Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State football student-athlete Beau Brungard and female cross country student-athlete McKinley Fielding have been recognized as the YSU PNC Achievers Award winners for the Spring 2026 semester. Brungard and Fielding were celebrated at the YSU men's basketball game on Jan. 22 and presented with their awards by Ted Schmidt, Regional President for PNC Bank.

The PNC Achievers Award recognizes two deserving YSU student-athletes each semester who exemplify exemplary leadership qualities on the field, in the classroom and within the community. PNC Bank is one of the Penguins' premier corporate partners.

Brungard recorded one of the greatest individual seasons in FCS Football history in 2025. A unanimous first-team All-American, he was named the Walter Payton Award as well as the Walter Camp Foundation Player of the Year. The 2025 MVFC Offensive Player of the Year, he led the Penguins to the playoffs, setting numerous YSU and conference records along the way.

A native of New Middletown, Ohio, Brungard owns a 3.92 GPA as a business administration major.

Fielding became the second Penguin to win the Horizon League Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year Award this past fall. She was the top Youngstown State finisher in each of the five races she competed in, including an individual victory at the Horizon League Championships. Fielding capped her junior campaign by finishing 42nd out of 231 racers at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals.

Fielding, a native of Fort Drum, N.Y., is a 3.87 student-athlete majoring in political science.