MORRIS, Minn. - The Cougar Excellence Awards are awarded each year to one male and one female, fourth-year student-athletes who represent the best of Cougar Athletics: passion, dedication, athletic competitiveness, and academic engagement. Recipients have competed at the University of Minnesota Morris for a minimum of two years. This year, four recipients were selected for this award with Pal Dak and Izayah Boss representing on the men's side while Maggie Landwer and Hannah Selig represent on the women's side.

Dak is a guard on the men's basketball team, and has been an incredibly valuable member of the team in his five years with the Cougars, and will graduate with a degree in Sport Management. Dak has accumulated a whole host of accolades in his time at Minnesota Morris; UMAC Player of the Year, UMAC Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-UMAC (2x), Honorable Mention All-UMAC, UMAC All-Defensive Team (3x), UMAC Player of the Week (3x), D3hoops.com All-Region 9, D3hoops.com Team of the Week. He is the fourth all-time leader in career points at Minnesota Morris in addition to having his name all over the men's basketball record book. Dak has volunteered his time with the Big Brother program, Cougar Day of Play, and Feed my Starving Children.

Boss, a dual-sport athlete in both football and men's track & field, has made a name for himself in both sports and will graduate this spring with a degree in global business management. He has been a powerhouse at running back for the football team, picking up First Team All-UMAC (3x), D3Football.com Third Team All-Region 6 (3x), and UMAC Player of the Week (4x). Boss' name can be found in numerous categories throughout the football record book, highlighting his accomplishments in his three years as a Cougar. He also has earned accolades on the track for Minnesota Morris, being named a four-time All-UMAC recipient as well as a two-time UMAC Champion in the 100 meter dash and the 60 meter dash. Just as in football, Boss' name can be found in the men's track & field record book for multiple achievements. 

Landwer has spent the past four years competing for the women's track & field team and will graduate from Minnesota Morris with a major in Environmental Science and a minor in Biology. She has picked up many UMAC accolades in her time as a Cougar student-athlete; Academic All-UAMC (3x), All-UMAC (6x), as well as a two-time UMAC Champion in the pole vault and the 4x400 meter relay. Landwer has placed her name in the record books as tenth all-time in school history for indoor and outdoor track & field. She has been a valuable member of the Minnesota Morris Track & Field Highway Clean-up crew for the past four years. 

Selig is a member of the women's golf team, and will graduate this spring from Minnesota Morris with a degree in History and Political Science. Upon graduation, she will attend Law School at the University of Wisconsin. Selig has picked up an impressive collection of academic awards in her four years; Minnesota Morris Dean's List (6x), Academic All-UMAC (4x), WGCA All-American Scholar (3x). Her golf performance has also earned her UMAC athletic honors including UMAC Rookie of the Year, First Team All-UMAC, Honorable Mention All-UMAC, and the UMAC Sportsmanship Award. Selig was also a member of the women's golf team that traveled to the National Tournament in the 2022-23 season.