MCC athletes recognized for academic achievements

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

The McCook Community College men's basketball team is ranked second in the nation -- for their academic achievements -- and two MCC women have attained distinguished All-American status for their work in the classroom.

Accolades for MCC's student athletes came from the National Junior College Athletic Association's which recently compiled team rankings and announced individual honors based on grade-point average.

For the 2003-2004 year, the MCC men's team compiled a 3.23 grade-point average (on a 4.0 grading scale) to rank second among the 210 teams competing in NJCCA Division I basketball.

In addition, MCC's women ranked 14th among 181 teams with a 3.29 grade-point average and the MCC women's softball team ranked 34th among 146 teams with a 3.02 grade-point average.

"We are very proud of our athletes and their academic awards," MCC athletic director Chet DeVaughn said.

"They are all a class act which reflects the hard work our coaches and athletes do on and off the competitive field."

After being ranked fourth in the nation academically during the 2002-2003 school year, the MCC men's basketball team moved up two slots and in the recent academic rankings trails only one school -- Redlands Community College of El Reno, Okla., which compiled a 3.40 composite grade-point average.

"Compiling these teams is a great way to show how kids can work together as a team and focus towards a team goal outside of sports," MCC men's coach Ty Orton said.

Nine MCC men, and nine MCC women attained academic all conference status, four student athletes were recognized as all-region academians and two MCC basketball players -- LeeAnn Sperling with a 3.95 and Missy Whitman with a 3.88 -- earned Distinguished Academic All-American Status for achieving GPAs of 3.8 or higher.

Athletes with a 3.25 GPA or better achieve Academic All-Conference and All-Region status; athletes with a 3.6 GPA or higher attain academic All-American status, and Distinguished All-American status begins for student-athletes who earn a 3.8 GPA or higher.

Sperling, of St. Paul, graduated in May and will no longer play basketball, but is attending MCC where she is studying forensics.

Whitman, of Kiowa, Colo. has transferred to Colorado State University, where she is pursuing her teaching degree.

Their former teammate Wendi Hopkins, of Dalton-Leyton High School, was named to the academic all-region team. She is presently attending the University of Wyoming.

Leslie Fahey, of Windsor, Colo, and Shawna Quevedo ofBridgeport, were both named to the all-region academic team as freshmen and have returned to MCC this fall.

MCC's second-ranked men's basketball team was led by Sean Anderson of Lakewood, Colo., and Jack Lutzeier of Basalt, Colo., who were named to the Academic All-Region team.

Anderson has graduated from MCC and is attending school at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

Lutzeier majored in Sports Kinesiolgy and received a full-ride scholarship to Lake Erie College outside Cleveland.

Nine members of the team who received Academic All-Conference status included: Anderson; Lutzeier; Jordan Lane-Miller of Boulder, Colo.; C.P. Martinez of Boulder, Colo.; Maarten Esveldt of Lakewood, Colo.; Andre Goldberg of Boulder, Colo.; Josh Lyon of Yuma, Colo.; Jacob Deines of Ravenna; and Craig Wamsley of Arapahoe, Colo.

In softball, Tara McCaslin of Kearney earned academic all-American status with her 3.77 GPA. She joined teammates Jessica Blair, Katie Brawner, of Greeley, Colo, Sabrina Davis of McCook on the academic All-Region team.

"One of our first team goals each year is that everybody does well academically," Orton said. "You never know when a knee is going to give out or something doesn't work out on the court so we are trying to build a strong academic foundation for them to achieve whatever goals they have outside sports."

The MCC basketball teams have study table four times a week for an hour a day. The baseball team meets six times a week.

"They look out for each other and when the semester begins they vote on the academic rules that will make them successful," Orton said. "As a coach you can't do it for them, but you can lay the groundwork for them to go on."

He said the academic rules are simple but important.

Rules like: "No headphones during study table," "Sit in the first 3 rows of class," "If you fail a test, you will do extra study table time."

"These are rules the kids voted on and it all goes back to the team-building philosophy and it's all geared toward making our students successful on and off the floor," Orton said.

"We value the importance that our coaches place upon academic excellence in addition to excellence on the field of play," said Michele Gill, Area Dean of Student Life.

She said while accomplishments on the field of play are recognized on a regular basis by the viewing public, often those student athletes succeeding in the classroom aren't given the same praises for their accomplishments.

"Here at MCC we want to congratulate our student-athletes for being students and athletes as well as leaders on campus in many student organizations and among their peers," Gill said.

"Congratulations to our coaches for placing emphasis, time and energy in developing good lifelong habits for the athletes under their guidance."

In addition to MCC's student athletes, several former area prep stars attending North Platte Community College were honored for their academics.

Danae DeVaughn, a McCook High School graduate and volleyball standout, was named to the Academic All-American team, the All-Nebraska Community College Conference and All-Region IX academic team. NPCC basketball player Dani Stritt of Republican Valley was named to the All-Region IX team.

The following teams earned recognition for academic achievement:

Men's basketball ranked 2nd in the Nation with a team GPA of 3.23 on a scale of 4.0.

2 Academic All-Region Selections (3.25 or better on a 4-0 scale)

Sean Anderson

Jack Lutzeier

9 Academic All Conference Selections (3.25 or better on a 4-0 scale)

Sean Anderson

Jacob Deines

Maarten Esveldt

Andre Goldberg

Jordan Lane-Miller

Jack Lutzier

Josh Lyon

C.P. Martinez

Craig Wamsley

Women's BasketballRanked 14th in the Nation with a team GPA of 3.29 on a scale of 4.0

2 Distinguished Academic All-Americans (3.80 or better on a 4-0 scale)

LeeAnn Sperling

Missy Whitman

3 Academic All-Americans (3.60 or better on a 4-0 scale)

Wendi Hopkins

LeeAnn Sperling

Missy Whitman

3 Academic All-Region Selections (3.25 or better on a 4-0 scale)

Wendi Hopkins

LeeAnn Sperling

Missy Whitman

5 Academic All-Conference Selections (3.25 or better on a 4-0 scale)

Leslie Fahey

Wendi Hopkins

Shawna Quevedo

LeeAnn Sperling

Missy Whitman

MCC Softball Ranked 34th in the Nation with a team GPA of 3.02 on a scale of 4.0

1 Academic All-American Selection (3.60 or better on a 4-0 scale)

Tara McCaslin

4 Academic All Region Selections (3.25 or better on a 4-0 scale)

Jesica Blair

Katie Brawner

Sabrina Davis

Tara McCaslin

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