SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University Athletic Communication Office has selected track & field and cross country standout Anna Igims and football quarterback Brayden Long as the 2024-25 RockAthletics.com Athletes of the Year.
 
Each year since 2020-21, the Athletic Communication Office selects two student-athletes as the Athletes of the Year and displays those athletes on the homepage at RockAthletics.com during the summer months in recognition of their accomplishments from the previous year.
 
Student-athletes must be at least All-Region honorees in their respective sport (or at least first team All-PSAC in sports that do not select All-Region teams) and must be in good academic standing to be considered for the RockAthletics.com Athlete of the Year honor.
 
Igims and Long are repeat honorees after also being named the Rock Athletics Athletes of the Year in 2023-24 and Igims becomes a three-time Athlete of the Year after she earned the women's honor in 2022-23 as well.
 
Igims, a graduate student from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, closed her storied Slippery Rock career in dominant fashion in 2024-25, going undefeated in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference competition and leading The Rock to three PSAC team titles along the way.
 
She became the first SRU female runner in program history to win both the PSAC and Atlantic Region individual titles in cross country and led Slippery Rock to the 2024 PSAC cross country title for the second year in a row. Igims then earned All-America honors and led The Rock to a 27th place finish at the National Championships, becoming the first SRU female cross country runner to earn All-America honors since 2010. She was named both the PSAC and Atlantic Region Women's XC Athlete of the Year for her efforts in the fall.
 
Igims followed that up by breaking her own SRU record in the mile (4:55.10) during the indoor track & field season and winning a trio of conference titles. She anchored the distance medley relay to a win before claiming individual titles in the mile and the 3,000-meter run at the PSAC Championships, helping The Rock to the PSAC team title for the second year in a row. She also posted a career-best of 16:36.79 in the 5,000-meter run to earn a trip to the National Championships, where she finished 17th. Igims earned All-Region honors with the fastest time in the region in four different events (DMR, mile, 3K, 5K) and was named the PSAC and Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year for the indoor season.
 
She closed out a year of dominance with an even stronger spring season, breaking SRU records in the steeplechase (10:17.13) and the 5,000-meter run (16:38.85) on her way to winning three more PSAC individual titles. She took top honors at the conference meet in the 1,500-meter run, 5K and steeplechase to score 30 individual points while helping SRU to the 2025 PSAC team title for a year-long sweep. She was named both the Most Outstanding Track Athlete and the Overall MVP of the PSAC Championships after scoring more individual points than any other athlete, male or female, at the meet. Igims closed out her career at the National Championships, where she repeated as a first team All-America honoree with a seventh place finish in the steeplechase finals.
 
In addition to her excellence on the track, Igims is also a standout student in the classroom. She graduated in 2024 with a 3.98 GPA after earning her degree in school wellness education with a minor in public health and she posted a perfect 4.0 GPA after a full year of graduate work in the applied behavioral analysis program in 2024-25.
 
Long, a 2024 graduate from Hanover, Pennsylvania, was the most decorated Division II football student-athlete in the country in terms of academic and athletic honors in 2024-25. He was named the 2024 Academic All-American of the Year for Division II and was the first team quarterback on the Academic All-America team after graduating with a degree in sport management with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
 
Long was also the only Division II finalist for the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy and was the only Division II member of the National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by the National Football Foundation. He was recognized on stage with some of the biggest names in football at the National Football Foundation Awards Dinner and College Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in Las Vegas. Long was also recognized alongside Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at the Maxwell Awards Gala at the College Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
 
On the field last fall, Long led SRU to the national semifinals and a No. 3 final ranking after throwing for 3,470 yards to rank third among all players in Division II. He also ranked ninth in the nation in passing touchdowns with 28 and was 10th in the nation in points responsible for with 208 after rushing for six TD to account for 34 total touchdowns. He became the only QB in SRU history to top 3,000 yards in two separate seasons and leaves the program ranked No. 1 all-time in completions (631) and completion percentage (67%) and No. 2 all-time in passing yards (7,527) and passing TD (64), despite starting only two seasons. Long was named to All-PSAC, All-Region and All-America honors for the second straight year and was one of the eight national finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II Player of the Year for the second straight year.
 
Igims and Long will both be nominees for the PSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the NCAA Impact Award. Igims will also be the SRU nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year honor.

ROCKATHLETICS.COM ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
2024-25: Anna Igims (XC/TF) and Brayden Long (FB)
2023-24: Anna Igims (XC/TF) and Brayden Long (FB)
2022-23: Anna Igims (XC/TF) and Luke Trueman (BASE)
2021-22: Trinity Clark (TF) and Henry Litwin (FB)
2020-21: Danielle Collier (TF) and Jon Kozarian (BASE)



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