PHOTO ALBUM | 2016-17 HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
The Case Western Reserve University Department of Athletics announced its annual award winners at the all-sports banquet on Monday night.
Seniors Olivia Zabrodsky and Laura Wheeler, both of the women's cross country team, each received the Patricia B. Kilpatrick Award, presented to the four-year varsity participants with the highest cumulative grade point. Both Zabrodsky and Wheeler had perfect 4.0 grade point averages during their collegiate careers.
The winner of the 2016-17 Nancy Gray Rookie of the Year Award, presented annually to a first-year female student-athlete who has made an outstanding contribution to her sport during her first year of competition, was Haley Sims of the volleyball team. Sims was named UAA Rookie of the Year, while earning an All-UAA honorable mention in 2016. She finished the regular season with a .284 hitting percentage, the ninth-best single-season tally in school history. She also led the team with 112 total blocks, including 81 block assists which puts her at 10th in school history for block assists in a single season. Sims ended the campaign third on the team with 242 kills and 2.03 kills per set, while earning UAA Player of the Week honors on September 13th.
Football player Cameron Brown was selected as the Bill Sudeck Rookie of the Year Award winner, presented annually to a first-year male student-athlete who has made an outstanding contribution to his sport during his first year of competition. Brown emerged as one of the top players in the conference during his freshman season, earning selection to the All-UAA First Team and the All-PAC Second Team. He led all Spartan players with 4.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for a loss, two fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and six quarterback hurries. He started all 10 games at defensive end during the season, finishing the year with 47 tackles and five pass breakups. Brown was selected twice as the UAA Defensive Player of the Week, while also earning D3football.com Team of the Week and PAC Defensive Player of the Week honors during the year.
Junior Cassandra Laios of the track and field team received the Dorothy L. Hoza Award, given to the female freshman, sophomore or junior student-athlete, who has made a strong contribution to the women's intercollegiate sports program, maintained a high level of academic achievement, shown leadership in the team, and contributed to the Department and the University. Laios emerged as the premier athlete in her sport in the UAA during her junior season, earning Most Outstanding Performer in Field Events honors during both the indoor and outdoor track and field championships this year. She won UAA championships in the weight throw and shot put at the indoor meet, becoming the first CWRU woman to ever sweep the indoor throws. At the outdoor championships, she won three events – the discus, hammer and shot put – and nearly scored enough points on her own to best the seventh-place team at the meet. She is the current school record holder in the hammer throw with a mark of 165 feet, two inches, and indoor shot put with a mark of 41 feet, five and three quarters inches.
The 2016-17 Arthur P. Leary Award, presented to the outstanding freshman, sophomore or junior male student-athlete who has demonstrated leadership in the team, maintained good academic standing in the University, demonstrated good sportsmanship, and made a contribution to the department and University, was junior Drew Hamilton of the swimming and diving team. He earned all-America honorable mentions with a ninth-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley and a 15th-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships. Overall for his career, he has claimed five All-America certificates over three seasons, and holds school records in the 500-yard freestyle, 1000-yard freestyle, 1650-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, 400-yard freestyle relay and 800-yard freestyle relay. He is a two-time CSCAA Scholar-Athlete, a 2016 UAA Presidents Council Scholar-Athlete, a member of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity and Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity and has earned Dean's High Honors List each semester.
The Emily R. Andrews Award was given to senior Annie Wennerberg of the softball team, for making a strong contribution to the women's intercollegiate sports program, maintaining a high level of academic achievement, showing leadership in team, and contributing service to the department and University. After Wennerberg set the single-season home run record as a sophomore and the career home run record as a junior, she claimed her 53rd career victory on the mound to become the team's all-time leader in wins earlier this year. She was an All-America First Team selection and the UAA Most Valuable Player in 2015, is a four time All-UAA selection, and leads all CWRU pitchers this season in wins, while batting .333 with two home runs during the year, earning a spot on the all-conference second team.
Senior Andrew Henning of the swimming and diving team received the 2016-17 the Philip K. "Nip" Heim Award, presented annually to the senior male student-athlete who has made the most outstanding contribution to Case Western Reserve University through the athletics program. Henning was a 2016 All-America Honorable Mention, and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second-straight season this year. He is a UAA Presidents' Council Scholar-Athlete, a two-time CSCAA All-America honoree, a three-time UAA Academic honoree, and was a member of the first UAA Championship relay in program history, after winning the 800-Free Relay at the conference championships in 2016. In addition to his work in the pool, he has served as a team captain, been on the CASA and BlueCWRU Executive boards for two years, was the student-athlete representative on department mission statement committee, and has won the Dean's Award in Accounting and Dean's High Honors over his time at Case Western Reserve.
The Glenn and Peggy Nicholls Female Athlete of the Year Award, presented annually to the female student-athlete who has made outstanding contributions to her sport, was given to junior Kara Hageman of the women's basketball team, following her record-setting campaign for the Spartans in 2016-17. She was named to the D3hoops.com All-Region Third Team, becoming just the sixth player in program history to earn the honor, and just the third non-senior winner. Hageman is a three-time All-UAA honoree, including a First Team selection in 2017. In 2016-17, she was the first woman in program history to score over 500 points in a season, setting a school record with 502, and set a school single-game record with 41 points and 16 field goals (also a UAA record) against then ninth-ranked Washington University. She was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week once, and twice selected as the UAA Player of the Week. In addition, she became just the 14th player in school history to reach 1,000 points for a career, accomplishing the feat this season.
Senior Nathaniel Wahner was named the Dr. David Hutter Male Athlete of the Year, following his unprecedented achievements as a member of the track and field team this year. Wahner became the first-ever Spartan to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the indoor sprints, finishing 13th in the 400-meter dash and 15th in the 200-meter dash. He totaled three individual UAA Titles during the year winning the indoor and outdoor 400-meter dash and the outdoor 200-meter Dash, and was a part of three conference championship relays. Most recently, he was named the UAA Outdoor Track and Field Most Valuable Performer for Running Events. He set five indoor and five outdoor program records during his career, and he currently ranks fourth among Division III runners in the 400-meter dash, eighth in the 4x400-meter relay, 11th in the 100-meter dash and 16th in the 200-meter dash.
2016 Spartan Hall of Fame inductee and Chair of the CWRU Board of Trustees Dr. James C. Wyant was on-site to present the 2016-17 Bill Sudeck Outstanding Student-Athlete Award to junior Sam Merriman of the cross country and track and field teams. This award honors the individual who best exemplifies the attributes of the Case Western Reserve University student-athlete in the spirit of legendary coach, mentor and friend William "Bill" Sudeck. Coach Sudeck spent more than half his life - 46 years - shaping the young minds of cross country, basketball, and track and field athletes. The award is given to the student-athlete that has demonstrated and achieved significant athletic accomplishments, academic achievements, engagement in campus activities, and has shown leadership in athletics and in the classroom.
At the 2016-17 NCAA Cross Country Championships, Merriman not only earned All-America honors with a 21st-place finish, but also became the first ever CWRU athlete and the first UAA men's cross country runner to win the NCAA Elite 90 Award for the highest grade point average among competitors at the event. In addition, he received all-conference first team honors after finishing third at UAA Cross Country Championships, won the All-Ohio Division III Championships, and finished seventh at Great Lakes Regionals. He went on to finish third in the 5,000-meter run at the 2017 UAA Indoor Championships and won the 5,000-meter conference title at the outdoor meet last week, while also breaking a 40-year old school record in the event earlier this year.
The CWRU Association of Student-Athletes presented the Ultimate Spartan Awards, given to the varsity athletes who best represent the spirit of a CWRU. Winners this season included Dante Capicchioni (football), Javier Alvarez (men's basketball), Pat Shober (men's track and field), Thomas Nolan (men's soccer), Nick Tommas (wrestling), Marina Yu (women's track and field), Nina Cepeda (women's tennis), James Gibson (men's cross country), John Tomko (men's swimming and diving), Selena Mufti (women's swimming and diving), Kayla Pfaff (volleyball), Jess McCoy (women's basketball), Elle Zadina (women's soccer), Josh Neal (baseball), Fred Daum (men's tennis), Elena Polivka (women's cross country) and Katie Dzierwa (softball).
In addition, Head Wrestling Coach Danny Song presented awards to participants with perfect attendance in the CWRU leadership training group known as 'The Program,' and a highlight video (which can be seen below) was shown.
To view the photo album from the event, click here.
