May 9, 2011
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com.
It is a phrase you hear frequently when people try to toss a little perspective onto why athletics have a price tag, and why athletes make headlines, or play their games in high-tech facilities:
“You can’t get 15,000 fans to pay and watch a biology class, a math class, etc.”
It’s really too bad it has to be that way. To really understand and appreciate the type of future citizens the University of New Mexico athletic department is churning out, you need to follow Mitchell Garver, Lauren Taylor or Kelly Williamson to a biology class.
You need to join Justus Adams, Cassandra Kalapsa, Chad Clark, Kristin Eggleston or Travis Ross in a business lecture, or sit back and listen to Rebecca Hellbom belt out an opera as she pursues her music performance degree.
You need to follow Henry Villegas, UNM’s Assistant Athletics Director for Academics, and his staff around the Lobo Center for Student-Athlete Success and see the behind-the-scenes work and encouragement that relates to a form of winning that has no electronic scoreboard.
You need to listen to Paul Krebs, UNM’s Vice President of Athletics, talk to his coaches about the importance of GPAs and graduation rates. You maybe need to listen to a UNM coach chew on his Lobos about the importance of the classroom.
You have all seen the NCAA commercial about how 99 percent of NCAA athletes will turn pro in something other than a sport. The academic support system at New Mexico embraces this concept in a big-time way.
Sure, athletics bond a community and give a university, and often a state, a source of pride and union. But most Lobos are only athletes for a four/five year span.
The life lessons learned from a commitment to a team and teammates are real, important and lasting. However, those lessons also need to be pushed to fruition by a commitment to education and the earning of a college degree. This commitment comes from administrators, educators, coaches and, of course, the student-athletes.
One of the Lobos’ finest moments is the annual Scholar-Athlete Banquet sponsored by Fidelity Investments.
This is when the future leaders of America – and hopefully the state of New Mexico – gather to strut their academic stuff and pick up a few awards. It is an event as significant as any athletic contest the Lobos performed during the 2010-11 season.
It is an event that boldly emphasizes the “athlete” part of the phrase “student-athlete.” It is a reminder of what Lobo athletics and the University of New Mexico combine to produce. The road to recognition at this scholar-athlete banquet is not an easy journey.
As Tim Cass, UNM’s Senior Associate Athletics Director and former Lobo player and coach, put it: “I know firsthand how difficult it is to achieve at this high an academic level while being dedicated to a sport. It takes a special person to balance this type of dual commitment and it is a special moment for our department to be able to recognize these scholar-athletes.”
UNM’s annual scholar-athlete banquet recognizes the Lobo student-athlete, who managed to compete in a sport while maintaining a 3.2 or higher GPA in the classroom. And, like in sports, there were a few scholars, who managed to standout among their scholastic peers.
The Lobo Club Student-Athlete of The Year Awards went to Lobo volleyball player Kelly Williamson, while skier Tor-Hakon Hellebostad took the men’s honor. The Lobo Club Athlete of The Year awards includes community service as well as academic excellence.
There were four Lobos recognized as graduating seniors, who managed to graduate with a 4.00 GPA: Travis Ross (men’s golf), Hellebostad (skiing), Amanda Best (women’s basketball) and Nanette Wittenberg (swimming/diving). The Athletic Director’s Cup for the highest team GPA went to the women’s ski team with its 3.60. The Athletic Council Most Improved Award (GPA jump from 2010 to 2011) went to the Lobo men’s tennis team.
The Fidelity Investments’ fifth-year scholarship winners were James Urbany of men’s soccer and Amanda Best of women’s basketball.
The 2010 Fidelity Investments All-Academic team also was recognized. This team honors the individual who obtains the highest GPA on his or her team. The winner were:
Baseball: Mitchell Garver.
Men’s basketball: Dairese Gary.
Women’s basketball: Lauren Taylor.
Men’s cross country: Rory Fraser.
Football: Justus Adams.
Men’s golf: Travis Ross.
Women’s golf: Rebecca Hellbom.
Men’s skiing: Tor-Hakon Hellebostad.
Women’s skiing: Stefanie Demetz.
Men’s soccer: Levi Rossi.
Women’s Soccer: Jael Fanning
Softball: Cassandra Kalapsa.
Swimming/Diving: Maria Dudley.
Mens’ tennis: Conor Berg.
Women’s tennis: Kristin Eggleston.
Men’s track & field: Chad Clark.
Women’s track & field: Julia Cook.
Volleyball: Kelly Williamson.
“This event is always a special opportunity for the athletic department and the university to gather and celebrate our athletes as students,” said Villegas. “This is a time to remind our fans, the community, and the state that the academic success of our students is of tremendous importance to the University of New Mexico and to the athletic department.”
Here are the Lobos who were recognized for a 3.2 GPA or higher:
Baseball: Luke Campbell, Mitchell Garver, Scott Hauck, Logan Lippert, Gerardo Sanchez, John Michael Twichell, Ben Woodchick.
Men’s Basketball: Alex Kirk.
Women’s Basketball: Amanda Best, Erin Boettcher, Caroline Durbin, Jessica Kielpinski, Nikki Nelson, Chinyere Nnaji, Jasmine Patterson, Emily Stark, Lauren Taylor, Morgan Toben, Jordan Unverzagt.
Men’s Cross Country: Michael Asay, David Bishop, Rory Fraser, Keith Gerrard, Brock Hagerman , Cory Kalm, Allen Pittman, Kyle Pittman, Sean Stam , Alex Willis.
Women’s Cross Country: Kaitlyn Barry, Lynn Brasher, Alexandra Darling, Kirsten Follett, Natalie Gray, Sarah Higgens, Nicola Hood, Delyth James, Laura Lavezo, Kirsty Milner, Janna Mitsos, Lacey Oeding, Margaret Raskob, Emma Reed, Ruth Senior, Ashlee Smalley, Sarah Waldron , Shawna Winnegar .
Football: Justus Adams, Andre Archuleta, Chris Biren, LaMar Bratton, Brad Gruner, William Hill, Brandon Lewis, Brendan Murphy, Cody Neely, Matthew Raymer, Nicolas Wilhelm.
Men’s Golf: Ryan Barry, Benjamin Bauch, John Catlin, Samuel Chavez, Ryan Gay, James Gehrke, Shane McDonald, Travis Ross, Sam Saunders.
Women’s Golf: Manon de Roey, Rebecca Hellbom, Sofia Hoglund, Jordan Kennon, Erin Miller, Sarah Salvo, Sammi Stevens.
Men’s Skiing: Eivind Solberg.
Women’s Skiing: Linn Klaesson, Ingrid Leask, Christina Loevald-Hellberg, Estelle Pecherand-Charmet, Kate Williams.
Women’s Soccer: Alexis Ball, Gianna Cavuoto, Amanda Collins, Kelli Cornell, Jordan Craig, Brooke Ellison, Ashley Espinoza, Jael Fanning, Chandler Guetz , Natalie Jenks, Elizabeth Lambert, Shelbie Luna, Roxie McFarland, Elizabeth Nare, Stephanie Rowe, Kerrin Stephan, Brianna Webster, Heather Williams, Kate Wyrick.
Men’s Soccer: Javier Lane, Riley McGovern, Michael Reed, Victor Rodriguez, Levi Rossi, Lance Rozeboom, James Urbany, Kyle Venter.
Softball: Chelsea Anaya, Erin Brandow, Shenise Cox, Kaela DeBroeck, Madeline Greene, Sheryl Guillermo, Alexandra Hakeem, Kaity Ingram, Cassandra Kalapsa, Jessica Lujan-Dresslar.
Men’s Tennis: Phillip Anderson, Conor Berg, Evan Corona-Saunders, Ben Dunbar, Mads Hegelund, Simon Hegelund, Mitch McDaniels, Jadon Phillips.
Women’s Tennis: Michaela Bezdickova, Ashley Bonner, Kristin Eggleston, Nikolina Grbac, Michaela Oldani, Laura Richardson.
Swimming/Diving: Brittany Anderson, Sally Bellinger, Melissa Bollig, Julia Carroll, Maria Dudley, Tonya Gramstad, Megan Harper, Alyssa Keill, Tesse Maciejko, Hayley Martin, Jessica Montoya, Nicole Peirce, Erica Stuart, Nanette Wittenberg, Heidi Zeiger.
Men’s Track & Field: Gabe Aragon, Chad Clark, Chris Dodds, Matthew Greer, Matthew Henry-Marshall, Gizeh Ibanez, Logan Pfibsen, W. Zach Smith, Kendall Spencer, Thomas Trujillo, Kyle Walker.
Women’s Track & Field: Julie Brasher, Julia Cook, Emily Heisler, Lauren Jaramillo, Rachel Kelchner, Amber Menke, Clara Milne, Asal Salehpoor , Marin Schweigert, Samantha Sheppard, Sophia Torres, Margo Tucker, Amelia Weaver, Deanna Young .
Volleyball: Rachel Barber, Juliane Hanna, Miquella Lovato, Lisa Meeter, Ashley Newman, Ashley Rhoades, Lexi Ross, Jordan Russell, Kelly Williamson, Amy Wong.
Spirit Program: Lexi Artrip, Adrian Avitia, Elizabeth Blackwell, Stephanie Crownover, Merissa Ekman, Madison Fletcher, Andriana Hahn, Samantha Johnson , Jessie Junker, Amber Lazo, Marissa Livingston, Carin Malm, Lindsey Oliver, Athena Pacheco, McKenzie Pack, Cameron Pittman, Allison Rogers, Katie Rosengren, Courtney Schwartz , Chelsea Semenchuk, John Sweeney, Taylor Ullemeyer, Eliza Webb.