Aurora University Athletics

The Aurora University athletic department announced the recipient of the 2019-2020 Chris Thompson Award, Reilly Armstrong. The annual award is presented to a senior female athlete who exemplifies the characteristics of dedication, determination, sportsmanship and faith throughout the academic year.  This award, given since 1970, is a memorial to the late Chris Thompson who died of cancer during her freshman year.   

Armstrong, a goalie on the women's lacrosse team will be graduating in May with her masters in business administration having completed her undergrad program in three years and continued on for her final year of eligibility.

She was the conference freshman of the year as a goalie and has been honored each year by the conference as an all-conference selection. She played a huge role in the turn of the women's lacrosse program and was voted a team captain for the past three years due to her commitment to the program and she always puts the teams needs before her own. Her dedication to her teammates was very apparent during her sophomore year when she broke her thumb and as the only goalie, she taped it, cut the gloved and taped the glove to her hand so she could play in games.

When not on the lacrosse field, Armstrong is committed to excellence in the classroom she graduated with a 4.0 GPA. You can also find her working at the Crouse Center on campus or at Starbucks in Oswego in order to fund her college education. She truly defines what it means to be a Spartan, not only as an extremely talented goalie but by the way she works hard on and off the field and always puts others first.

The Chris Thompson award is voted on by members of the Aurora University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) with nominations coming from the Head Coaches of various sports.

To view a complete list of the Chris Thompson award recipients, click here.