Photo by: Mario Terrana
Sward Wins Steckbeck Award As Top First-Year Female Athlete
5/30/2024 11:25:00 AM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh softball first-year Peyton Sward has been selected as the winner of the John S. Steckbeck Award given to Lehigh Athletics' top first-year female student-athlete.  The Mountain Hawks' top hitter during the 2024 season, Sward emerged from the three finalists announced at Lehigh Athletics' annual Convocation program on May 6.
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The committee that decides the department award winners initially elected to postpone the announcement pending the results of postseason awards and postseason competition for spring sports, with all three finalists coming from spring sport programs.
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In addition to earning second team All-Patriot League honors in early May, Sward added second team NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region laurels to her first-year ledger, becoming the first Lehigh first-year to earn All-Region honors from the NFCA since 2015
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Sward started all 52 games at shortstop for the Mountain Hawks and led the team with a .391 batting average, six sacrifices and 12 stolen bases (in 12 attempts) during the 2024 campaign. She also ranked
in the top three on the team in OPS (.908), runs scored (34), hits (50) and triples (three).
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The Florham Park, N.J. native was a two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week and batted .302 with 13 hits and 11 runs scored during the 18-game Patriot League regular season. Sward went 5-for-9 with two runs scored and an RBI as Lehigh reached the championship round of the Patriot League Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven tournaments. She had a trio of three hit games during the 2024 campaign and scored three runs in a Mar. 20 game at Monmouth.
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Sward is the 12th softball student-athlete to win the Steckbeck Award since its inception in 1976. The most recent winner from the softball program is Jaelynn Chesson in 2019. Emily Cimino was a finalist among spring sport student-athletes whose rookie campaigns were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The other two finalists for the Steckbeck Award were Maggie Forkner from women's tennis and Brynn Freeman from women's lacrosse. All three finalists garnered second team All-Patriot League recognition following the 2024 season.
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The committee that decides the department award winners initially elected to postpone the announcement pending the results of postseason awards and postseason competition for spring sports, with all three finalists coming from spring sport programs.
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In addition to earning second team All-Patriot League honors in early May, Sward added second team NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region laurels to her first-year ledger, becoming the first Lehigh first-year to earn All-Region honors from the NFCA since 2015
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Sward started all 52 games at shortstop for the Mountain Hawks and led the team with a .391 batting average, six sacrifices and 12 stolen bases (in 12 attempts) during the 2024 campaign. She also ranked
in the top three on the team in OPS (.908), runs scored (34), hits (50) and triples (three).
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The Florham Park, N.J. native was a two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week and batted .302 with 13 hits and 11 runs scored during the 18-game Patriot League regular season. Sward went 5-for-9 with two runs scored and an RBI as Lehigh reached the championship round of the Patriot League Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven tournaments. She had a trio of three hit games during the 2024 campaign and scored three runs in a Mar. 20 game at Monmouth.
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Sward is the 12th softball student-athlete to win the Steckbeck Award since its inception in 1976. The most recent winner from the softball program is Jaelynn Chesson in 2019. Emily Cimino was a finalist among spring sport student-athletes whose rookie campaigns were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The other two finalists for the Steckbeck Award were Maggie Forkner from women's tennis and Brynn Freeman from women's lacrosse. All three finalists garnered second team All-Patriot League recognition following the 2024 season.
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