OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Penn State men's ice hockey senior captain Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) was named a finalist for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS award along with nine other student-athletes as announced last Friday.
"Chase is the epitome of a student-athlete leader; he does a tremendous job balancing academics and athletics with community involvement," mentioned head coach Guy Gadowsky. "It's easy to understand why he was a unanimous selection for team captain, we are extremely fortunate to have someone like Chase as a representative for Penn State Hockey."
Berger becomes the third Penn State men's hockey student-athlete to be named a finalist for this prestigious award, joining 2015-16 recipient David Glen '16 and 2016-17 finalist David Goodwin '17.
The Senior CLASS Award is presented annually to an individual who excels on the field, in the community and in the classroom all while having strong leadership qualities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
CLASS is an acronym which stands for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School" while the award takes a focus on the total student-athlete and his performances on and off the ice.
Berger is one of two Big Ten student-athletes to be named a finalist joining Ohio State's Sasha Larocque.
"It's an honor to be a finalist for an award of this magnitude," commented Berger. "My teammates really made this possible by putting me in a great position to have an impact on our entire community. I am thankful to be able to compete for this university and I never take it for granted."
Berger has not only skated in every game since stepping foot on campus as a freshman, but he currently ranks tied for tenth among active players with 112 career points on 49 goals and 63 assists each of which place him second all-time at Penn State.
In the classroom, Berger has a 3.98 grade point average while majoring in Finance and has been a two-time Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree.
Nearly three years ago Berger along with former teammate Ricky DeRosa '17 began a reading rewards program at a local elementary school. The program, which started as just a men's hockey initiative, has since blossomed taking on multiple athletic teams at Penn State. The senior was able to grow this program with his involvement in the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB) and the help of his student welfare advisors.
Once a month members of the Penn State men's hockey team will go to Easterly Parkway Elementary School to promote reading. The challenge is for the elementary school students to read more than their college counterparts and if they do then both sides participate in fun games.
"Our culture at Penn State is built on elevating our program and the community each and every day and I'm just happy to be a part of it," concluded Berger.
The finalists were chosen by national media from the list of candidates announced in the fall. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through April 8. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipients will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men's Frozen Four®.
Vote for Chase HERE!