remarkable qualities of character, leadership, scholarship and athletic ability. This year's two honorees were Marek Hejduk of Men's Ice Hockey and Jacklynn Okereke of Track and Field.
The Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women's Athletics Prize was established by the Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women's Athletics (HRFWA) and was first presented in 1986. It is awarded annually to the senior, that competes for a women's team, who best exemplifies the qualities of excellent scholarship, character, leadership, and athletic ability — in short, our top scholar-athlete from a women's team. Nominations for this award come solely from Faculty Deans, Senior Tutors or Resident Deans. This year the award goes to Sailing's Sophia Montgomery, who finished her career as a two-time women's singlehanded national champion, All-NEISA performer and 2024 Olympian.
First awarded in 1954, The William J. Bingham '16 Award is given annually to that member of a men's team and the graduating class of Harvard College who, through integrity, courage, leadership, and ability on the athletic fields, has best served the high purpose of Harvard as exemplified by the late William J. Bingham '16, former Director of Athletics. In short, the department's most outstanding athlete from a men's team. For the first time since 2009, the award went to a pair of athletes in Sailing's Justin Callahan and Football's Jaden Craig.
In four seasons, Callahan led the Crimson to five national championships, became the first Harvard athlete to earn College Sailor-of-the-Year honors twice, doing so in back-to-back seasons (2025, 2026), was the first person in program history to be a two-time NEISA Sailor of the Year and four-time All-American, and became the team's first four-time All-NEISA first-team selection. The senior led Harvard to a No. 1 national ranking for a majority of his time in Cambridge and was a 2025 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year finalist, which is the highest honor in American sailing.
Craig, meanwhile, led the Crimson to three consecutive Ivy League football championships and finished his career ranked first in program history in TD passes (career/season), passing yards (career/season) and completions in a single season. What makes his achievements even more impressive is the fact that Craig did not start his first game until Game 7 of his sophomore season and occasionally split QB duties as a junior. Individually, he was a two-time Walter Payton Award finalist, two-time All-Ivy League performer and a 2025 FCS ADA Postgraduate Scholarship finalist.
Established in 1987, The John P. Reardon '60 Men's Award is named in honor of John P. Reardon, Jr., '60, Director of Athletics from 1977 to 1990. This prize is presented annually to the senior varsity athlete, that competes for a men's team, who exemplifies the qualities of excellent scholarship, character, leadership, and athletic ability — in short, our top scholar-athlete from a men's team. Nominations for this award come solely from Faculty Deans, Senior Tutors or Resident Deans. The 2026 recipient is Sailing's Justin Callahan.
First established in 1975, The Radcliffe Prize is given annually to that member of a women's team, who, through dedication to sport, qualities of leadership, and outstanding ability on the playing field best reflects the purposeful achievement of Radcliffe alumnae in every field around the world. In short, the departments' most outstanding athlete from a women's team. This year's recipient was Field Hockey's Bronte-May Brough, who finished her career as a four-time All-American (second in school history, fifth in Ivy League history), two-time region player of the year and the first Harvard player to be a finalist for the Honda Award, which is presented annually to the best athlete in the sport. As one of the best defenders in the NCAA during her time in Cambridge, Brough helped the Crimson to a pair of Ivy League regular season (2023, 2025) and tournament (2023, 2024) titles. The two-time Ivy Defensive Player of the Year also guided the Crimson to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2023 and 2024, before reaching the national semifinals in 2025.
The Harvard Varsity Club has been instrumental to the success of Harvard Athletics since it was founded in 1886. The Varsity Club preserves the traditions, fosters the ideals, and advances the interests of Harvard Athletics through a wide range of activities for our 20,000+ members. The annual Cory Thabit Family Senior Letterwinners' Dinner, established in 1967 to honor the contributions of the outgoing senior class, is one example of the many functions provided by the Varsity Club.
