Junior quarterback Nick Palladino of the Muhlenberg College football team, a former Allentown High School standout, won the Sidney G. Weikert Sophomore Athlete of the Year Award for his performance during the 2014-15 academic year. The award was presented at halftime of the Sept. 19 Homecoming football game against McDaniel College.
The annual award recognizes athletic achievement with accompanying campus contribution and strong academic record. It was established in 1973 by the Muhlenberg College Alumni Association in memory of the late Sidney G. Weikert, an alumnus and former associate director of admissions at Muhlenberg.
Palladino set school records for passing yards (2,998), completions (266) and completion percentage (.691) in a season last year in leading the Mules to a 9- 2 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The 2013 Centennial Conference rookie of the year, he became the first quarterback in league history to pass for more than 5,000 yards in his first two seasons.
Off the field, Palladino is a double major in finance and business administration who has made the Dean’s List.
Receiving the award was the lone activity for Palladino following the first half of the Sept. 19 game. After throwing four touchdown passes and staking Muhlenberg to a 41-0 lead in the first 30 minutes of a 55-0 victory over McDaniel, Palladino sat out the second half. Senior Anthony Schwab finished out the game and threw two more touchdown passes, giving the Mules a school-record six touchdown passes in the game.
Muhlenberg opened the season with a 35-7 victory over Wilkes University, then lost, 16-15, to Franklin & Marshall College before playing McDaniel.
Palladino has thrown eight touchdown passes and has a completion percentage of .716 through the first three games of the season. He ranks second in program history in completions (485, just 17 from the school record) and touchdown passes (47) and third in passing yards (5,533). His career record as a starter is 18-5.
He also had the distinction of not throwing an interception through the first six games of last season — a streak of 195 passes to start the season.
Muhlenberg goes on the road for a 2 p.m. kickoff Sept. 26 against Johns Hopkins University, which has another former Allentown quarterback and defensive back, Michael Curry, on its roster. Curry, a Millstone resident, is listed as a defensive back.