Presented to a Hope College athlete who has re-emerged on the field of play after overcoming adversity in the previous season due to an injury, illness, or other personal commitments.
* Betsy Craig, Women's Swimming & Diving – Craig won the 100-yard butterfly at the 2019 MIAA Swimming & Diving Championships after nearly two years out of the water battling injuries. This was her first individual MIAA title. Craig was also a member of the winning 200-yard medley relay that broke a school record and the 400-yard medley relay at the MIAA Championships.
* Gareth Ulmer, Men's Lacrosse – During the 2017 season, Ulmer fractured his L3 and two L4 vertebrae, which resulted in surgery and several months in a brace. He rejoined the Flying Dutchmen team to start as a long stick midfielder in 2018. Ulmer caused 42 turnovers on the season and was ranked 28th in the NCAA with 2.53 caused turnovers per game.
* Kimani Dooley, Football – In the second to last game of his junior season, Dooley injured his knee and needed surgery to repair multiple ligaments. He did not step on the field for 18 months, but made an impressive comeback this year and was named to the All-MIAA first team. As a defensive back, Dooley totaled 19 tackles, four pass breakups, and two interceptions on the 2018 season.
* Sarah Neumar, Women's Cross Country – After missing the entire 2017 season due to injuries, Neumar worked her way back to run for the Flying Dutch in 2018. She was a member of the conference team and earned All-MIAA second team honors. Neumar finished her cross country career running at the 2018 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.
* Grace Ditzenberger, Volleyball – Ditzenberger has battled the negative effects of a concussion for the past three years. In her senior season, she overcame the fear of sustaining another concussion to break the school record for blocks-per-set in a season and blocks in a single match against Ohio Northern.
* Matt Ruff, Men's Track & Field – Ruff missed his entire junior season in outdoor track & field due to a hamstring tear suffered in an early season practice. During his senior year in 2018,
he came back from the injury to compete at the MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships where he finished in seventh place in the 200-meter run, fourth place in the 400-meter run and ran on the 4x400-meter relay that broke the school record. Ruff capped off his comeback with a sixth place finish in the 400-meter dash at the MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
* Danny Beckman, Men's Basketball – Beckman returned from an ACL tear that ended his freshman season to have a breakthrough night on the road at Alma. Beckman scored a career high 18 points on a career-best six 3-pointers. He shot 85.7 percent from the field and 3-point range in 17 minutes of action.
