Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/17/16
From Press Release
Excelling in the classroom, on the field and in the community, Lehigh men’s lacrosse standout Casey Eidenshink (La Salle) has been named a candidate for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, as announced on Tuesday. Eidenshink is one of just 20 players in the nation named a candidate and one of only three from the Patriot League. The award focuses on notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Lehigh’s Casey Eidenshink (La Salle) – Photo courtesy of Lehigh Athletics
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
This marks the third straight season a Mountain Hawk has been named a Senior CLASS Award candidate, following Dan Taylor last season and Ty Souders in 2014. Jonathan Stumpf was also a candidate in 2011. Both Stumpf and Souders were named finalists for the award.
The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Eidenshink currently owns a strong 3.33 cumulative GPA as a Finance major, earning several academic accolades over his career. Last season, he was one of 11 players named to the Academic All-Patriot League and one of just seven named both All-League and Academic All-League. Eidenshink earned a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll as a freshman and sophomore for a semester GPA over 3.2 and has garnered the Faculty Athletics Council Award multiple semesters as well. He is a member of Lehigh Lacrosse’s Academic Council, an internal initiative within the help to help foster success in the classroom. The council’s responsibilities include: helping teammates with course selection, class schedules, time management, study skills and overall team academic progress. Eidenshink has garnered some impressive work experience within his major as well, including interning as Lincoln Investment Planning. He worked in the investment management and research department, working directly with managing directors while leading projects and assignments.
Voted as a co-captain for the 2016 season, Eidenshink has served as a strong leader, both on and off the field. He has also taken part in the Student-Athlete Leadership Development program at Lehigh, most specifically, the Leadership Legacies program which supports veteran leaders and captains in the practical application of emotionally intelligent leadership and the navigation of team leadership challenges in partnership with their coaches.
Eidenshink and the Mountain Hawks are heavily involved in the community. Just a few days into the fall semester, they held their annual community service kickoff for the City of Bethlehem Parks and Recreation. This year, the team handled cleanup under the Fahey Bridge, went into the woods and cleaned up trash and helped clean up parts of South Bethlehem. Next for Eidenshink and the Mountain Hawks was Community Night when Lehigh opened its doors to all members of the community for an hour-long free lacrosse clinic. The Mountain Hawks were also the first Lehigh Athletics team to head to Donegan Elementary School for the Reading Rocks program. The whole team spent approximately one hour with the students, helping them read before getting to know the youngsters through playing games and other activities. Lehigh’s lone fall weekend of outside competition in the fall came at the HEADstrong SJU Fall Scrimmage. The HEADstrong Foundation™ is a 501(c)(3) committed to improving the quality of life for cancer patients and their families through providing essential programs and services.
The Mountain Hawks participated in No-Shave November as a team to help grow cancer awareness. No-Shave November is a month-long journey during which participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness. Lehigh, along with every Lehigh Athletics team, took part in Adopt-A-Family where the Mountain Hawks provided a holiday for a local underprivileged family. The process included shopping for gifts, wrapping them and delivering them on December 3.
One of the top defensemen in the Patriot League, Eidenshink was a second team All-League honoree last season and earned preseason All-League honors heading into 2016 as one of the top three close defensemen in the nine-team league. Last season, Eidenshink enjoyed a breakout season with a team-high 50 groundballs and 23 caused turnovers. One highlight came at Stony Brook, when he held the nation’s leading scorer Brody Eastwood to just two shots and one goal. Eidenshink was listed by Inside Lacrosse as a possible sleeper in this year’s Major League Lacrosse Draft. So far this season, the Wyncote, Pa. native has tallied eight groundballs and four caused turnovers in two games, including a five groundball, three caused turnover effort at No. 3 Duke.
Eidenshink saw considerable time as a sophomore, playing in all 18 games (with one start) and posting 29 groundballs and 16 caused turnovers as the Mountain Hawks advanced to their second straight Patriot League Championship Game. As a freshman, Eidenshink was part of the 2013 Mountain Hawks’ team which won its second straight league title, playing at North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced in conjunction with the 2016 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse National Championship in May.
Coming off a hard-fought 13-11 defeat at Duke, Eidenshink and the Mountain Hawks return to action at Furman next Saturday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m.