James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Halle Duenkel Wins 2020 Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award
5/21/2020 10:00:00 AM | Lacrosse
NEW YORK, N.Y. – James Madison lacrosse senior Halle Duenkel was selected as the Division I women's winner of the 2020 Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award, the One Love Foundation and Inside Lacrosse announced Thursday.
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Duenkel becomes the first JMU student-athlete to win the award, which is now in its 10th year. The Great Falls, Va., native was one of six lacrosse athletes honored across all three divisions, as one male and one female from each division are selected from a pool of finalists.
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"I'm just completely humbled to have even been nominated, let alone win the award entirely," Duenkel said. "All the finalists were incredible student-athletes who were doing a lot in their communities and for their team, and I'm humbled JMU has recognized and seen a need to help. This is not an award about me, this is about our team and the determination we have to make a difference with the people around us."
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"Halle continues to break down barriers at JMU. She has single-handedly pushed our program to be champions on and off the field, bringing national attention to our team competitively, scholastically and within the community," Head Coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. "Her ability to make positive change in all these areas is inspiring. We are so honored to have her name and JMU lacrosse be associated with the qualities celebrated by the Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero award."
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Since enrolling at JMU Duenkel has overseen lacrosse's expansive community involvement during her tenure with the program, accumulating over 1,100 team hours served since the 2016-17 academic year. She was presented the 2020 Zane Showker Entrepreneurship Award, which is one of the three top awards presented annually in JMU's College of Business. She was also the 2019 recipient of the Colonial Athletic Association Leadership & Sport Excellence Award.
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Through her spearheading efforts, JMU won the 2017-18 IWLCA Team Community Service Award after more than tripling the team's service hours from the year prior, as JMU had a single-year, team-record 368 hours during its national-championship season.
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Duenkel has served numerous roles across campus, which included acting as the 2018-19 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President, founding the Student-Athlete Mentor-Mentee Program at JMU and serving as a leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She was also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society, and Delta Delta Delta, where she helped generate $90,000 in donations for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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On the field, she appeared in 54 career games, including 11 starts. She scored 43 goals and eight assists while also tallying 35 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers. Duenkel was previously named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll and has been a consistent member of the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and a JMU Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete.
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Graduating with a degree in computer information systems, Duenkel was the 2019 recipient of the Technology Alumni Group (TAG) Award for her major, was given the JMU Student Alumni Association Scholar Award and was the first freshman in the history of the university to receive the Bruce Crawford Morrison Rummel Scholarship back in 2017.
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"JMU has provided me the opportunity to grow exponentially as a scholar, as an honors college student, in my community, as a follower of Jesus Christ and even on the lacrosse field, especially. In each of these ways, I was able to use the opportunities JMU has given me and take full advantage of them through the support of my coaches, teammates and staff. Without them, I couldn't have done anything this monumental in my career."
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Duenkel was joined as a 2020 YRL Unsung Hero Award winner by Virginia's Jackson Appelt, Florida Southern's Abby Hammond, Chestnut Hill's Stephen Hogan, Rhodes College's Katie Clark and Washington & Lee's Spencer Kriss.
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About the Award:
The Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award recognizes the accomplishments of six student-athletes (two from each division) who help their teams achieve success in ways that may not be measured in goals, saves or ground balls. This honor places value on kindness and generosity, characteristics that are often undervalued in the competitively charged environment of college lacrosse.
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The award recipients exhibit leadership as a positive role model and are involved in community service. The recipients are awarded a sum of money from the One Love Foundation to be given to their favorite charity.
Â
The award was created in 2011 in honor of Yeardley Reynolds Love, a Division I lacrosse player at the University of Virginia, who was tragically killed just three weeks shy of her graduation in 2010. The One Love Foundation was founded in her honor to educate young people on the importance of healthy relationships.
Â
Duenkel becomes the first JMU student-athlete to win the award, which is now in its 10th year. The Great Falls, Va., native was one of six lacrosse athletes honored across all three divisions, as one male and one female from each division are selected from a pool of finalists.
Â
"I'm just completely humbled to have even been nominated, let alone win the award entirely," Duenkel said. "All the finalists were incredible student-athletes who were doing a lot in their communities and for their team, and I'm humbled JMU has recognized and seen a need to help. This is not an award about me, this is about our team and the determination we have to make a difference with the people around us."
Â
"Halle continues to break down barriers at JMU. She has single-handedly pushed our program to be champions on and off the field, bringing national attention to our team competitively, scholastically and within the community," Head Coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. "Her ability to make positive change in all these areas is inspiring. We are so honored to have her name and JMU lacrosse be associated with the qualities celebrated by the Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero award."
Â
Since enrolling at JMU Duenkel has overseen lacrosse's expansive community involvement during her tenure with the program, accumulating over 1,100 team hours served since the 2016-17 academic year. She was presented the 2020 Zane Showker Entrepreneurship Award, which is one of the three top awards presented annually in JMU's College of Business. She was also the 2019 recipient of the Colonial Athletic Association Leadership & Sport Excellence Award.
Â
Through her spearheading efforts, JMU won the 2017-18 IWLCA Team Community Service Award after more than tripling the team's service hours from the year prior, as JMU had a single-year, team-record 368 hours during its national-championship season.
Â
Duenkel has served numerous roles across campus, which included acting as the 2018-19 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President, founding the Student-Athlete Mentor-Mentee Program at JMU and serving as a leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She was also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society, and Delta Delta Delta, where she helped generate $90,000 in donations for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Â
On the field, she appeared in 54 career games, including 11 starts. She scored 43 goals and eight assists while also tallying 35 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers. Duenkel was previously named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll and has been a consistent member of the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and a JMU Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete.
Â
Graduating with a degree in computer information systems, Duenkel was the 2019 recipient of the Technology Alumni Group (TAG) Award for her major, was given the JMU Student Alumni Association Scholar Award and was the first freshman in the history of the university to receive the Bruce Crawford Morrison Rummel Scholarship back in 2017.
Â
"JMU has provided me the opportunity to grow exponentially as a scholar, as an honors college student, in my community, as a follower of Jesus Christ and even on the lacrosse field, especially. In each of these ways, I was able to use the opportunities JMU has given me and take full advantage of them through the support of my coaches, teammates and staff. Without them, I couldn't have done anything this monumental in my career."
Â
Duenkel was joined as a 2020 YRL Unsung Hero Award winner by Virginia's Jackson Appelt, Florida Southern's Abby Hammond, Chestnut Hill's Stephen Hogan, Rhodes College's Katie Clark and Washington & Lee's Spencer Kriss.
Â
About the Award:
The Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award recognizes the accomplishments of six student-athletes (two from each division) who help their teams achieve success in ways that may not be measured in goals, saves or ground balls. This honor places value on kindness and generosity, characteristics that are often undervalued in the competitively charged environment of college lacrosse.
Â
The award recipients exhibit leadership as a positive role model and are involved in community service. The recipients are awarded a sum of money from the One Love Foundation to be given to their favorite charity.
Â
The award was created in 2011 in honor of Yeardley Reynolds Love, a Division I lacrosse player at the University of Virginia, who was tragically killed just three weeks shy of her graduation in 2010. The One Love Foundation was founded in her honor to educate young people on the importance of healthy relationships.
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