April 30, 2008

DELTA STATE ATHLETICS HONORS 350 STUDENT-ATHLETES AT 40TH ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET; ARTICHUK AND EUBANKS TAKE TOP HONORS

CLEVELAND –Delta State University Athletics paused Tuesday night to honor over 350 student-athletes for their successes on and off the field at the 40th annual Athletic Awards Banquet held at Walter Sillers Coliseum. The event was sponsored by the DSU Athletic Alumni Association.

“It has become a tradition here at DSU to honor the accomplishments, both on the field and in the classroom, of our student-athletes at the end of each year,” said Jeremy McClain, Director of Athletics. “This year’s banquet was one of the best yet.”

The banquet featured awards presented by each varsity head coach and a number of service awards presented by the Athletic Alumni Association. Mary Nell Stewart received the Lawrence L. Stewart Athletic Service Award for her unending support of Delta State University athletics, while Jimmy Muzzi received the Athletic Alumni Association Appreciate Award for his service and support of the Athletic Alumni Association. Jimmy Avery, a valuable supporter and volunteer for DSU Athletics, was presented the Langston Rogers Sports Information Service Award, while Michael Nienaber received the Jody Correro Sports Information Award.

Jackie Stowe, a senior softball player of Hazelhurst, and Kirill Pervoon, a senior tennis player of Kemerovo, Russia, were inducted into the Athletic Director’s Hall of Fame. The Athletic Director’s Hall of Fame is presented annually to the top male and female athlete at DSU based on overall grade point average. Stowe, a mathematics education major, maintained a 3.91 GPA during her career at DSU, while Pervoon, a business major, posted a 3.71 GPA.

The night’s activities were capped off with the presentation of the Charles S. Kerg Senior Athlete of the Year Awards. Established by former Head Coach and Athletic Director Horace McCool, the Charles S. Kerg Award was named after the former Sports Editor at the Delta Democrat Times. At a time when very few media outlets paid attention to Delta State Athletics, Charles Kerg followed Delta State religiously, always making sure that Statesmen and Lady Statesmen student-athletes and their programs received the coverage they deserved.

When the award was established, Coach McCool’s intent was to see that the award went to the all-around student-athlete - who not only excelled on the field, but in the classroom and in the community.

One of the most influential supporters in the history of the DSU athletic program, Charles Kerg’s dedication serves to this day as not only an inspiration, but a model for how dedicated we can be to both our program and the community as a whole.

This year’s recipients of the 2008 Charles S. Kerg Senior Athlete of the Year Awards were Jennifer Artichuk and Michael Eubanks.

Artichuk, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is a five-time NCAA All-American and an 11-time Honorable Mention All-American for the Lady Statesmen Swimming and Diving Team. She is President of Student Accountant Board of Administrators and President of the Business Student Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and Delta Mu Delta, the National Honor Society of Business Administration. The three-time Academic All-American will graduate in May with a 3.55 GPA in accounting. The fall her teammates voted her a permanent Team Captain for the 2007-2008 season.

Eubanks, of Cleveland, finished his career as the most decorated football player in Delta State University history. A three-time First Team All-American and two-time Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Eubanks established school and conference records for career sacks (31.5) and tackles for a loss (55.5). He was also a three-time All-Gulf South Conference Academic Team selection, after spending eight consecutive semesters on the DSU President’s or Dean’s List. He has also been named to the All-GSC Academic Honor Roll four times and was an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American his junior and senior seasons. A pre-medicine (biology/chemistry) major, he plans to attend medical school and eventually hopes to improve the health conditions of underprivileged women in the Mississippi Delta. .

Active within the Cleveland community, he is a mentor reader for the Cleveland School District and serves as a youth group director and musician at his church.

The awards for each individual sport are listed below. All awards were not presented last night as a number of sports are still competing in postseason play. For more information on the awards banquet or the Delta State University Athletic Alumni Association, please contact the DSU Athletic Department at (662) 846-4300 or log on to www.gostatesmen.com.

DSU AWARD WINNERS BY SPORT

GOLF: Brandon Hartzell (Sioux Falls, SD), Fall MVP; Chase Smith (Vicksburg), Spring MVP; Ben Whalen (Ingersoll, Ontario), Statesmen Award; Seth McBrayer (Charleston), Most Improved.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING: Rebecca Glass ( Lawrence, Kan.) and Amanda Guidry (Cut Off, La.), Mary Nell Stewart Workout Award; Rebecca Glass ( Lawrence, Kan.), Lady Statesmen Award; Jessie Lockwood (Kemmerer, Wyo.), Gail Anders Most Valuable Diver Award; Summer Moberly (Collierville, Tenn.), Charlene Craddock Scholar Athlete Award; Merve Terzioglu (Istanbul, Turkey), Merve Terzioglu Memorial Most Valuable Swimmer Award.

MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING: Tucker Marshburn ( Corona, Calif.) and Roman Sereda (St. Petersburg, Russia), Workout Award; Roman Sereda (St. Petersburg, Russia), Ronnie Mayers Statesmen Award; Patrick Remington, Most Valuable Diver; Patrick Weyrich, Most Valuable Swimmer.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Lamaesha McAdory (Coldwater), Best Offensive Rebounder; Brittani Calhoun ( St. Louis, Mo.), Best Defensive Rebounder; Jennifer Rushing (Hollandale), Most Valuable Player Award; Lakira Boyd (Memphis, Tenn.), Best Offensive Player Award; Jessica Boyd (Gunnison) and Sheena Swanigan (St. Louis, Mo.), Best Defensive Player Award; Whitney Shepard (Cleveland), Lady Statesmen Award; Sarita “Bug” Cooper (Indianola), Most Improved Player Award; Kendell Crawford (Starkville), Roy and Margie Gerrard Scholarship.

CROSS COUNTRY: Mary Katherine Dempsey ( Fort Payne, Ala.), Lady Statesmen Award; Britni Adcox ( Covington, La.), Most Improved Award; Natasha Smith (Vine Grove, Ky.), Most Valuable Runner Award.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Kortney Harris ( Meridian), Offensive Award; Jazmin Yacaman ( Gonzalez, La.), Defensive Award; Shauna Allen ( Greenville), Most Improved Player Award; Megan Dixon ( Pasadena, Texas), Outstanding Freshman Award; Laura Swanson ( Oshkosh, Wisc.), Scholar Athlete Award; Allie Libby ( St. Louis, Mo.) and Angie Libby (St. Louis, Mo.), Lasy Statesmen Award; Renee Melson (Flowood), Hustle Award; Catherine Sanford (Greenville), Impact Player Award.

MEN’S SOCCER: David Hortsmann ( Collierville, Tenn.), Offensive Award; Ricardo Callendar ( Memphis, Tenn.), Defensive Award; Nason Stephens ( Long Beach), Most Improved Player Award; Kevin Marchi (St. Louis, Mo.), Impact Player Award; Phillip Pearson (Gulfport), Scholar Athlete Award; Steven Axe (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada), Outstanding Freshman Award; Trey Jones (Moultrie, Ga.), Statesmen Award; Stephen Hummel (St. Louis, Mo.), Hustle Award.

WOMEN’S TENNIS: Katharina Nett ( Grafschaft, Germany), Most Valuable Player Award; Tatiana Bouchaud (Re’Union, Madagascar), Most Improved Player Award; Cecile Benzaki ( Paris, France), Lady Statesmen Award.

MEN’S TENNIS: Rafael Wigand (Florianopolis , Brazil), Most Valuable Player Award; Kirill Pervoon ( Kemerovo, Russia), Most Improved Player Award; Rafael Weigand ( Florianopolis, Brazil), Statesmen Award.

FOOTBALL: Mark Ellis ( New York, N.Y.), Offensive Lineman of the Year; Chris Eccles ( Pensacola, Fla.), Defensive Lineman of the Year; Jeremy Ricks (Hollandale), Offensive Back of the Year; Jason Fenderson ( Orlando, Fla.), Hustle Award; Michael Eubanks (Cleveland), Statesmen Award; Dedrick Wilson (Amite, La.), Newcomer of the Year Award; Jamarcus Wiggins (Cantonment, Fla.), Monterio James Memorial Defensive Back of the Year Award; Jerry Evans (Rosedale), Sam Rea Special Teams Player of the Year; Lardester Hicks-Green (Chicago, Ill.), Freddie Black Memorial Award; Scott Felando (Palos Verdes, Calif.), Russ Hardin Memorial Award.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Earnesto Green (Jackson), Best Offensive Player Award; Chad Akins (Madison), Trace Frazier Award; Brad Skipper (Pace, Fla.), Best Rebounder Award; Ray Selvage (Baton Rouge, La.), Best Defensive Player Award; Eric Spencer (Marion, Ark.), Statesmen Award.

BASEBALL: Chris Clark ( Paducah, Ky.), Cary Sandifer Statesmen Award; John Landon Ruscoe (Clarksdale), Boo Ferriss Sportsmanship Award; Justin Smith (Ridgeland), Lawrence Stewart Outstanding Service Award and Bryan Walker Scholar Athlete Award; Michael Niemann (Yelm, Wash,.), Neill Dennis Academic Achievement Award and Makamson Freshman Award; Steven Oswald (Springfield, Ill.), Most Improved Player. Several additional awards will be announced at the end of the 2008 season.

SOFTBALL: Sam St. Hilaire (Turner, Maine), Lady Statesmen Award; Paige Silverthorn ( Sikeston, Mo.), Most Improved Player Award. Several additional awards will be announced at the end of the 2008 season.