After forty days of competition, our IUP Most Valuable Hawk has finally been crowned. The inaugural winner, as voted on by the fans, is none other than Johnny Franco.
 
As a senior leader on the football team, Franco was an instrumental part of the Crimson Hawks number one ranked defense in 2012. He registered 62 total tackles (39 solo) and had six interceptions for a total of 56 yards.
 
Franco's collection of awards was abundant this year. His Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors included being named Defensive Player of the Week once during the season and All-PSAC West first team recognition. As for out-of-conference awards, he was named to the first team Division II All-Super Region, the Capital One Academic All-America team, the BSN All-American team, the AP's Little America and Daktronics All-America Football team, the Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-Super Region One team and the D2football.com All-American team.
 
"It's great to be selected as the Most Valuable Hawk among IUP's best athletes," Franco said. "I'm good friends with many of the athletes that were in the bracket and it was fun competing against them in this tournament."
 
Franco's journey to the championship started June 13 when he defeated Amy Fairman, receiving 60 percent of the vote. He then faced off against Allyson Mitidieri in the tournament's biggest voting turnout. Franco received 6,098 votes and defeated Mitidieri by 20 percent.
 
Heading into the Elite Eight, Franco was up against the Crimson bracket's No. 1 seed, senior lacrosse star Alexa Lodovici. Continuing his dominance, he defeated Lodovici by 208 votes. Franco faced men's basketball player Scooter Renkin in the Final Four and in his biggest victory of the tournament, defeated him by receiving 78 percent of the vote.
 
Facing Steph Beaudette in the championship matchup wasn't going to be an easy task for Franco. Beaudette had received an outstanding turnout of votes and defeated No. 1 overall seed Mathis Keita in her tournament run.
 
However, as they had done all tournament long, Franco fans showed up in full force to support their favorite player. During the four days of voting, he defeated Beaudette 58 percent to 42 percent, receiving 1,700 votes.   
 
Franco received 9,152  total votes throughout the tournament.
 
The Altoona native will rejoin the Crimson Hawks this season, volunteering as the assistant defensive backs coach.
 
"I believe it was a fun and positive way to honor the top athletes in each sport," Franco said. "Hopefully IUP can continue its success in all sports for the 2013-14 seasons." 

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CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP

(2) Johnny Franco vs. (3) Steph Beaudette

Johnny Franco - Football

Senior Johnny Franco was an instrumental part of the Crimson Hawks number one ranked defense in 2012. He registered 62 total tackles (39 solo) and had six interceptions for a total of 56 yards. Franco's collection of awards was abundant this year. His PSAC honors included being named Defensive Player of the Week once during the season and All-PSAC West first team recognition. As for out-of-conference awards, he was named to the first team Division II All-Super Region, the Capital One Academic All-America team, the BSN All-American team, the AP's Little America and Daktronics All-America Football team, the Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-Super Region One team and the D2football.com All-American team.

Steph Beaudette - Women's Cross Country and Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field

A crossover athlete, Steph Beaudette competed in both cross country and distance events for track & field during the 2012-13 year. She won the Marty Uher Invitational 5k hosted by California (PA), finished 10th overall at the 2012 PSAC Championships (6k), 9th at the 2012 Atlantic Regional Championships (6k) and led IUP to its first NCAA National Championships since 2003. The junior finished fourth in the 3,000 meters and third in the 5,000 meters at the PSAC indoor championships in the winter; and followed that up with a fourth place finish in the 10,000 meters and 10th place finish in the 1,500 meters at the conference's outdoor championships in the spring.

You can vote on either the main IUP Athletics page, on the football page and on the women's cross country page.

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CHAMPIONSHIP

July 19 - (2) Johnny Franco

FINAL 4 WINNERS

July 15 - (3) Steph Beaudette
July 13 - (2) Johnny Franco

ELITE 8 WINNERS

White Bracket
July 11 - (3) Steph Beaudette

Gray Bracket
July 9 - (5) Colleen Berlin

Black Bracket
July 7 - (3) Scooter Renkin

Crimson Bracket
July 5 - (2) Johnny Franco

SECOND ROUND WINNERS

White Bracket
July 3 - (3) Steph Beaudette
July 2 - (1) Mathis Keita

Black Bracket
July 1 - (3) Anthony Wells
June 30 - (5) Collen Berlin

Black Bracket
June 29 - (3) Scooter Renkin
June 28 - (1) Stephen Cooke

Crimson Bracket
June 27 - (2) Johnny Franco
June 26 - (1) Alexa Lodovici

FIRST ROUND WINNERS

White Bracket
June 25 - (7) Tanya Timko
June 24 - (3) Steph Beaudette
June 23 - (5) Alyssa Taddie
June 22 - (1) Mathis Keita

Gray Bracket
June 21 - (2) Harvie Tuck
June 20 - (3) Anthony Wells
June 19 - (5) Colleen Berlin
June 18 - (1) Zack Kempa

Black Bracket
June 17 - (7) Steve Long
June 16 - (3) Scooter Renkin
June 15 - (4) Lindsay Stamp
June 14 - (1) Stephen Cooke

Crimson Bracket
June 13 - (2) Johnny Franco
June 12 - (6) Allyson Mitidieri
June 11 - (5) Jasa Mitchell
June 10 - (1) Alexa Lodovici

Updated Bracket (.PDF)

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The Crimson Hawks had another very successful year. The 2012-2013 academic year saw three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships for IUP with the football team, the men's basketball team and the men's golf team all claiming their respective title.

This year alone, IUP had 14 All-Americans, 41 All-Region and 72 All-PSAC selections.

It's time to decide who YOU think this year's most valuable Hawk was.

We've compiled a list of 32 student-athletes, with at least one representative from every sport. Each day, starting Monday, June 10, we'll have a new matchup for you to vote on. Those 32 names will then be narrowed down until we have a winner; the Most Valuable Hawk, as decided by the fans.

Voting is as follows:

Round One: June 10 to June 25
Sweet Sixteen: June 26 to July 3
Elite Eight: July 4 to July 11
Final Four: July 12 to July 15
Championship: July 16 to July 19

The winner will be announced on July 19.

Note: The regions and seedings are based on numerous factors, including individual and team performance, awards, achievements, and were set by a committee of individuals.