COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Abigail Bentz (volleyball) and Jahi Jones (wrestling) have been named the University of Maryland's 2019 Big Ten Medal of Honor award winners, Maryland Athletics announced Monday.
 
The Big Ten Medal of Honor is the conference's most exclusive award and was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence. The Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had "attained  the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work." Big Ten schools currently feature almost 10,000 student-athletes, but only 28 earn this prestigious award on an annual basis. In the 100 years of the Medal of Honor, almost 1,400 student-athletes have earned the distinction.
 
A four-year letterwinner for the volleyball team and this year's SAAC President, Bentz will graduate this May with a 3.7 GPA and multiplatform journalism degree. Serving as this year's president, Bentz has been instrumental in countless SAAC initiatives over her four years, including leading meetings and facilitating conversation between athletes and administrators and setting up community service events and fundraisers that have raised over $3,000. Before she was president, Bentz was the marketing chair for SAAC, designing and distributing the newsletter that is distributed to all student-athletes.
 
"I'm honored to be the female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor," said Bentz. "I've learned so much about myself during my time at Maryland and can't thank the people I've met enough for giving me opportunities and resources that I never imagined I'd have."
 
Bentz is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten Honoree, Two-Time Big Ten Sportsmanship Award  honoree, has been on Dean's List and has earned the ICA Academic Achievement Award and ICA Community Service Award. The Shrewsbury, Pa. native has had numerous internships, working in both the video and development offices in the athletic department, as a web developer and graphic designer for Capital News Service and as a reporter for The Hyattsville Wire and Left Bench.
 
On the court, Bentz did it all in her Maryland career, playing at numerous different positions to help the team in all sorts of ways. Bentz tallied 282 digs, 281 assists and 35 aces during her time as a Terp. Bentz was a captain on the 2018 team that won a program-best nine Big Ten games and reached countless program firsts.
 
Jones is a four-year letterwinner for the wrestling team, graduating in May with a 3.792 GPA. He is pursuing dual degrees in Accounting and Supply Chain Management. He was recently inducted into the Maryland Medallion Society, a group of 20 seniors who demonstrate exceptional leadership, academic record and service to the campus. The Fort Washington, Maryland native is a three-time Academic All-B1G selection and has been named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. He has been a member of the Dean's List every semester of his time at Maryland.
 
Jones is a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Primannum Honor Society. He has also interned at KPMG and EFS Group PLLC. Jones will be attending graduate school at the University of Maryland where he will pursue a Master's in Data Analytics.
 
"I'm extremely honored to be the male recipient of the B1G Ten Medal of Honor," Jones said. "The B1G Medal of Honor shows that resilience, hard work, and determination pays off. Maryland has allowed me to grow professionally, personally and athletically and as a result I will forever be grateful for this institution and our conference."
 
Jones is coming off a 2018-19 season that saw him earn a handful of victories at 157 pounds for the Terrapins. He grabbed his first dual victory of the season in sudden victory against Central Michigan and proceeded to tally a trio of victories at the prestigious Midlands Championships. Throughout his career, Jones has also wrestled well in open tournament action, which included four runner-up finishes in his redshirt freshman season. He was also a team captain in the 2018-19 season.
 
"Abby and Jahi are both incredible student-athletes who have made remarkable contributions to the University of Maryland in the classroom, their athletic arenas and in the community," said Director of Athletics Damon Evans. "They are exceptional role models and leaders who have been phenomenal representatives of our University and are more than deserving of this tremendous honor."
 
The Big Ten, the nation's oldest collegiate conference, is commemorating the 105th anniversary of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2019.