Catawba College has announced its 2008-09 athletic award winners for its student-athletes. The awards were presented at the annual athletic ceremony held at the Keppel Auditorium on Tuesday, April 28. Heading the list of award winners were Melissa Powers and Blake Ketner, who were awarded the Lomax and Kirkland Awards for the top female and male senior athletes, and Brittany Higgins and Kevin McMillan, who were given the Wurster Awards for team leadership.
Powers, a volleyball player from Bennett, NC, was named the Lomax Award winner. She was a three-time All-South Atlantic Conference performer and was the 2008 South Region and South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year. Powers also became Catawba's first NCAA II All-American in volleyball, setting school records for kills in a game, season and career.
Ketner, of Davidson, NC, who pitches on the baseball team, earned the Kirkland Award. He was a two-time All-South Atlantic Conference selection and also earned all-region honors. He has helped Catawba to three NCAA II post-season berths and ranks third all-time in school history with 29 wins.
Higgins, a basketball player from Takoma Park, MC, and McMillan, a baseball player from Salisbury, NC, were the recipients of the Wurster Awards for leadership. Higgins was a three-time team captain as selected by her teammates. She was a leader by example and a role model for four year. McMillan came to Catawba as a walk-on and worked his way into the lineup as a junior. He has started every game as a senior and earned SAC all-tournament honors, leading Catawba with 10 RBI.
Other top awards went to Jill Archambault, of Glens Falls, NY, and Chris Ahearn, of Charlotte, NC, who were the recipients of the SAAC Award for the highest cumulative GPA's for seniors and Lainey Nichols, of Frederick, MD, and Chris Noel, of High Point, NC, who earned the Darris Morris "Ironhorse" Comeback Award. Archambault, who played field hockey, posted a 3.82 GPA as a history major, while Ahearn, a baseball player, had a 3.97 GPA while majoring in sports management. The volleyball team took the team award with a 3.26 GPA. Nichols overcame a lower leg fracture in the spring of 2007, while Noel came back from an upper arm fracture at the end of the 2007 season.
The awards for team MVPs went to: Ryan Query (Baseball), Antonio Houston (Men's Basketball), Brittany Higgins (Women's Basketball), Olivia Jacobs and Clay Yarbrough (Cross Country), Nikiah Knox (Field Hockey), Jamelle Cuthbertson (Football), Eric Schmehl (Men's Golf), Kelsey Babos (Women's Golf), Marty Tuohy and Johnny Rich (Lacrosse), Tyler Held (Men's Soccer), Alyssa Schoenberg (Women's Soccer), Ryann Baker (Softball), Katie Huff (Women's Swimming), Patrik Drakes (Men's Swimming), Shahin Soltan (Men's Tennis), Steffi Cook (Women's Tennis), Melissa Powers (Volleyball), Amy Bartram (Cheerleading), Jon Plummer (Athletic Training), and David McDowell (Sports Information).
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PHOTOS: 2009 Athletic Awards Ceremony
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