Feature Story

April 29, 2013 | By Ohio Wesleyan University

The Top Ten Award winners at the ninth annual Dale J. Bruce Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner. (Photo by Mark Schmitter ’12)

Best Bishops

The Top Ten Award winners at the ninth annual Dale J. Bruce Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner. (Photo by Mark Schmitter ’12)

Ohio Wesleyan University junior Tamra Londot (Utica) won the highest honor at the ninth annual Dale J. Bruce Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner, held on Thursday in the Benes Rooms of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center on the Ohio Wesleyan campus.

Londot, a member of the volleyball, women’s basketball, and softball teams, received the Presidential Award, recognizing the University’s top athlete and person. The top honor awarded by the Ohio Wesleyan athletics department, the Presidential Award is based on athletics ability and achievement, academic excellence, character, leadership, activities and inspiration.

Receiving Top Ten Awards were junior Sean Anthony (Coldwater), senior Zach Bott (Dublin/Coffman), senior Jessie Huschart (Columbus/Hilliard Davidson), senior Emily Johnson (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe), senior Erika Reese (Hilliard/Davidson), senior Brandon Sega (Columbus/Upper Arlington), senior Tyler Sheetz (Eighty Four, Pa./Peters Township), senior  Ben Steele (Delaware/Hayes), senior Brittany Vickers (Newark/Utica), and freshman Jessica Ward (Delaware/Hayes).

The Top Ten Award is voted upon by the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Council and is based upon the student-athlete’s impact upon their family, their team, the University and the Delaware community.  Anthony is a member of the men’s swimming team, Bott is a member of the baseball team, Huschart is a member of the women’s soccer team, Johnson is a member of the women’s cross country and track & field teams, Reese is a member of the softball team, Sega is a member of the baseball team, Sheetz is a member of the football team, Steele is a member of the football and baseball teams, Vickers is a member of the volleyball team, and Ward is a member of the women’s swimming team.

The Dr. Jay Martin Award, honoring the top male senior student-athlete, went to senior Andy Winters (Columbus/Bishop Watterson), a member of the men’s basketball team.

The Nan Carney-DeBord Award, recognizing the top female senior student-athlete, went to senior Emily Amburgey (Germantown/Preble Shawnee), a member of the women’s track & field team.

The Dr. Richard Gordin Award, recognizing the highest cumulative grade point average among senior male student-athletes, went to senior Brad Turnwald (Fort Jennings/Ottoville).

The Mary Parker Award, recognizing the highest cumulative grade point average among senior female student-athletes, went to Vickers.

Also recognized were Ohio Wesleyan’s top 50 student-athletes by cumulative grade point average. They were: sophomore Sam Abbott (Sun Prairie, Wis.), senior Megan Bachelder (Mount Gilead), junior Sarah Bechtel (Bellefontaine), sophomore Colton Bloecher (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange), sophomore Colleen Bodee (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor), senior Jake Bonnell (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional), sophomore Calvin Cagney (Indialantic, Fla./Melbourne), junior Kay Cantwell (Louisville, Ky./Atherton), senior Molly Curry (Holliston, Mass.), sophomore Olivia DeMeio (Tallmadge), senior James DiBiasio (Westlake), sophomore Landon Erb (Hilliard/Darby), junior Jennifer Erichsen (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington), junior Mason Espinosa (Cookeville, Tenn.), sophomore Kevin Ford (Westerville/North), sophomore Nick Fowler (Bethesda, Md./Johnson), junior Olivia Gillison (Philadelphia, Pa./Friends Central), junior Meg Greff (Hopkinton, Mass.), sophomore Kevin Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls), Huschart, senior Silas Jolliff (Cardington/Cardington-Lincoln), senior Nathan Kafity (Huron/Lake Ridge Academy), sophomore Ryan Kaplan (Alliance/Marlington), sophomore Alexa Katrinchak (Elyria/Midview), and senior Jane Lehman (Amherst/Steele).

Also, sophomore Whitney Lonnemann (Cincinnati/Mariemont), senior Nicole Lourette (Mechanicsville, Md./Chopticon), sophomore Abbie Love (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge), sophomore Emma Markey (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central), senior Matt Martin (New Brighton, Pa./Riverside), sophomore Kevin McCarley (Columbus/Upper Arlington), junior Ian McCaslin (Prospect, Ky./Saint Xavier), sophomore Tommy Minkler (Oakton, Va./Landon School), sophomore Jonathan Overstreet (Centerville), sophomore John Peranzi (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth), sophomore Joyce Petersen (Avon/St. Joseph Academy), sophomore Kristie Prendergast (Westlake), Reese, junior Elizabeth Riggio (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park), sophomore Hannah Sampson (Kent/Roosevelt), Sheetz, sophomore Elizabeth Simmons (Columbus/School for Girls), sophomore Matt Sommi (Knoxville, Tenn./Christian Academy of Knoxville), sophomore Sarah Stachowiak (Westlake), junior Jon Stegner (Powell/Olentangy Liberty), sophomore Karli Sturgill (Lagrange/Keystone), senior Will Thieman (Columbus/Upper Arlington), Turnwald, Vickers, and sophomore Alexandra Webb (Tipp City/Tippecanoe).

A pair of new awards, the James DiBiasio Sportsmanship Award and the Mackenzie Conway Sportsmanship Award, went to Steele and Reese respectively.

The Bob Strimer Director’s Cup, awarded to the Ohio Wesleyan team with the highest cumulative grade point average, went to the women’s cross country team.

The evening’s festivities also included the presentation of the Town-Gown Award, given by the Ohio Wesleyan athletic department in recognition of longstanding relationships with and outstanding support of Ohio Wesleyan student-athletes and athletic programs. The award was presented to Domino’s Pizza.

The Alumni Recognition Award was presented to Bob Morrill.

The Dale J. Bruce Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner is named in honor of Dale Bruce ’52, an All-America football end at Ohio Wesleyan who has been a longtime supporter of Battling Bishop athletics.