PHOTO ALBUM
The Case Western Reserve University Athletics announced the Department Award Winners as a part of the annual all-sport banquet on Monday evening.
Eight Spartans won the Patricia B. Kilpatrick Award, presented to the four-year varsity participants with the highest cumulative grade point average. Winners included Dan Cronin of the football team, Emily Harker of the women's track and field team, Nicholas Heim of the men's track and field team, Slater Jameson of the men's soccer team, Kristen Klemmer of the softball team, Phillip Scheanon of the men's cross country team, Dayton Snyder of the football team and Laura Wheeler of the women's cross country and track and field team.
The winner of the 2015-16 Nancy Gray Rookie of the Year Award, presented annually to a freshman female student-athlete who has made an outstanding contribution to her sport during her first year of competition, was Suhan Mestha of the swimming and diving team. Mestha set individual school records in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.99 seconds, and the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:03.49 at the 2016 UAA Championships, finishing fourth and sixth in the events, respectively. In addition, she was a part of the team's record-setting 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay at the conference championship meet. Also during her inaugural campaign as a Spartan, she tallied the second-fastest times in school history in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, and the third-fastest time in the 200-yard individual medley.
Men's track and field freshman Rasheed Ajala was selected as the Bill Sudeck Rookie of the Year Award winner, presented annually to a freshman male student-athlete who has made an outstanding contribution to his sport during his first year of competition. Ajala set the program record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.07 seconds, and recorded the second-fastest 55-meter dash mark and the fourth-fastest 200-meter dash time in program history during the indoor season. In the outdoor season, he earned All-University Athletic Association honors with a third-place finish at the conference championships with a time of 10.99 seconds in the 100-meter dash, the third-fastest ever by a Spartan, and he was a part of the program-record setting 4x100-meter relay team at the All-Ohio Championships.
The 2015-16 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, was junior Temi Omilabu of the women's track and field team. During the indoor campaign, she broke the school record in the weight throw with a mark of 17.04 meters, besting a seven-year old record. She went on to win the 2016 UAA Indoor Championship in the event. In addition she set a career-best of 10.64 meters in the indoor shot put. Last weekend, she won the UAA Outdoor Championship in the hammer throw, setting a school record with a toss of 49.01 meters. Temi has also been an active member the University Program Board as its director of traditions, organizing the annual Comedy Show for the organization earlier in the year.
Junior pitcher Jake Shields of the baseball team was presented with the Arthur P. Leary Award, given 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. An All-UAA and All-Region selection as a sophomore in 2015, he currently has a team-leading 7-2 record and a 3.82 earned run average, while serving as a team captain. He ranks third in school history for career wins, fifth in both lowest career ERA and opponents' batting average, and eighth in strikeouts. His efforts helped the team win the UAA Championship in 2014, and this season, he has led the squad to an overall record of 25-13, with 17 wins in its last 21 games. Jake is a two-time Academic All-UAA honoree, and has been an active member of the department as well as a student-worker in Veale.
The Emily R. Andrews Award was presented to senior Kelsey Aamoth of the women's cross country and track and field teams. The award is presented each year to the outstanding senior who has made a strong contribution to the women's intercollegiate sports program, maintained a high level of academic achievement, shown leadership in team, and contributed service to the department and University. Aamoth was the Cross Country team's lone qualifier for the NCAA Championships, finishing in 55th place, while also finishing as the runner-up at the Great Lakes Regional Championship, and earned All-UAA honors with a 10th-place finish at the conference championship meet. For track, she is the school record holder in the 3,000-meter run and recently finished seventh in the 5,000-meter run at the UAA Championships. Aamoth is a USTFCCCA Scholar Athlete Award winner, a nine-time Academic All-UAA honoree, and was selected as the department's Hoza Award winner each of the last two years.
Chris Cvecko of the men's soccer team was the program's Philip K. "Nip" Heim Award honoree, which is presented annually to the senior male student-athlete who has made the most outstanding contribution to Case Western Reserve University through the athletics program. Cvecko became just the fourth All-American in the program's history, earning Second Team recognition from the NSCAA and Third Team honors from D3soccer.com. In addition, he was selected as the UAA Most Valuable Player, becoming just the second player in program history to claim the honor, and was one of three Spartan players ever to earn All-UAA First Team recognition three times over a career. Cvecko excelled academically as well, and was named to the Academic All-America Third Team and the Scholar All-America Second Team, while also earning Academic All-UAA honors on three occasions over his career. He was the 2015 Leary Award Winner for the Department.
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 Haley Kauffman of the volleyball team. Her play on the court helped lead the Spartans to one of the most successful seasons in the program's history, as the team qualified for the NCAA Championships for just the second time ever, and claimed its first-ever postseason win. She was named to the All-UAA First Team, becoming the first Case Western Reserve player to earn the honor since the 2011 season, while also earning an All-Great Lakes Region Honorable Mention. Her .354 attack percentage set a program record, and ranked 26th among all NCAA Division III players during the year, while her 92 block assists last year were the sixth-most ever by a Spartan. She ended her career with the fourth-most block assists and the second-highest attack percentage in the program's history. In addition, she is a three-time Academic All-UAA honoree.
CJ Krimbill of the men's tennis team was given the Dr. David Hutter Male Athlete of the Year Award, presented annually to the male student-athlete who has made outstanding contributions to his sport. He ended his career as one of the top players in the history of Division III men's tennis.
A 2014 NCAA Doubles Champion, Krimbill entered his senior campaign as a five-time All-American, and is likely to earn the honors for both singles and doubles again this season. Krimbill is one of just two players ever in UAA history with over 100 career wins in both singles and doubles play, and is by far the program's all-time leader in total victories. He was named the UAA Most Valuable Player last season, and this year, has led the team with a 27-4 singles record and a 27-5 doubles ledger, as one of the top-ranked players in the country. CJ has also been named an Academic All-American, and carries a 3.97 cumulative grade point average, while claiming Academic All-UAA honors each of his three eligible seasons.
Dayton Snyder of the football team was named the Bill Sudeck Outstanding Student-Athlete Award recipient, presented to 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.
A defensive lineman, Snyder is a three-time All-University Athletic Association honoree, including a first-team selection in 2015. He was also named to the All-Presidents' Athletic Conference second team this year, after recording 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks, while helping the Spartans' defense finish the season ranked 15th among Division III teams in rushing yards allowed per game and 23rd in sacks. Academically, he has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a Biomedical Engineering Major. He was selected to the Academic All-America and All-District First Teams this year, and received a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, awarded to just 29 male student athletes across all three NCAA Divisions in the fall.
In addition, the Case Association of Student Athletes presented the annual Ultimate Spartan Awards. Winners included CJ Krimbill (men's tennis), Ben Whitman (men's cross country), Nate Tommas (wrestling), Meghann McMahon (softball), Slater Jameson (men's soccer), Lauren Wichman (women's soccer), Olivia Zabrodsky (women's cross country), Olivia Newman (women's track and field), Jonathan Freeman (men's track and field), Jennifer Lowe (women's tennis), Jimmy Holman (men's basketball), Kara Hageman (women's basketball), John Tomko (men's swimming and diving), Selena Mufti (women's swimming and diving), Danny Souza (baseball), Carolyn Bogart (volleyball) and Dan Cronin (football).
CLICK HERE to view a complete photo album from the event.
