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Matt Lyons Chris Wenzler Award graphic

Matt Lyons Honored as Winner of OAC's Chris Wenzler Student Assistant Award

| By: JCUSID

Lyons worked in JCU Sports Information for four years, serving in a variety of ways

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – This year marks five years since the passing of the legendary Chris Wenzler '90, who served as sports information director at John Carroll University. This also marks the fifth occasion that the Ohio Athletic Conference has given out an award in his honor. 

The Chris Wenzler Student Assistant Award recognizes a student assistant who not only demonstrates dedication to sports information, but also to doing things the right way. For the fourth time in five years, a Blue Streak is the winner.

Matt Lyons '25 is the 2025 recipient of the OAC's Chris Wenzler Award.

For 30 years, Wenzler dutifully and wonderfully served the John Carroll community. With his trademark humility and kindness, Wenzler developed a tradition of excellence, with his student army forming the foundation. 

Lyons enjoyed a prolific four-year career working for John Carroll Sports Information. Lyons developed into a stalwart in a variety of areas, covering just about every sport at JCU. He turned into an impactful leader in the Wenzler mold. 

"Matt is very deserving of this prestigious award named in honor of a great man," said Sports Information Director Joe Ginley '16. "Chris believed in hard work, mentorship, and kindness, all qualities that Matt embodied during his four years at John Carroll. Just like Chris, Matt always went above and beyond in covering every sport, all while being a leader. Matt's love of John Carroll was evident every day of his four years here, most especially in helping with projects such as the Hall of Fame and bringing back JCU's mascot, Lobo. I know that Chris is very proud of Matt, not just for the work he did at John Carroll, but for the man he is today and the outstanding things he will do in the future." 

Lyons made an oversized impact in many arenas for John Carroll Sports Information.

A do-it-all utility man, Lyons became a top student statistician, most especially as a volleyball stats caller. The Pittsburgh native developed into a strong broadcaster with a great on-air presence for several sports. Lyons aided in a variety of other ways on gameday, including helping with recaps, taking photos, and aiding with gameday management. Most importantly, Lyons served as a leader for younger workers in the sports information office, teaching students how to tackle new tasks. 

Notably, in the first year of the sports information fellowship program, Lyons served as a fellow for men's soccer. Lyons played a major role in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the program under the mentorship of Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic '06, '25G. 

Lyons aided with many major projects behind the scenes during his time at John Carroll. The son of Hall of Famer Michael Lyons '95 (inducted in the same class as Wenzler in 2019), Matt became heavily involved in the Athletic Hall of Fame. Lyons researched candidates, tallied votes in selection meetings, and wrote bios on inductees. This is particularly pertinent given that Wenzler's top passion project was the Athletic Hall of Fame. Another fun fact: Lyons served as the first Lobo when JCU's beloved mascot made its return last December. 

Outside of sports information, Lyons was a campus leader in many other areas. Lyons worked as a tour guide, served as a member of WJCU 88.7 FM, helped on the Grad-at-Grad executive board, and much more. Lyons majored in Sports Leadership and minored in Business, Communication, and Peace, Justice, & Human Rights, achieving a 3.87 GPA. 

Away from John Carroll, Lyons gained valuable experience working for prominent organizations. During the 2024 season, Lyons worked for the Cleveland Browns as an Public Relations Communications Game Day & Events Intern. For the last two years, Lyons also worked for TeamWork Online as a Marketing & Sales Operations Intern

After graduating in May, Lyons is now working for Hermes Sports & Events as a Race Manager. 

"It's definitely a full circle moment to achieve such an honor at the conference level that I am forever thankful for even being considered in the first place," said Lyons. "Listening to him speak at his hall of fame induction in 2019 made me realize JCU was my home. Now, I am getting an award named after him just five years after his passing. It is an honor."

Winners of the OAC's Wenzler Award:
2025: Matt Lyons, John Carroll 
2024: Katie Suszynski, John Carroll
2023: Maddie Maselko, John Carroll 
2022: Stephanie Drapp, Heidelberg
2021: Kyle Kelly and Noah Tylutki, John Carroll 
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