Ohio Wesleyan University senior Ahmed Hamed (Hilliard/Bradley) has been named the winner of the North Coast Athletic Conference's Don Hunsinger Award for 2020, it was announced by the NCAC.
Hamed was an all-region and 3-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection in cross country. He finished fifth in the 2019 NCAC championship meet. He won Ohio Wesleyan's Dr. Richard Gordin Award recognizing the highest cumulative GPA among senior male student-athletes; was a 2-time OWU Top 10 selection, recognizing impact on family, team, OWU, and the community; and received Ohio Wesleyan's Presidential Award, recognizing the University's top athlete and person. The top honor awarded by the Ohio Wesleyan athletics department, the Presidential Award is based on athletics ability and achievement, academic excellence, character, leadership, activities, and inspiration. Hamed was a first-team Academic All-District® selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He majored in accounting and politics and government.
He was a Phi Beta Kappa selection and won an Alice Empkey Batchelor Graduate School Scholarship from the economics and business department to pursue graduate study in business, economics, accounting, or related field.
A 3-time NCAC Honor Roll recipient, he also was a 3-time United States Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Cross Country honoree and was named to the Dean's List every semester at Ohio Wesleyan. Hamed received the Bliss and Mildred Wiant Award, the Dr. Guy Sarvis Diversity Award, the Joan Harvey Outstanding Accounting Student Award, the Meek Leadership Award and the Rev. Jon R. Powers Jitstis Sosyal Interfaith Award. He was a Midwest Political Science Association annual conference research selection and received a Theory to Practice Grant, the Gilman Scholarship, and was named an Accounting Fellow. Hamed is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha, Phi Eta Sigma and Sigma Iota Rho.
In addition, Hamed was actively involved with the Ohio Wesleyan campus community during his time in Delaware. On campus, he served as the President of both Tauheed (Muslim Student Association) and the Interfaith Leadership Council and was the 2020 class representative on the Baccalaureate Committee. Hamed worked as an OWU Connection Mentor, was the co-executive director of the Mock Convention and was involved with the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs, serving as the co-chair for the Student Inclusion Advocacy Committee and as the interim chair for the Academic Affairs Committee.
The Don Hunsinger Award is named in honor of the former Oberlin College administrator and coach, who had a far-reaching influence on the athletes he coached in a wide variety of sports. Over more than 3 decades, Hunsinger served Oberlin as athletic director, chairman of the department of physical education, had stints as head coach for Yeoman football, baseball, and men's and women's tennis, and assisted with the men's and women's basketball programs. He earned NCAC Coach of the Year recognition 4 times, twice in men's tennis and twice in women's tennis. Hunsinger, who retired from Oberlin in 2008, continues to serve the conference as Director of Tennis and assists in the administration of the conference's swimming & diving championship.
The award recognizes one male senior student-athlete who has distinguished himself throughout his collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service, and leadership. Each conference institution can nominate a distinguished male student-athlete for the honor. A committee of NCAC administrators, in conjunction with the conference office, makes the selection.
Hamed is the first Ohio Wesleyan student-athlete to win the Don Hunsinger Award since Sharif Kronemer in 2012, ending a 4-year run of Ohio Wesleyan selections that also included Kyle Holliday (2009), David Gatz (2010), and Kyle Herman (2011).
