WNCC Athletic department announces 2006-07 award winners

To view a lot of the photos from the evening, go to the Athletic Banquet page at the WNCC Athletic website at www.wncc.net/orgs/sports/2007athleticbanquet.htm

Western Nebraska Community College sophomores CJ Hampton and Bianca Rivera, and freshman Kendra Schauermann earned the top awards at the Cougar athletic banquet last week.

Schauerman, from Windsor, Colo., was given the Cougar Award, which recognizes an athlete that excels in and outside the sports arena. Nominations for this award were accepted from the entire college and not just the athletic department.

Rivera, of Puerto Rico, and Hampton, of Chicago, earned male and female most valuable awards. Rivera, who will be attending Creighton University next season, helped the volleyball team to the a second place finish at the national tournament and a 56-2 record. Athletic director Jennifer Pedersen described Rivera as a crowd favorite with her amazing vertical jump in presenting her the Female MVP Award.

Hampton was also an outstanding individual for the men’s basketball team. Hampton was among Region IX’s leaders in scoring, 3-point shooting and free throw shooting. Hampton came to WNCC this season after transferring from Northeast Community College two years ago, and helped this year’s basketball team win the East sub-region and host the Region IX tournament to help him earn the Male MVP Award.

WNCC also presented its Patron of the Year award to Platte Valley Companies and president Hod Kosman.

Each team also presented their MVP and Sportsmanship awards. The winners include:

Baseball – MVP, Richie Stewart of Lincoln, Neb., and Sportsmanship, Pedro Suarez of Miami.

Men’s Basketball – MVP, Ricardo De Bem of Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, and Sportsmanship, Chance Wallesen of Bridgeport.

Women’s Basketball – MVP, Tiara Scott of Denver, and Sportsmanship, Kiki Taylor of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Men’s Soccer – MVP, Cade Mulloy, of Angora, Neb., and Sportsmanship, David Thurow, of Angora, Neb.

Women’s Soccer – MVP, Breanne Perkes, of Plain City, Utah, and Sportsmanship, Nancy Boyack, of Gering, Neb.

Volleyball – MVP, Soriana Pacheco, of Turmero, Venezuela, and Sportsmanship, Stacie Meisner, of Gering, Neb.

Softball – MVP – Kara Ryman of Denver, and Sportsmanship, Jessica Pexton of Douglas, Wyo.

Academic honors were also presented, with the softball team picking up its third straight Highest Team GPA Award. Meisner earned a second honor, collecting the Female Highest GPA Award, while Drew Oesterle, of Austin, Minn., won the Male Highest GPA Award.

Other awards given out were participation medals for all the athletes of the seven teams, as well as the student athletic trainers. Also, the volleyball team received plagues and runner-up championship rings for this Region IX championship season.