WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Senior standouts Parker Filius and Macey Vieta of the wrestling and swimming & diving programs have been selected as Purdue's recipients of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, honoring their numerous achievements in competition and in the classroom.
The pair of All-Americans have exemplified excellence in their careers as Boilermakers, rightly joining the 109th class of recipients of the conference's most prestigious award. Established in 1915, the Big Ten Medal of Honor is awarded to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each member institution who have excelled on and off the field throughout their college career. It was the first award in intercollegiate athletics to demonstrate support for the educational emphasis placed on athletics.
With seven Academic All-Big Ten honors between them, the duo has certainly proven its merit academically. Over the weekend, Filius graduated with his master's in global supply chain management after having already received his bachelor's degree in construction management. Vieta earned her bachelor's in media and mass communication.
Filius is the first Purdue wrestler to receive the award since Jake Patacsil in 2009 and just the fourth all-time. Vieta joins a long list of divers who have dominated the award for the Boilermakers in recent years. The program has claimed eight honors with seven coming in the last decade, three more than any other team in that time frame.
A sixth-year senior in the 2022-23 season, Filius used his experience to be a leader in the wrestling room for the Boilermakers. Years of hard work and perseverance culminated at the pinnacle of the sport when he became Purdue's 61st All-American and helped give the program its first national placewinner since 2013 with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. In his final year, he racked up career highs in wins (25), B1G wins (11), bonus point wins (9) and point differential (+92).
The 15th wrestler in program history to qualify for four NCAA tournaments and place in four Big Ten tournaments, the Havre, Mont., native finished his career with an 84-63 record and the 16th most back points all-time with 156. He earned four straight Academic All-Big Ten awards and became just the third wrestler at Purdue to be a four-time NWCA Scholar All-American.
Vieta was the Big Ten champion in platform diving this season, winning her third career medal in the event at the Big Ten Championships. She teamed with Maggie Merriman to give Purdue a 1-2 showing on a night in which the Boilermakers also produced three of the top five and four of the top 10 finishers. She was a championship finalist on the tower again at the NCAA Championships, claiming her third career All-America honor. The freshly minted Purdue graduate was also Academic All-Big Ten and Academic All-District as a senior.
Vieta accounted for 164 team points at the Big Ten Championships, easily a team-high total among her class. She has finished top four on the tower all four years, claiming silver as a freshman and junior. She was also a bronze medalist on platform in her debut at the NCAA Championships in 2021. On the national level, she won silver on 10-meter at the 2021 USA Diving Winter Nationals and has represented Puerto Rico at the World Aquatics Championships in Hungary and Diving World Cup in Japan. Academically, she's a three-year Academic All-Big Ten honoree as well as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and CSCAA Scholar All-American.
The pair of All-Americans have exemplified excellence in their careers as Boilermakers, rightly joining the 109th class of recipients of the conference's most prestigious award. Established in 1915, the Big Ten Medal of Honor is awarded to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each member institution who have excelled on and off the field throughout their college career. It was the first award in intercollegiate athletics to demonstrate support for the educational emphasis placed on athletics.
With seven Academic All-Big Ten honors between them, the duo has certainly proven its merit academically. Over the weekend, Filius graduated with his master's in global supply chain management after having already received his bachelor's degree in construction management. Vieta earned her bachelor's in media and mass communication.
Filius is the first Purdue wrestler to receive the award since Jake Patacsil in 2009 and just the fourth all-time. Vieta joins a long list of divers who have dominated the award for the Boilermakers in recent years. The program has claimed eight honors with seven coming in the last decade, three more than any other team in that time frame.
| BIG TEN MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS | |
| WRESTLERS • Ed Dye – 1923-24 • Walt Viellieu – 1952-53 • Jake Patacsil – 2008-09 • Parker Filius – 2022-23 |
DIVERS • Carrie McCambridge – 2005-06 • Casey Matthews – 2013-14 • MacKenzie Tweardy – 2014-15 • Jamie Bissett – 2014-15 • Emily Bretscher – 2020-21 • Brandon Loschiavo – 2020-21 • Ben Bramley – 2021-22 • Maycey Vieta – 2022-23 |
A sixth-year senior in the 2022-23 season, Filius used his experience to be a leader in the wrestling room for the Boilermakers. Years of hard work and perseverance culminated at the pinnacle of the sport when he became Purdue's 61st All-American and helped give the program its first national placewinner since 2013 with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. In his final year, he racked up career highs in wins (25), B1G wins (11), bonus point wins (9) and point differential (+92).
The 15th wrestler in program history to qualify for four NCAA tournaments and place in four Big Ten tournaments, the Havre, Mont., native finished his career with an 84-63 record and the 16th most back points all-time with 156. He earned four straight Academic All-Big Ten awards and became just the third wrestler at Purdue to be a four-time NWCA Scholar All-American.
Vieta was the Big Ten champion in platform diving this season, winning her third career medal in the event at the Big Ten Championships. She teamed with Maggie Merriman to give Purdue a 1-2 showing on a night in which the Boilermakers also produced three of the top five and four of the top 10 finishers. She was a championship finalist on the tower again at the NCAA Championships, claiming her third career All-America honor. The freshly minted Purdue graduate was also Academic All-Big Ten and Academic All-District as a senior.
Vieta accounted for 164 team points at the Big Ten Championships, easily a team-high total among her class. She has finished top four on the tower all four years, claiming silver as a freshman and junior. She was also a bronze medalist on platform in her debut at the NCAA Championships in 2021. On the national level, she won silver on 10-meter at the 2021 USA Diving Winter Nationals and has represented Puerto Rico at the World Aquatics Championships in Hungary and Diving World Cup in Japan. Academically, she's a three-year Academic All-Big Ten honoree as well as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and CSCAA Scholar All-American.