ANNAPOLIS, Md.—The Naval Academy Athletic Association announced its major athletic award winners this afternoon with JC Hermus of the intercollegiate sailing team winning the NAAA Sword for Men, Katie Halbert from the track & field team winning the Vice Admiral Lawrence Sword for Women and Diego Fagot from the football team winning the Thompson Trophy Cup.  Jacob Allen from the wrestling team and Megan LaMendola of the soccer team won the Coaches' Calvert Awards.
 
The NAAA Sword for Men is presented to that man of the graduating class who is considered by the Association's Athletic Council to have personally excelled in men's athletics during his years of varsity competition.

Hermus is the first intercollegiate sailor to win the sword in the 130-year history of the award. 
 
Hermus is a four-time ICSA All-American skipper (2019-22), making him just the fifth athlete in program history to be named an All-American skipper four times in a career.
 
He won the 2021 Everett B. Morris Award as the college sailor of the year, one of only four athletes in Navy history to earn the honor (for a total of five times), as he helped Navy go undefeated and earn the 2021 ICSA Team Race National Championship and Fleet Race National Championship.
 
Hermus was an All-MAISA First-Team skipper in 2019 and '22 (No MAISA awards were given in 2020 and '21), the 2022 MAISA Open Skipper of the Year and won a gold medal at the 2018 Youth World Sailing Championships during plebe summer.
 
Navy won six MAISA Championships over his four-year career (Fleet Race Championship three times, Team Race Championship twice and a Match Race Championship once).

 The Vice Admiral Lawrence Sword for Women is presented to that woman of the graduating class who is considered by the Association's Athletic Council to have personally excelled in women's athletics during her years of varsity competition.
 
Halbert is the 11^th track & field athlete to win the award in the 43 years that it has been presented and the first since Jess Palacio in 2012.
 
Halbert finished her career as an eight-time All-Patriot League performer, including a five-time first-team honoree, helping the Navy women's track & field team claim all six Patriot League Championships that were held in her four years (Indoor – 2019, '20, '22; Outdoor – 2019, '21, '22).
 
As a senior team captain, she was named the 2022 Patriot League Outdoor Championship Women's Field Athlete of the Meet, while also earning the most points of any competitor during the outdoor competition.
 
In addition, Halbert was a two-time ECAC All-East performer, helping lead the Midshipmen to an overall team title at the 2021 ECAC Outdoor Championship – the first Division I title in program history for the women and Navy's second ECAC title all time.
 
In the classroom, she was named a 2021 USTFCCCA Scholar Athlete, while earning Academic All-Patriot League recognition three times (Indoor – 2022; Outdoor – 2021, '22).
 
The Thompson Trophy Cup is presented to that midshipman, male or female, who has done the most during the year to promote athletics at the Naval Academy.
 
Fagot is the 85^th football player to win the award in the 130 years it has been given out and the first since Malcolm Perry in 2020.
 
Fagot was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter for the Mids at linebacker and finished his career with 282 tackles, 35.5 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles and one glorious fake punt that helped win this year's Army-Navy game.
 
Fagot is just the third player in school history to lead his team in tackles for three-straight years and the 35.5 tackles for a loss are the sixth most in school history.
 
Fagot was a three-time All-American Athletic Conference selection (first team in 2019 and '21 and second team in 2020), a Fourth-Team All-American by Phil Steele (2021), All-East (2021), Liberty Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player (2019) and the East-West Shrine Game Most Valuable Player (2021). He is the only Navy player to be named All-AAC multiple times.
 
He led Navy to the 2019 Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, the 2019 Liberty Bowl Championship and a share of the 2021 Commander-In-Chief's Trophy.
 
Fagot, who was one of Navy's four team captains this year, finished his career on a high note in Navy's 17-13 win over Army. He led the team with nine tackles, including teaming up with sophomore defensive end Jacob Busic on the final stop of the game, and pulled off a four-yard run on a surprise fake punt that picked up a critical first down and set up Navy's final three points of the contest.  Fagot was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Baltimore Ravens.
 
The Coaches' Calvert Award recognizes a graduating varsity letter winner who displayed leadership, consistent effort, loyalty and dedication to the sport and who has taken their abilities beyond the expectations of the coach, peers and themselves.
 
Allen is the eighth wrestler to win the men's Calvert Award in its 49 years of existence and the first since Michael Woulfe in 2016.
 
Allen was a three-year starter for the wrestling team, including the 2020-21 campaign that saw him earn an NCAA Championship berth following a runner-up performance at the EIWA Championship. The four-year letterwinner and 2021-22 team captain led the Midshipmen to victory in each of the last two Star Matches against Army. He concluded his career with a 51-42 record, including a 15-15 mark in dual competition.
 
Allen was also a standout in the classroom where he earned a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average in operations research and was recently named a CoSIDA Academic All-District Selection for at-large sports. A three-time recipient of the EIWA's academic award (2019, '21, '22) and two-time NWCA Scholar All-American (2021, '22), he appeared on both the Superintendent's and Commandant's Lists all eight semesters. Allen was ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2022 (1,114) in Academic Order of Merit, No. 2 in Military Order of Merit and No. 7 in Overall Order of Merit.
 
LaMendola is the fifth soccer player to win the women's Calvert Award in the 43 years the award has been handed out and the first since Elizabeth Hoerner in 2014.
 
LaMendola earned two varsity letters as the backup goalie for teams that combined to go 42-19-12 in her four years, including a 22-6-4 mark in Patriot League play, three victories over Army and two Patriot League Championships.
 
LaMendola came to Navy as a walk-on goalkeeper and in her four years she ascended the depth chart from fourth string to a valuable backup that played important minutes for the Mids in 2021 and helped lead the team to a 11-6-3 record.
 
LaMendola did it all to the maximum her abilities.   In four years not only did she rise up the depth chart to become a key contributor on the field, but improved her Military Order of Merit over 600 positions to inside the top-20 and her Overall Order of Merit more than 400 positions to finish with a 3.62 grade point average as an oceanography major.