Nicole Blaesser and Dave Mazza were selected the IUP Scholar-Athletes of the Year at the school’s annual All-American and Championships banquet Thursday night at the Crimson Event Center on the IUP campus.

A total of 34 IUP student-athletes, including eight who earned All-America accolades, were recognized at the event.  Also honored was the women’s basketball team for winning the PSAC championship and advancing to the title game of the NCAA East Region tournament.

Blaesser, a graduate of Oxford High School, owns a 3.86 grade point average as a health and physical education major and has been accepted into the graduate program in physical therapy at Slippery Rock.  She has been on the Dean’s List all seven semesters, including three with a 4.0 GPA. 

Blaesser has assisted in collecting food for the needy at Christmas time and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity last fall in Florida.

Blaesser is one of the top cross country runners ever at IUP as well as a four-time national qualifier in track and field.  Last fall, she won the NCAA East Region cross country meet by 52 seconds and placed seventh at nationals, a position topped by only four women in IUP history, to earn All-America honors. 

She finished her career as a four-time all-region runner and competed at nationals three times. 

Blaesser was selected the East Region Runner of the Year by the United States Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association as well as a recipient of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Top Ten award for combined athletic and academic excellence.

Mazza, who graduated from North East High School, spent two seasons at IUP after transferring from Duquesne, earning a GPA of 3.79 as a business management major.

He participated in several community service projects, including the United Way Pancake and Sausage Day, Grocers versus Cancer, Walk for Diabetes, delivering Thanksgiving turkeys to the needy, the S&T Bank Family Picnic and IUP’s Hoop Troop Elementary School assemblies.

Mazza served as co-captain for the Crimson Hawks as a senior and led the team in 3-point field goals with 52 and assists with 55.  He averaged 7.6 points per game to rank fourth on the team.  In his career, Mazza made 80 3-pointers, the 14^th highest mark in school history.

Serving as the keystone speaker at the banquet was former IUP All-America offensive lineman Chris Villarrial.  Villarrial was chosen the team’s most outstanding offensive player his senior year and was a third team AP All-American in 1994 and 1995. 

He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft and played 155 games with 148 starts with the Bears and Buffalo Bills.

He retired after the 2006 season following an 11-year NFL career.  In 2000, Villarrial became one of three players in IUP history to have his uniform number (75) retired.

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