St. Edward's Athletics announced baseball's George Hettrick and women's basketball's Ainsley Thunell as the men's and women's Performance Athletes of the Year during Tuesday night's awards ceremony and end-of-year banquet, the Goatspy Awards. 
 
The Performance Athlete of the Year award recognizes the male and female student-athletes who display the most extraordinary dedication to training, go above and beyond in the weight room and practice, and set the standard for teammates to follow. St. Edward's strength and conditioning coaches selected the winners and 
 
Winners were selected by St. Edward's strength and conditioning coaches and were nominated for the NSCA All-American Strength and Conditioning Athletes of the Year. 
 
From Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Zachary Phillips on George Hettrick: 
 
"George's commitment to the baseball team's strength and conditioning plan has set an excellent example for his teammates and driven the team's buy-in to the improvement process. His intense yet consistent effort in every workout is not only a display of his value to the team but also an inspiration to the younger student-athletes. 
 
His demonstration of strength and power during team testing with a 37.2-inch vertical jump, 425 lb sumo deadlift, 335lb front squat, 150lb Rolling Thunder deadlift, 570 lb Zercher rack squat, and 12 softball grip pull-ups earned him the distinction of being named the "Hilltopper Hoss" for the 2024-25 season."
 
From Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Zachary Phillips on Ainsley Thunell: 
 
On a team of persistent, hardworking individuals, Ainsley has distinguished herself as a tenacious team member who will never quit and will not allow her teammates to stop working. A ceaselessly selfless athlete, Ainsley has overcome personal obstacles while crushing every workout and game with a determination to be envied and emulated. Her grit has elevated my expectations of our women's basketball athletes and elevated the standard of the team's culture. As Head Coach JJ Riehl said, "They don't make them like Ainsley anymore."