VMI announces 2023-24 Cadet-Athlete Award winners - Virginia Military Institute (2024)

LEXINGTON, Va. – With the 2023-24 VMI Athletics Academic calendar in the books, VMI announced its annual Cadet-Athlete Award winners.

Midgett was named the Southern Conference Male Most Outstanding Field Performer after taking home individual titles in both the long jump and triple jump at the league outdoor championships in May. The Portsmouth, Virginia, native won the long jump on the first day with a distance of 24 feet and 1.75 inches to earn All-SoCon honors, then proceeded to win the triple jump the next day with a first-place distance of 15.24 meters to earn All-SoCon recognition again. He also ran a leg of the 4x100 relay to help the squad to a fourth-place finish at the meet. He played a large role in propelling VMI to a second-place finish at the SoCon Outdoor Championships, VMI’s best finish since the 2016 outdoor season. He earned the same honor following the 2024 indoor season after winning the long and triple jumps at the SoCon Indoor Championships. Midgett was also named the SoCon Male Field Athlete of the Month in January.

Rusterucci played a huge role in helping VMI to its most successful season in almost 20 years by leading a proficient VMI offense in both goals and assists during the 2024 campaign. The Peachtree City, Georgia, native presently owns the sixth-longest scoring streak in the country having scored at least one goal in 33 consecutive outings. For the year, he totaled 33 points in conference games, the second most in program history for a single season. He hit the 30-goal mark in back-to-back seasons, the first Keydet to do so since Matt Gallienne in 1999-2000. Earlier this year, he joined VMI’s prestigious 70-Goal Club and 100-Point Club, both of which only a select number of Keydets have attained in program history. Already one of the most elite offensive players in program history, Rusterucci has a strong chance of owning every VMI offensive category in the record book by the end of his senior year in 2025.For his accomplishments during the season, he was named a First Team All-MAAC recipient.

The Hampton, Virginia, native had a remarkable 2024 indoor and outdoor season as she earned multiple individual titles and Southern Conference honors and competed at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Lexington, Kentucky. During the outdoor season, Armstrong won the 100-meter dash at the SoCon Outdoor Championships, earning the SoCon individual crown with a meet and school record time of 11.35 seconds. She earned All-SoCon honors on the first day of the meet by finishing in third in the long jump and ran a leg of the 4x100 relay to assist the group to an All-Conference finish. While competing at the Dalton Ebanks Invite in April, Armstrong broke the VMI school record in the long jump with a leap of 19’ 8.50” to lift herself to a SoCon Female Field Athlete of the Month honor in April. For the indoor season, Armstrong achieved individual titles in both the 60m dash and long jump at the SoCon Indoor Championships to earn All-SoCon accolades.

A four-year player out of Knoxville, Tennessee, Ironside has propelled VMI Football to success. In 2023, Ironside played in eight games at the quarterback position, tossing for 1,416 yards and four touchdowns. In the classroom, Ironside excelled and later earned Academic All-SoCon accolades. He was also voted a team captain and was an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Coach Rocco describes Ironside as“an outstanding leader for our program in all areas of his life, leading on the field, and in the classroom, as well as being a model cadet on post.”

A civil and environmental engineering major with a 3.72 GPA, Peterson is the 1st Battalion Commander this year. On the field, Peterson’s abilities landed him on the All-SoCon First Team (Media) and Second Team (Coaches) squads this football season. Peterson, who had a near-flawless season snapping in all 11 games, was also invited to the 2023 FCS All-Star Bowl in Florida.

Hank joined the Keydets program as a junior and is in his second year as the team manager. Hank is selfless and goes above and beyond to add value to the program every day. He isn't just a manager, he is part of the team. Hank lives the core values on the hill and in his everyday life. He comes back from furloughs and spends spring break with the team instead of going home. He shows up every day and handles operational duties, travels with the team, and films all games. Hank constantly strives to impact in any way possible to help the Keydets continue to improve. He has set the standard for VMI managers moving forward.

Since taking over a winless program in 2020, Purpura has transformed VMI Lacrosse into one of the biggest turnarounds in all of NCAA Division I lacrosse, increasing the win totals in each of his first four seasons. The Keydets are one of two programs in the nation to increase their win totals in each of the last four years. In 2024, Purpura led his squad to the most wins in a season since 2005 and the most D-I wins since 1995. He coached a trio of All-MAAC players and 13 Academic All-MAAC recipients.