HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i Athletics Department's highest individual honor, the Jack Bonham Award, was presented to Lilian Turban of track and field and Landon Sims of football at the 13^th annual H Awards on Tuesday night at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
 
Record-setting achievements in track and field and steadfast leadership on the football field, combined with remarkable academic success and a relentless dedication to community service, unite the 2026 recipients of UH Athletics' most prestigious award.
 
The Jack Bonham Award is named for the late assistant athletics director who was killed in a plane crash in American Samoa in 1974. Bonham was returning to the islands from New Zealand where he was on a recruiting trip at the British Commonwealth Games.
 
Established in 1974, the Bonham Award is given annually to the top male and female senior student-athlete who "best exemplifies the ideals for which Jack Bonham stood for in the areas of athletic excellence, academic achievement, public service, leadership and character."
 
Turban is the third track-and-field athlete to win the Bonham Award, joining Hannah Gaskins in 2021 and Annett Wichmann in 2009. Sims is the 18^th football honoree and second straight after Brayden Schager won the award last year. Sims' father, Travis, won the award in 1993.

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of her 1976 Bonham Award, former Rainbow Wahine volleyball player and former UH Athletics administrator Marilyn Moniz helped present Turban and Sims with their awards.
 
Lilian Turban, Track & Field
Turban has achieved a level of consistent excellence across her five years that is unmatched in program history. A two-time All-American in the high jump, she earned first-team honors in the outdoor season in 2023 and was a second-team selection during the 2024 indoor season.
 
Originally from Tallinn, Estonia, Turban is an eight-time Big West champion spanning her career in indoor and outdoor track and field. She claimed gold in the high jump, javelin and shot put in conference championship meets and is a nine-time NCAA qualifier. Turban has cleared six feet in the high jump seven times in her career, a milestone considered the benchmark of a world-class high jumper.
 
Turban was a unanimous pick among her teammates to serve as team captain for 2025-26, making her the first international student in her event group to hold that distinction. In the classroom, she maintains a 3.99 cumulative GPA while double majoring in psychology and communications with a minor in Spanish. She was twice voted the Big West Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year across all sports.
 
In the community, Turban volunteers at the O'ahu Bright Lab art studio in Mānoa. Her experiences working with children at the studio have inspired her to pursue art therapy after graduation.
 
"Lilian has overcome periods of struggle and injury to emerge as the absolute model of competitiveness, consistency, and leadership," UH track and field head coach Tim Boyce said. "She is a team-oriented leader who hasn't just performed for herself, but has fundamentally raised the bar for our entire track and field program."
 
Landon Sims, Football
Sims is a second-generation UH football player who wore the same No. 30 jersey as his father, Travis, who starred on the 1992 Holiday Bowl winning squad. Landon added to the family legacy by helping the Rainbow Warriors' return to the postseason for the first time in five years in 2025 and capped his career with a victory in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.
 
On the field, Sims was named the team's Offensive MVP in 2025 after leading the team in rushing for the third straight season with 559 yards on 122 carries. He scored three rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns, finishing third on the team with 831 all-purpose yards.
 
Academically, Sims graduated cum laude in the 2025 spring semester and is currently pursuing a master's degree in finance. He was a 2025 semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, college football's premier scholar-athlete award, and made the Dean's List on five separate occasions.
 
Off the field, he is the most active member of the football team in terms of community service. He volunteered with Grace Honolulu's children's ministry over the last several years and has also worked with Special Olympics Hawai'i, Unity Prom, and the Tim Tebow Night To Shine. He also serves with various organizations, including Kokonut Koalition, HUGS, and the Motiv8 Foundation. As a graduate with a degree in finance, he helps his teammates with financial literacy and investing. He also won six medals for leadership during U.S. Army military competitions and was named to the Watch List for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.
 
"Landon is a prime example of what happens when you put the team first," UH football head coach Timmy Chang said. "He is highly coachable, possesses a deep understanding of our system, and demonstrates exceptional selflessness. He is the standard we look to as an example for this program."