MIT Closes Successful Year at 26th Annual Celebration of Student-Athlete Excellence
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Last night, the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation capped another terrific year as it announced its end-of-the-year award winners at the 26th Annual Celebration of Student-Athlete Excellence. Senior water polo player Columbus Leonard (Mill Valley, Calif.) provided one of the evening's top highlights as the student guest speaker.
Leonard along with classmate Kameron Klauber (Carlsbad, Calif.) were honored with the Institute's athlete of the year awards while senior Noel Hollingsworth (Salt Lake City, Utah) and juniors Lauren Kuntz (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Molly McShane (Lake Bluff, Ill.) earned the coveted Malcolm G, Kispert Awards as MIT's top scholar-athletes.
A four-year starter in net, Leonard graduates as the Institute record-holder for saves in a game (21) and career saves (805). In an eight-team conference where six schools are Division I, he collected three all-conference awards and was recognized as the best goalie in the league with first team all-conference honors the past two seasons. Last year he was a first team Capital One Academic All-District selection and earned honorable mention All-America accolades.
As a sophomore, Klauber decided to join the field hockey team despite never having played the sport before. At the conclusion of her senior year, she broke five MIT field hockey records and led the country in assists per game. This past season, Klauber collected first-team All-America honors, was voted the New England East Regional Player of the Year, and earned NEWMAC Athlete of the Year accolades. She was instrumental in leading the Engineers to their second NEWMAC championship in three years and their first appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
In leading the men's basketball team to its first NCAA Final Four appearance and third NEWMAC Championship in four years, Hollingsworth received a pair of second team all-region honors. Carrying a 4.5 GPA while majoring in electrical engineering and computer science with a concentration in engineering, Hollingsworth was voted to the Capital One Academic All-America second team.
Kuntz is a two-time All-America honoree in the pole vault, earning a sixth-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship and a fourth-place ranking at the national outdoor meet that spring. She has a perfect 5.0 GPA while majoring in mechanical engineering and physics. Kuntz was awarded the Elite 89 Award at this past NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championship, an award given to the athlete with the highest GPA competing at the national championship.
McShane is the only player in history of the field hockey team to receive All-America honors three years in a row. A three-time NEWMAC all-conference selection, she scored the tying goal in this year's NEWMAC Championship with 81 seconds left that forced overtime and led to the Engineers' second title in three years. Carrying a 4.9 GPA in mechanical engineering, she was voted to the Capital One Academic All-America third team. McShane is the president of the MIT chapter of Alpha Phi, a residential tutor for the Women's Technology Program, and was inducted into the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society.
2012 Celebration of Student-Athlete Excellence Award Winners
THE HOWARD W. JOHNSON AWARD - Presented
annually to the male senior athlete of the year.
- Columbus Leonard, Water Polo
THE BETSY SCHUMACKER MIT WOMAN ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
AWARD - Presented annually for excellence in athletic
competition by a female undergraduate.
- Kameron Klauber, Field Hockey
THE MALCOM G. KISPERT AWARDS - Presented
annually to the male and female scholar/athletes of the year.
- Noel Hollingsworth, Basketball
- Lauren Kuntz, Track and Field
- Molly McShane, Field Hockey/Lacrosse
THE PEWTER BOWL AWARD - Presented annually
to the female senior who has shown the highest qualities of
inspiration and leadership in contributing to women's
athletics.
- Maggie Lloyd, Cross Country/Track and
Field
THE ADMIRAL EDWARD L. COCHRANE AWARD -
Presented annually to a male senior who has shown the highest
qualities of humility, leadership and inspiration in
intercollegiate athletics.
- Dan McCue, Basketball
THE PHILLIP A. TRUSSELL PRIZE - Given to a
male and female undergraduate student-athlete who demonstrate
skill, sportsmanship and levity.
- Benson George, Volleyball
- Will Tashman, Basketball
- Sharon Hao, Volleyball/Basketball
THE VARSITY CLUB AWARDS - Given to the
outstanding male and female freshmen athletes of the year.
- Justin Wallace, Football
- Emmie Ryan, Swimming and Diving
SAAC SUPERIOR SERVICE AWARD
- "Superfans" Eric del Castillo and Jared
Forman
2011-12 Team MVP Recipients
| Baseball: Creed Mangrum | Women's Sailing: Katii Gullick, Iris Xu |
| Men's Basketball: Mitchell Kates | Men's Soccer: Zach Kabelac |
| Women's Basketball: Mari Kordell | Women's Soccer: Meghan Wright |
| Men's Heavyweight Crew: Andrew Yang | Softball: Ellie Fodor |
| Men's Lightweight Crew: Stephen Freiberg | Squash: Peter Riley |
| Women's Lightweight Crew: Lauren Ayers, Katie Inman | Men's Swimming and Diving: Wyatt Ubellacker |
| Women's Openweight Crew: Katelyn Wolfenberger | Women's Swimming and Diving: Emmie Ryan |
| Men's Cross Country: Dan Harper | Men's Tennis: Edwin Zhang |
| Women's Cross Country: Brooke Johnson | Women's Tennis: Anastasia Vishnevetsky |
| Men's Fencing: Daniel Levine | Men's Indoor Track and Field: CK Umachi |
| Women's Fencing: Kirsten Hessler | Men's Outdoor Track and Field: Tyler Singer-Clark |
| Field Hockey: Molly McShane | Women's Indoor Track and Field: Jamie Simmons |
| Football: Justin Wallace | Women's Outdoor Track and Field: Jamie Simmons |
| Men's Lacrosse: Bryan Beller | Men's Volleyball: Matt Hohenberger |
| Women's Lacrosse: Katie Kauffman | Women's Volleyball: Katie Spielbauer |
| Rifle: Nigel Kojimoto | Water Polo: Craig Cheney, Columbus Leonard |
| Coed Sailing: Andrew Sommer, Steph Tong |