TEMPE, Ariz. -- Women's Swimming's Emma Nordin and Wrestling's Anthony Valencia have been tabbed by the Pac-12 Conference as Arizona State's Tom Hansen Conference Medal of Honor recipients, the organization announced Wednesday.
Pac-12 Conference full announcement
Given annually to each member institution's outstanding senior male and female student-athlete, the award is based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership.
The conference has recognized medal winners in every year since the 1960-61 academic year. In 2009, the Pac-12 renamed the award the Tom Hansen Conference Medal in honor of Hansen, who retired at the end of June 2009 after serving for 26 years as Commissioner of the Pac-10.
Nordin put together an illustrious Sun Devil career in which she became a Pac-12 Champion in the 500 free (2020) while capturing school records in the 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free and 1650 free events.
A nine-time Dean's List member, Nordin is an eight-time Scholar Baller and a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American. She is currently studying for her graduate degree in Biology after graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Biological Sciences (Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior) in May 2021.
The Carmel, Indiana, native was also named the female recipient of the Kajikawa Award for the 2021-22 season, which recognizes a graduating senior student-athlete in recognition for her contributions at Arizona State University in honor of legendary Sun Devil Bill Kajikawa.
Nordin is the first Sun Devil Women's swimmer to earn the Tom Hansen Conference Medal of Honor since Beata Kaszuba in 1995.
Anthony Valencia earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2021. A top-10 national wrestler, Valencia has proven to be one of the best wrestlers not only at Arizona State, but also in the country. He earned 118 wins in his collegiate career and started the 2021-22 season on a 13-match winning streak, ultimately ending the season as an NCAA qualifier at 165. One of his most notable wins was on the road against Pittsburg against 13th-ranked All-American Jake Wentzel, where Valencia earned a 6-3 decision. Valencia qualified for the Mexico Senior National Team this year, flew through the qualifying tournaments over the winter, and officially made the team on January 29th. He made it back to Tempe the following day to earn a 10-4 decision over Mason Reinche of Oregon State.
Off the mat, Valencia has proven to be one of the most outspoken leaders on the team. His hard work in the classroom allowed him to maintain a 4.0 GPA throughout his graduate program. Valencia was a First Team All-American in 2020, was awarded the Pac-12 Outstanding Wrestler Award in 2021, was the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2022, and is a 2022 NWCA Scholar All-American. Valencia holds four Pac-12 titles, is a five-time NCAA qualifier, and two-time NCAA All-American.