Apr 9, 2009

Armstrong and VanOudheusden are LSSU's senior athletes of the year

SAULT STE. MARIE - Two all-region basketball players were honored as Lake Superior State's senior athletes of the year during LSSU's annual all-sports banquet held Thursday at the Cisler Center.

Senior center Jaclyn Armstrong (Haslett, Mich.) received the Deb McPherson Female Athlete of the Year Award, while senior guard Tim VanOudheusden (Grand Rapids, Mich.) was presented with the Clifford Everett Male Athlete of the Year Award.

Other major award winners were junior Katie Scott (Mitchell, Ont.) and senior Ben Tarbutton (Gaylord, Mich.), two distance runners who received the Bud Cooper Coaches Awards, and volleyball player Brittany Newberry (Iron Mountain, Mich.), hockey player Fred Cassiani (Toronto, Ont.) and basketball player Kyle Hunt (Macomb, Mich.), who shared the Terry McDermott Freshman of the Year Award. Freshman javelin thrower Ben Charbonneau (Sudbury, Ont.) received the Jim Fallis Award. Senior basketball player Alyssa VanderWal (Grand Rapids, Mich.) received the Kiwanis Award for attaining the highest academic status among LSSU student-athletes.

The Bud Cooper Endowment Awards went to sophomore Taylor Patton (Northwood, Ohio) in track and field, freshman Kayla Nowak (Alpena, Mich.) in cross country, sophomore Nicole Carstensen (Maple Grove, Minn.) in softball and sophomore Molly Magoon (Freemont, Mich.) in tennis. Junior Stacy Leyder (Newaygo, Mich.) received the Dr. Harry Pike Scholarship, while sophomore Lucas Pease (Bellevue, Mich.) was given the Chris Yanni Memorial Award. The Christina Comito Memorial Award went to senior women's basketball player Annie Dykhouse (Grand Rapids, Mich.).

Armstrong is a 6-0 center who averaged 17.7 points per game to rank second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in scoring. She was the only GLIAC player named to the 2009 ESPN "The Magazine" Academic All-America Second Team, and she earned Daktronics All-Midwest Region Second Team and All-GLIAC North Division First Team honors. Armstrong scored 548 points this year, which ranks third on LSSU's single-season scoring list. She is ranks eighth in career scoring with 1,436 points and career field goals with 584.

VanOudheusden led the Lakers in scoring in 2007-08 and 2008-09, and was one of three four-year starters who carried LSSU to the men's basketball program's first NCAA Tournament semifinal appearance. VanOudheusden finished the season ranked fourth in the GLIAC in scoring at 17.6 points per game. He was also ranked ninth in field-goal percentage and 14^th in offensive rebounds. He was named to the Daktronics All-Midwest Region First Team and All-GLIAC North Division First Team. He is ranked 13^th in LSSU career scoring with 1,378 points and has a career average of 12.8 ppg. VanOudheusden and VanderWal are the first two basketball players to go through LSSU's rigorous nursing program.

The Bud Cooper Coaches Award recognizes student-athletes who display excellence in athletics, academics and citizenship. Scott, a five-time academic all-American, is an NCAA Provisional Qualifier in the outdoor 10,000-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase. She is currently ranked sixth nationally in the steeplechase and is a school-record holder in those two events, plus five others. Scott and Tarbutton are active members of the LSSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Tarbutton, a fifth-year senior who is competing in track and field after exhausting his cross country eligibility, has been instrumental in helping LSSU and coach Steve Eles host the GLIAC Cross Country Championships, local high school meets, and the Cabin Fever and Turkey Trot road races.

Newberry, who was named LSSU's female freshman of the year, led the GLIAC in average digs per game at 4.77. She totaled 391 digs in 2008, which ranks eighth on LSSU's single-season list. Cassiani tied for second on the Laker hockey team in goals scored with 11 and was ranked eighth among Central Collegiate Hockey Association freshmen in points with 21. He shared the male freshman of the year award with Hunt, a 6-3 guard and sparkplug off the bench for the Laker basketball team. Hunt averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

VanderWal, who has a 3.9 grade point average in nursing, is a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Team honoreee and was named to the 2009 ESPN "The Magazine" Academic All-District Third Team. She also earned All-GLIAC North Division second team honors after leading the league in field-goal percentage (.641), and ranking second in average blocked shots per game, fifth in average rebounds per game and ninth in free-throw percentage.

Dykhouse received the Comito Award, which is presented to the member of the LSSU women's basketball team who most-exemplifies the determination, commitment and competitive nature of Comito, who played at LSSU from 1988-92 and was killed in a car accident in 1994. Dykhouse always put the team first while playing a back-up role to three all-GLIAC centers throughout her career.

Charbonneau, who is currently ranked third nationally in the men's javelin, received the Fallis Award, named in honor of LSSU's former all-America wrestler, coach and director of athletics. The recipient must be an all-American or student-athlete who has excelled in the classroom and in his or her sport.

The Yanni Award went to Pease, who moved up from fifth to second on the LSSU men's cross country depth chart. The award is named in honor of Chris Yanni, a former all-region cross country standout who died in a cycling accident in 1992. Leyder, who was one of the top three runners on the LSSU women's cross country team throughout the 2008 season, received the Pike Scholarship, which is presented annually to an athlete in a non-fully-funded sport based on need, athletic ability and academic merit. She recently placed fifth, while Pease was eighth in the outdoor 5,000-meter run at the Ferris State Invitational.

The Cooper Endowment is a scholarship divided equally among athletes on LSSU's non-fully-funded teams. Patton received All-GLIAC honorable mention in the high jump during the indoor track season and was a double winner in the high jump and triple jump at two of her first three outdoor meets. Nowak battled with Leyder for the No. 2 spot in cross country. She was recently third in the 5,000-meter run at last weekend's Ferris State Invitational. Carstensen, a third baseman and back-up pitcher, is batting .284 for the LSSU softball team, while Magoon was 1-1 in tennis in 2008-09.

LSSU Most-Valuable Players

Hockey: Troy Schwab

Men's Basketball: Tim VanOudheusden

Women's Basketball: Jaclyn Armstrong

Volleyball: Ali Jones

Men's Cross Country: Lucas Pease

Women's Cross Country: Katie Scott

Men's Track: Adam Smith

Men's Field: Patrick Wright

Women's Track: Katie Scott

Women's Field: Taylor Patton

Softball: Rachel Hall

Men's Tennis: Razvan Mag

Women's Tennis: Carolyn Pumford

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Other major award winners were junior Katie Scott (Mitchell, Ont.) and senior Ben Tarbutton (Gaylord, Mich.), two distance runners who received the Bud Cooper Coaches Awards, and volleyball player Brittany Newberry (Iron Mountain, Mich.), hockey player Fred Cassiani (Toronto, Ont.) and basketball player Kyle Hunt (Macomb, Mich.), who shared the Terry McDermott Freshman of the Year Award. Freshman javelin thrower Ben Charbonneau (Sudbury, Ont.) received the Jim Fallis Award. Senior basketball player Alyssa VanderWal (Grand Rapids, Mich.) received the Kiwanis Award for attaining the highest academic status among LSSU student-athletes. The Bud Cooper Endowment Awards went to sophomore Taylor Patton (Northwood, Ohio) in track and field, freshman Kayla Nowak (Alpena, Mich.) in cross country, sophomore Nicole Carstensen (Maple Grove, Minn.) in softball and sophomore Molly Magoon (Freemont, Mich.) in tennis. Junior Stacy Leyder (Newaygo, Mich.) received the Dr. Harry Pike Scholarship, while sophomore Lucas Pease (Bellevue, Mich.) was given the Chris Yanni Memorial Award. The Christina Comito Memorial Award went to senior women's basketball player Annie Dykhouse (Grand Rapids, Mich.). Armstrong is a 6-0 center who averaged 17.7 points per game to rank second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in scoring. She was the only GLIAC player named to the 2009 ESPN "The Magazine" Academic All-America Second Team, and she earned Daktronics All-Midwest Region Second Team and All-GLIAC North Division First Team honors. Armstrong scored 548 points this year, which ranks third on LSSU's single-season scoring list. She is ranks eighth in career scoring with 1,436 points and career field goals with 584. VanOudheusden led the Lakers in scoring in 2007-08 and 2008-09, and was one of three four-year starters who carried LSSU to the men's basketball program's first NCAA Tournament semifinal appearance. VanOudheusden finished the season ranked fourth in the GLIAC in scoring at 17.6 points per game. He was also ranked ninth in field-goal percentage and 14^th in offensive rebounds. He was named to the Daktronics All-Midwest Region First Team and All-GLIAC North Division First Team. He is ranked 13^th in LSSU career scoring with 1,378 points and has a career average of 12.8 ppg. VanOudheusden and VanderWal are the first two basketball players to go through LSSU's rigorous nursing program. The Bud Cooper Coaches Award recognizes student-athletes who display excellence in athletics, academics and citizenship. Scott, a five-time academic all-American, is an NCAA Provisional Qualifier in the outdoor 10,000-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase. She is currently ranked sixth nationally in the steeplechase and is a school-record holder in those two events, plus five others. Scott and Tarbutton are active members of the LSSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Tarbutton, a fifth-year senior who is competing in track and field after exhausting his cross country eligibility, has been instrumental in helping LSSU and coach Steve Eles host the GLIAC Cross Country Championships, local high school meets, and the Cabin Fever and Turkey Trot road races. Newberry, who was named LSSU's female freshman of the year, led the GLIAC in average digs per game at 4.77. She totaled 391 digs in 2008, which ranks eighth on LSSU's single-season list. Cassiani tied for second on the Laker hockey team in goals scored with 11 and was ranked eighth among Central Collegiate Hockey Association freshmen in points with 21. He shared the male freshman of the year award with Hunt, a 6-3 guard and sparkplug off the bench for the Laker basketball team. Hunt averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. VanderWal, who has a 3.9 grade point average in nursing, is a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Team honoreee and was named to the 2009 ESPN "The Magazine" Academic All-District Third Team. She also earned All-GLIAC North Division second team honors after leading the league in field-goal percentage (.641), and ranking second in average blocked shots per game, fifth in average rebounds per game and ninth in free-throw percentage. Dykhouse received the Comito Award, which is presented to the member of the LSSU women's basketball team who most-exemplifies the determination, commitment and competitive nature of Comito, who played at LSSU from 1988-92 and was killed in a car accident in 1994. Dykhouse always put the team first while playing a back-up role to three all-GLIAC centers throughout her career. Charbonneau, who is currently ranked third nationally in the men's javelin, received the Fallis Award, named in honor of LSSU's former all-America wrestler, coach and director of athletics. The recipient must be an all-American or student-athlete who has excelled in the classroom and in his or her sport. The Yanni Award went to Pease, who moved up from fifth to second on the LSSU men's cross country depth chart. The award is named in honor of Chris Yanni, a former all-region cross country standout who died in a cycling accident in 1992. Leyder, who was one of the top three runners on the LSSU women's cross country team throughout the 2008 season, received the Pike Scholarship, which is presented annually to an athlete in a non-fully-funded sport based on need, athletic ability and academic merit. She recently placed fifth, while Pease was eighth in the outdoor 5,000-meter run at the Ferris State Invitational. The Cooper Endowment is a scholarship divided equally among athletes on LSSU's non-fully-funded teams. Patton received All-GLIAC honorable mention in the high jump during the indoor track season and was a double winner in the high jump and triple jump at two of her first three outdoor meets. Nowak battled with Leyder for the No. 2 spot in cross country. She was recently third in the 5,000-meter run at last weekend's Ferris State Invitational. Carstensen, a third baseman and back-up pitcher, is batting .284 for the LSSU softball team, while Magoon was 1-1 in tennis in 2008-09. LSSU Most-Valuable Players Hockey: Troy Schwab Men's Basketball: Tim VanOudheusden Women's Basketball: Jaclyn Armstrong Volleyball: Ali Jones Men's Cross Country: Lucas Pease Women's Cross Country: Katie Scott Men's Track: Adam Smith Men's Field: Patrick Wright Women's Track: Katie Scott Women's Field: Taylor Patton Softball: Rachel Hall Men's Tennis: Razvan Mag Women's Tennis: Carolyn Pumford