CHAPEL HILL – An undefeated women’s lacrosse national champion, the all-time leading scorer in Division I men’s lacrosse and a record-setting quarterback are the recipients of the University of North Carolina’s 2022 Patterson Medals, given to the school’s most outstanding student-athletes.

Women’s lacrosse’s Jamie Ortega, men’s lacrosse’s Chris Gray and football’s Sam Howell are the latest recipients of the award, which is based primarily on career athletic accomplishments, and dates back to 1924. Recipients must have played at least three seasons for the Tar Heels and concluded their collegiate playing careers. Sportsmanship and leadership are also considered. Dr. Joseph Patterson first presented the medal 98 years ago to honor the memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson.

JAMIE ORTEGA

Women’s Lacrosse, 2018-22, Attacker, Centereach, N.Y.

• Honda Award winner as the National Player of the Year in leading Carolina to an undefeated 22-0 record and the 2022 NCAA championship.

• Played in the 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 NCAA final fours.

• Led the Tar Heels to an 83-9 record, including 49-1 over the last three seasons.

• First-team All-America in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

• ACC and National Freshman of the Year and third-team All-America in 2018.

• The first five-time All-America in Carolina women’s lacrosse history.

• Two-time ACC Attacker of the Year (2021, 2022), three-time All-ACC selection (2019, 2021, 2022) and two-time ACC Tournament MVP (2019, 2022). No ACC awards were selected in 2020 due to the pandemic.

• Two-time finalist for the Tewaaraton Award.

• Carolina's career leader in goals and points and second in assists.

• Scored 466 points and averaged a UNC-record 5.12 points per game (Katie Hoeg is second with 4.16 per game).

• First in ACC history and second all-time in the NCAA with 466 career points, breaking the ACC record that had stood for over 20 years.

• Her 334 career goals rank second in ACC history and third in NCAA history.

• Scored at least one goal in 54 of her final 56 games, including a 50-game goal streak.

• Scored multiple goals in 80 of 91 career games, including five or more goals 31 times.

• Registered at least one point in her last 85 games and 90 of 91 in her career.

• Started all 91 games, UNC records for games and starts.

UNC head coach Jenny Levy:

“We are so grateful Jamie is being recognized with the Patterson Medal. We cannot think of a more deserving student-athlete to join the prestigious list of women’s lacrosse Patterson Medal winners. Throughout her time in Chapel Hill, Jamie excelled at the highest level and continued to grow as a player and teammate. She is a consummate winner; her consistency of excellence during her collegiate career and the impact she had on our program are unparalleled.

"As a co-captain of our 2022 team, Jamie’s leadership, hard work and dominant performances were keys to our undefeated, national championship season. Simply put, she is a champion who represents the University of North Carolina and the sport of lacrosse in a first-class manner.”

CHRIS GRAY

Men’s Lacrosse, 2020-22, Attackman, Wading River, N.Y.

• Set the all-time NCAA men’s lacrosse scoring record with 401 points.

• Finished second in UNC history in career points (219) and fourth in goals (124) and assists (95) in three seasons at UNC (transferred from Boston University).

• UNC men’s lacrosse’s first-ever two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist.

• Three-time first-team All-America (2020, 2021, 2022).

• 2021 and 2022 Lt. Col. J.I. (Jack) Turnbull Outstanding Attackman of the Year, UNC’s first-ever recipient of this award.

• 2022 ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year when he led UNC with 48 goals and 32 assists.

• Scored 49 goals and had 42 assists in 2021 to set the UNC record for points in a season with 91, breaking the previous mark of 81 points that was set in 1973.

• ACC Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2021.

• Won ACC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors nine times.

• ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship recipient.

• Selected second in the 2022 Premier Lacrosse League College Draft by Atlas LC.

UNC head coach Joe Breschi:

"I'm beyond thrilled for Chris receiving the Patterson Medal. It is a well-deserved honor for a young man who balanced academics and athletics to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division 1 men's lacrosse history. He is an extraordinary leader on and off the field and a two-time captain for the Tar Heels. I'm excited to see what's next for Chris on his life's journey as he finishes his MBA at Kenan-Flagler next spring."

SAM HOWELL

Football, 2019-21, Quarterback, Indian Trail, N,C.

• Carolina’s starting quarterback in 37 games from 2019-21, leading the Tar Heels to three straight post-season bowl games.

• Earned All-ACC honors all three seasons, including second team in 2020, third team in 2019 and honorable mention in 2021.

• Set at least 27 single-game, single-season and career UNC records.

• Carolina’s all-time leader in total offense, passing yards, passing yards per game, passing touchdowns, pass efficiency rating and touchdowns responsible for.

• Threw a touchdown pass in all 37 games, a school record.

• Completed multiple TD passes 27 times (three or more 17 times, four or more six times, five or more three times and a school-record six vs. Wake Forest in 2020).

• Second-highest rated quarterback in ACC history.

• Second in ACC history in passing yards per game, third in passing touchdowns (most by any player in league history in three seasons), fifth in touchdowns responsible for and passing yards and eighth in total offense.

• Became the second player in the Power 5 era to have back-to-back games with 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards.

• Passed for 300 or more yards 14 times, including 400 or more three times and a school-record 550 vs. Wake Forest in 2020.

• Led the ACC in touchdown passes and passing yards as a sophomore.

• Became the second Tar Heel ever to pass for a touchdown, rush for a TD and catch a TD pass in a game (vs. Miami in 2020).

• Military Bowl MVP as a freshman.

• 2019 ACC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year.

• Was National Quarterback of the Week nine times, ACC Quarterback of the Week seven times, ACC Rookie of the Week six times and National Offensive Back of the Week once.

• Fifth-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft by Washington.

UNC head coach Mack Brown:

“Sam has been the face of our program for the last three years and is a deserved recipient of the Patterson Medal. He’s accurate, tough and durable. His teammates like him because of the way he interacts with them, and they respect him because of the way he works. He was probably in the office more than I was during his time here, watching film, digging into his playbook.

"He’s a football junkie and that translated to the way he played on Saturdays. With all that, he graduated in three years, while spending so much time on football. We love and appreciate him not just for his football accomplishments, but for who he is as a person and what he stands for. Our program is so much better off thanks to Sam Howell being a part of it. We wouldn’t have won as many games as we did without him and I can’t wait to see him do for an NFL franchise what he’s done for us.”

1924— Monk McDonald (men's basketball, football, baseball)

1925— M.D. Bonner (football)

1926— Jack Cobb (men's basketball)

1927— Ad Warren (football, boxing, wrestling)

1928— Galen Elliott (men's track and field)

1929— Henry Satterfield (men's basketball)

1930— Ray Farris Sr. (football, boxing, baseball)

1931— Henry House (football, baseball)

1932— Staton McIver (football)

1933— Stuart Chandler (football)

1934— Virgil Weathers (men's basketball)

1935— Harry Williamson (men's track and field)

1936— Harry Montgomery (football)

1937— R.D. Buck (football)

1938— Andy Bershak (football, men's basketball)

1939— George Nethercutt (baseball)

1940— George Stirnweiss (football, baseball)

1941— Paul Severin (football, men's basketball)

1942— Bobby Gersten (men's basketball, baseball)

1943— Carlyle Thomas Mangum (men's track and field)

1944— Denny Hammond (men's swimming)

1945— E.B. Schulz (men's track and field)

1946— Jim Jordan (men's basketball)

1947— Walt Pupa (football)

1948— Jim Camp (football)

1949— Vic Seixas (men's tennis)

1950— Charlie Justice (football)

1951— Jimmy Thomas (men's swimming)

1952— Cecil Milton (men's swimming, men's tennis)

1953— Chalmers Port (baseball, football)

1954— Miles Gregory (football, wrestling)

1955— Albert Long Jr. (baseball, football, men's basketball, men's track and field)

1956— Jerry Vayda (men's basketball)

1957— Lennie Rosenbluth (men's basketball)

1958— Buddy Payne (football)

1959— Dave Scurlock (men's track and field)

1960— Jack Cummings (football)

1961— Rip Hawkins (football)

1962— Ray Farris Jr. (football)

1963— Joe Craver (football)

1964— Bill Haywood (baseball, men's soccer)

1965— Harrison Merrill (men's swimming)

1966— John Shaw (baseball)

1967— Danny Talbott (football, baseball)

1968— Larry Miller (men's basketball)

1969— Bill Bunting (men's basketball)

1970— Charlie Scott (men's basketball)

1971— Don McCauley (football)

1972— Dennis Wuycik (men's basketball)

1973— George Karl (men's basketball)

1974— Tony Waldrop (men's track and field)

1975— Charles Waddell (football, men's track and field, men's basketball)

1976— Mitch Kupchak (men's basketball)

1977— Walter Davis (men's basketball)

1978— Phil Ford (men's basketball)

1979— Greg Norris (baseball)

1980— Bonny Brown (women's swimming)

1981— Lawrence Taylor (football), Al Wood (men's basketball)

1982— C.D. Mock (wrestling)

1983— David Drechsler (football)

1984— Sue Walsh (women's swimming)

1985— Ethan Horton (football)

1986— Brad Daugherty (men's basketball)

1987— Kenny Smith (men's basketball)

1988— Rob Koll (wrestling)

1989— Jeff Lebo (men's basketball)

1990— Shannon Higgins (women's soccer)

1991— Sharon Couch (women's track and field)

1992— Dwight Hollier (football)

1993— Kristine Lilly (women's soccer)

1994— Mia Hamm (women's soccer)

1995— Tisha Venturini (women's soccer)

1996— Marcus Jones (football)

1997— Debbie Keller (women's soccer)

1998— Antawn Jamison (men's basketball), Cindy Werley (field hockey)

1999— Ebenezer Ekuban (football), Cindy Parlow (women's soccer)

2000— Lorrie Fair (women's soccer), Tripp Phillips (men's tennis)

2001— Meredith Florance (women's soccer), Brendan Haywood (men's basketball)

2002— Katie Hathaway (women's swimming), Danny Jackson (men's soccer)

2003— Matt Crawford (men's soccer), Laura Greene (volleyball)

2004— Shalane Flanagan (women's track and field and cross country), Nicholas Monroe (men's tennis), Catherine Reddick (women's soccer)

2005— Jed Prossner (men's lacrosse), Alice Schmidt (women's track and field and cross country)

2006 Laura Gerraughty (women's track and field), Andrew Miller (baseball)

2007— Ivory Latta (women's basketball), Heather O'Reilly (women's soccer), Robert Woodard (baseball)

2008— Rachel Dawson (field hockey), Chad Flack (baseball)

2009— Dustin Ackley (baseball), Yael Averbuch (women's soccer), Tyler Hansbrough (men's basketball)

2010— Whitney Engen (women's soccer), Casey Nogueira (women's soccer), Chip Peterson (men's swimming)

2011— Corey Donohoe (women's lacrosse), Mateo Sossah (men's track and field), T.J. Yates (football)

2012— Katelyn Falgowksi (field hockey), Tyler Zeller (men's basketball)

2013— Kara Cannizzaro (women's lacrosse), Jonathan Cooper (football)

2014­— Crystal Dunn (women's soccer), Eric Ebron (football)

2015— Caroline Price (women's tennis), Joey Sankey (men's lacrosse)

2016— Kristen Brown (softball), Marcus Paige (men's basketball), Emily Wold (field hockey)

2017— Hayley Carter (women's tennis), Justin Jackson (men's basketball), Ryan Switzer (football)

2018— Joel Berry II (men's basketball), Marie McCool (women's lacrosse), Kenny Selmon (men's track and field)

2019– Ashley Hoffman (field hockey), Luke Maye (men's basketball)

2020– William Blumberg (men’s tennis), Marissa Creatore (field hockey)

2021 — Michael Carter (football), Sara Daavettila (women’s tennis), Katie Hoeg (women’s lacrosse)

2022 — Chris Gray (men’s lacrosse), Sam Howell (football), Jamie Ortega (women’s lacrosse)

Recipients by Sport: Football 38, Men's Basketball 32, Baseball 16, Women's Soccer 14, Men's Track and Field 10, Field Hockey 6, Women's Lacrosse 5, Men's Swimming and Diving 5, Men's Tennis 5, Women's Track and Field 4, Wrestling 4, Men's Lacrosse 3, Men's Soccer 3, Women's Swimming and Diving 3, Women's Tennis 3, Boxing 2, Women's Basketball 1, Softball 1, Volleyball 1