April 22, 2009
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's athletics department recognized 150 student-athletes for achieving a 3.2 grade point average at the 16th annual Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Luncheon here Wednesday. To be eligible for the honor, student-athletes must have a cumulative 3.2 grade point average or have posted a 3.2 GPA during the last two semesters.
In all, approximately 45 percent of USU's student-athletes earned a 3.2 GPA to qualify for the awards.
The top honorees during the luncheon was volleyball player Rebecca Anderson, and track athletes Tyler Ellis and Alison Taylor who were recognized as the Joe E. Whitesides Award recipients. It is the first time in the 54-year history of the award that three student-athletes have been honored.
Anderson, a senior from Logan, Utah (Logan HS) posted a 3.94 grade-point average while majoring in statistics. As a three-year letterwinner on the volleyball team, she appeared in 71 matches and earned academic all-Western Athletic Conference honors three times, including academic all-district honors twice.
Ellis, a senior from San Diego, Calif. (Rancho Bernardo HS) carries a 3.89 GPA and is majoring in pre-physical therapy. During his two years of competition on the track team, he earned second-team all-WAC honors in 2008 as he finished fifth in the shot put at the WAC Indoor Championships, and academic all-WAC honors twice.
Taylor, a senior from Salt Lake City, Utah (Skyline HS) has a 3.89 GPA while majoring in biology. As a member of the cross country and track teams, she helped Utah State win the 2008 WAC Cross Country Championship, and at the 2009 WAC Indoor Championships she was a member of the winning medley relay team. Taylor is also a three-time academic all-WAC honoree.
All three Joe E. Whitesides Award recipients will graduate from Utah State this spring with bachelor degrees.
Utah State also handed out team honors as the women's tennis team was named the top academic team with less than 20 members, while the women's track team was the top academic team with more than 20 members, and men's track was the most improved academic team.
Gary Wilkinson, who is a senior on the men's basketball team, received the Aggie Achievement Award for overcoming life challenges and personal adversity to ultimately excel as a student-athlete and obtain a high level of academic achievement at Utah State University.
Head Utah State Athletic Trainer Dale Mildenberger and Gary Stevens, who is the vice president of Spindler Construction, were presented the Meet The Challenge Award for their hard work and dedication to the Jim and Carol Laub Athletics-Academics Complex, and Morgan Summers was given the Outstanding Tutor Award for her work with USU's student-athletes.
The Whitesides honors started in 1953 by former USU athlete, coach and athletics director Joe E. Whitesides.
2009 UTAH STATE WHITESIDES SPECIAL HONORSWhitesides Winner - Rebecca Anderson (Volleyball), Tyler Ellis (Men's Track), Alison Taylor (Women's Track)Meet The Challenge - Dale Mildenberger and Gary StevensAggie Achievement Award - Gary WilkinsonOutstanding Tutor - Morgan Summers
Top Teams (20-plus members)1. Women's Track2. Women's Soccer3. Men's Track
Top Teams (less than 20 members)1. Women's Cross Country2. Men's Cross Country3. Women's Tennis
Most Improved Teams1. Men's Cross Country2. Men's Basketball3. Softball
2009 UTAH STATE WHITESIDES HONOREESJon. M. Huntsman School of BusinessKatie Astle, VolleyballSteven Atkinson, Men's Track & FieldLindsey Benson, SoftballMichael Bills, Men's Track & FieldBlake Bolen, Men's Track & FieldJames Brindley, FootballBrandon Broadhead, GolfAdrian Bybee, FootballBen Calderwood, FootballAlice Coddington, Women's BasketballDevin Daniels, GolfChase Griffiths, FootballHeather Heinrich, GymnasticsBrady Jardine, Men's BasketballNicole Johnson, Women's BasketballTyler Labrum, GolfLeeAnn Palo, Women's BasketballAlexandra Marsh-Gentry, SoccerJordan McMurray, Men's Track & FieldEric Moats, FootballBrandon Nielsen, Men's TennisCasey Parker, Men's Track & FieldSydne Porter, SoccerAngelina Rawls, SoftballMarissa Sanchez, SoccerPatrick Scales, FootballHailey Swenson, Women's TennisThad Truman, GolfChris Ulinski, Football
College of ScienceRebecca Anderson, VolleyballCortnie Broadus, Women's Track & FieldMaria Halton, Women's Track & FieldErica Huelsmann, GymnasticsSpela Hus, Women's Track & FieldJohn Johnson, Men's Track & FieldMolli Merrill, SoccerDusty Ott, Men's Track 7 FieldNicole Rupp, SoftballDanielle Shorts, SoccerAlison Taylor, Women's Track & Field
College of EngineeringSam Hawkins, Men's Track & FieldRuth Hilton, Women's Track & Field
College of Education & Human ServicesJustine Baugh, Women's Track & FieldAlan Bishop, FootballRayna Bradshaw, SoftballAshlee Cannon, Women's Track & FieldJessie Chugg, Women's Track & FieldCandice Clark, SoccerKira Datwyler, Women's Track & FieldShantell Durrant, VolleyballTyler Ellis, Men's Track & FieldNicole Felley, GymnasticsJosh Flores, FootballKaylene Gastaldi, Women's Track & FieldVanessa Gledhill, Women's Track & FieldJared Glenn, Men's Track & FieldChance Godderidge, GolfSonia Grabowska, Women's Track & FieldKate Greenough, SoftballNnamdi Gwacham, FootballBlake Hadfield, Men's Track & FieldKali Hamby, Women's Track & FieldLauren Hansen, SoccerJeanine Hernandez, SoftballBrittni Hopkin, Women's Track & FieldStacey Howard, Women's BasketballJacob Hutton, FootballWashington Igboeli, FootballBrad Jakel, FootballKatelyn Jensen, Women's Track & FieldMegan Johnson, SoccerKimiko Kamo, Women's Track & FieldShanda Larsen, VolleyballKrista Larson, Women's Track & FieldMarie Livingston, Women's TennisJacob Mabey, Men's Track & FieldBryan Marchant, Men's TennisChristine Morrill, VolleyballOtis Nelson, FootballShanna Nielsen, Women's Track & FieldKiersten Nilsson, SoccerAna Pares, Women's BasketballEmily Reilly, SoftballErin Salmon, SoccerKandace Shoell, Women's Track & FieldStefani Shiozaki, SoccerClinton Silcock, Men's Track & FieldLindsey Smart, SoccerJohn Strang, Men's Track & FieldErin Stratton, Women's Track & FieldBridgette Strickland, Women's TennisSummer Tillotson, SoccerShasta Tyteca, SoftballTai Wesley, Men's BasketballLori Wilson, VolleyballLisa Willardson, Soccer
UniversityJordan Barlow, Men's TennisBrittney Boyack, SoccerLiran Braun, Men's TennisDominique Cooks, Men's BasketballRachel Flessner, GymnasticsJordan Glass, FootballJervon Graves, FootballTodd Griffith, Men's Track & FieldAimee Haertel, Women's Track & FieldSkyler Halford, Men's BasketballMadison Jensen, Women's Track & FieldTyler Killpack, Men's Track & FieldMitchel Lancaster, Men's Track & FieldCarla Limon, Women's TennisElizabeth McArthur, VolleyballCache Morgan, FootballTaylor Perry, Women's TennisMegan Rhoads, SoccerAlexis Venable, SoccerJon Wilson, Football
College of Humanities, Arts and Social SciencesChelsea Burns, Women's BasketballCamille Fehlberg, Women's Track & FieldKarlie Fitzgerald, Women's Track & FieldMatt Formisano, Men's BasketballAli Griffin-Godfrey, SoccerHeather Hillier, VolleyballKris Hymas, VolleyballCamarie Jones, SoftballNathan Lloyd, Men's Track & FieldAlyssa Lowry, SoccerDevin Markle, GymnasticsBrooke McNaughton, Women's Track & FieldTyler Newbold, Men's BasketballMelissa Osterloh, VolleyballKelsie Packham, Women's Track & FieldTanner Richins, FootballHeidi Saville, Women's Track & FieldRichard Sirju, Men's BasketballSteven Strickland, Men's Track & FieldBritney Watts, Women's TennisGary Wilkinson, Men's BasketballHeath Wing, Men's Track & Field
College of AgricultureJennifer Day, Women's Track & FieldHeidi Hopkins, Women's Track & Field
College of Natural ResourcesDaniel Howell, Men's Track & FieldKimberly Quinn, Women's Track & FieldCasey Snider, Men's Track & FieldChalese West, Women's Track & Field
School of Graduate StudiesCaroline Berry, Women's Track & FieldMichael Green, FootballDerek Hoke, FootballAshley Johnson, Women's Track & FieldLydia Whitehead, Women's Basketball
