STX LLC announced its second-annual Athlete and Team of the Year Awards, celebrating the success of the best athletes and teams in their respective sports at the very highest level.

Peter Baum, a midfielder for the Columbus-based Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team Ohio Machine, was honored as the 2017 STX Athlete of the Year for his performance during the 2017 season. Baum was the co-leading scorer this year, with 52 regular season points. His scoring success carried the Ohio Machine to the 2017 MLL Championship, where he led his team to victory for their first league title.

“‘Play Huge’ is a mindset that we live by here at STX and Peter truly embodies this.He plays with creativity and precision, and despite his natural talent for putting the ball in the net, he continues to work hard and put in the time to develop his skill,” said Ed Saunders, vice president of sales and marketing for STX. “He played an integral role in the Ohio Machine’s success this year, coming through for his team in a major way to land the title. Plus, to be the league’s top-scorer–especially as a midfielder–is an incredible achievement. We are proud to have Peter as a part of Team STX and look forward to seeing what he has in store for 2018.”

The U.S. Women’s Senior Lacrosse Team was recognized as STX Team of the Year for winning back-to-back gold medals this summer at the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Rathbone’s Women’s Lacrosse World Cup and International World Games. The latter was a historic win, as 2017 was the inaugural year for women’s lacrosse at the World Games.

“Winning one gold medal is impressive, but to win two in one year puts a team in a league of their own,” said Saunders. “The performances these women put in last year were inspiring and took the game to a whole new level, redefining success. Not to mention–to see women’s lacrosse in the World Games was a huge moment for lacrosse and for women’s sports. At STX, we are all about growing the game, and that’s exactly what this team and these players represent.”

STX is a global sporting goods leader in the sports of lacrosse, field hockey and ice hockey.