YORK, Pa. – Marymount senior William Bryan (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) and St. Mary's senior Nina Haller (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) were selected by the conference senior woman administrators and athletic directors as recipients of the CAC Medal of Inspiration for the 2016-17 academic year.

The Capital Athletic Conference Medal of Inspiration is awarded to person(s) from the CAC who have persevered through extraordinary circumstances and whose determination, devotion, and passion are exemplary, revered among their peers, and worthy of special recognition.

Bryan, the sixth Marymount student-athlete to win the CAC Medal of Inspiration, is a senior men's swimmer for the Saints who completed his career in 2016-17. During his senior campaign, Bryan was a second-team All-CAC performer in the 200 freestyle relay and broke his own schools records in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. He twice qualified for the ECAC championships during his career and also earned All-CAC honors on a relay as a sophomore. 

When Bryan was in 8th grade, his mother passed away from cancer. When she got sick, William was the caregiver until her death. His father, having a high pressure job, and not quite knowing how to handle the death of his wife, turned his attention to his work, which deteriorated Bryan's relationship with his father. Throughout much of high school, Bryan was home alone and essentially raised himself. During his senior year, a family friend finally intervened and brought him into her house. Bryan had an uphill battle to boost his grades enough to get into college, but eventually ended up at Marymount. He struggled early on in his academic career, but became a Dean's List student and one of the better students on the swimming team. 

He was a team captain his junior and senior seasons and also volunteered with an organization called Opportunities, Alternatives, And Resources (OAR) of Fairfax to help incarcerated people get their lives in order. 

Haller, one of the top women's basketball players in the conference this season, is the fifth St. Mary's student-athlete to win the CAC Medal of Inspiration. Haller was a First Team All-CAC honoree in 2016-17 and concluded her career as a three-time all-conference performer. She averaged a CAC-leading 3.2 blocks and 9.7 rebounds per game and ranked third in the conference in scoring with 14.6 points per contest. She scored in double figures 19 times, including four 20-point performances, and posted 11 double-digit rebounding games. For her career, she became the 10th Seahawk to eclipsed the 1,000-point threshold, ranked second all-time in St. Mary's history with 194 blocks and recorded 28 double-doubles in 96 games played. 

By all accounts, Haller had a fantastic senior campaign for the Seahawks. However, it was a season that almost did not happen. She came into the 2016-17 academic year with a torn ACL, enduring the potentially season-ending injury at the end of July during summer league play. She was left milling two options: 1. Have knee surgery and miss her senior season, or 2. Wear a brace and dedicate herself to continuously work to strengthen her knee for the chance to play her final season. Haller chose the latter and went on to have her best season ever at St. Mary's while becoming one of the top players in the CAC. She was a regular in the training room and the weight room, making the commitment to not only improve her physical fitness but strengthen her knee enough to survive a long, challenging season of out-of- and in-conference action. Her perseverance showed on and off the court as she achieved her goals of notching her 1,000 career point and earning a spot on the all-conference first team.

In addition, Haller posted a 3.707 GPA for the 2016-17 academic year, including a perfect 4.0 during the spring semester. She graduated Cum Laude, was a three-time member of the Dean's List at St. Mary's, a three-time CAC All-Academic team member, and was a student ambassador.