Each year the St. Catherine University athletics department holds a student-athlete awards banquet to recognize student-athlete and program achievements from throughout the year. And this year the 2013 Wildcat Awards – which will be held Sunday, May 19 at 6:30 p.m. for all Wildcat student-athletes – will have a little bit different feel.
Not only will this year's event recognize letter winners, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Honors and department award winners, but finalists have been announced for the first-time for the top two athletic awards – the McCahill Athlete of the Year award and Rookie of the Year award.
The McCahill honor is given to the student-athlete who exemplifies athletic achievement from the past year as well as academic success, team leadership and community involvement. This year's finalists include
Victoria Bravo (Tucson, Ariz.) from tennis,
Michaela Burroughs (Waterloo, Neb.) from tennis and
Steffanie Jurusik (Starkville, Miss.) from swimming and diving.
The Rookie of the Year goes to a student-athlete who competed at the collegiate level for the first time this year and exemplifies athletic achievement as well as academic success, team leadership and community involvement. This year's finalists include
Haley French Krahn (Rochester, Minn.) of swimming and diving,
Lindsey Klein (Shoreview, Minn.) of softball and
Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif) of soccer.
The two winners, along with the Sheila Brown Wildcat Award and Brady Williams Spirit Award, will be announced at the ceremony.
The Sheila Brown Wildcat Award recognizes a student-athlete(s) who has made long-term contributions to the athletic program and consistently exhibits a combination of athleticism, scholarship, dedication, sportsmanship and leadership.
The Brady Williams Spirit Award honors a student, faculty, staff or community member who ahs supported the entire athletic program.
Information about each of the Athlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year finalists is listed below.
2013 Athlete of the Year Finalists
Victoria Bravo – Tennis (Jr., Tucson, Ariz.)
In her first season as a Wildcat, Bravo helped lead the team to its first MIAC regular season championship in program history and a perfect 10-0 league record. Bravo finished the season as the top women's singles player in the MIAC with a perfect 10-0 record at No. 1 singles. In non-conference contests, Bravo lost just twice to top-ranked West Region players and one of whom was ranked No. 3 nationally at the time. She also went 9-1 in MIAC doubles matches and 14-3 overall – earning her MIAC All-Conference honors in both singles and doubles play. She was also an MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week.
Michaela Burroughs – Tennis (Sr., Waterloo, Neb.)
As senior captain of the Wildcat tennis team, Burroughs helped the team to its historic season and earned the top MIAC women's tennis award – the Chris Evert Award – and All-Conference honors for her spectacular singles and doubles play. Burroughs went 7-3 in MIAC singles matches at the No. 2 spot and 12-4 at No. 2 doubles. In MIAC doubles matches, she was 9-1 and finishes her career fifth all-time in doubles wins (45-25). She also earned the Thomas More Award for leadership at last week's St. Catherine Honors and Awards event.
Steffanie Jurusik – Swimming and Diving (Sr., Starkville, Miss.)
Jurusik leaves the Wildcat swimming and diving program with ten school records and two MIAC titles in two different events. She made the most of her senior season as she broke the MIAC record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.92 to take first. She also earned All-Conference honors with a third-place finish in the 400 IM and finished fifth in the 200 butterfly – an event she began swimming collegiately for the first time this year. Jurusik also broke the meet and pool record in the 200 IM at the University of St. Thomas to help her earn MIAC Athelte-of-the-Week honors.
2013 Rookie of the Year Finalists
In her rookie season with the Wildcat swimming and diving team, French Krahn made an impact early on as she finished first in nine individual events this season and broke 31-year-old school records in the 1000 and 1650 yard freestyle events. At the MIAC Championships, she swam an 18:20.41 in the 1650 to finish 11th in the talented field. French Krahn also holds the second-fastest 500 freestlye time in St. Kate's history and the third-best in the 100 breaststroke.
Lindsey Klein – Softball (Fy., Shoreview, Minn.)
Klein finished her rookie season pitching for the Wildcat softball team with the fifth-best earned run average (ERA) among all MIAC pitchers (2.96 overall, 1.67 conference games). After she led the Wildcats to their first sweep of Gustavus Adolphus College in program history with back-to-back shutouts, Klein was named the MIAC Pitcher-of-the-Week. Klein finished eighth in the MIAC in strikeouts (78), picked up eight wins and threw 10 complete games.
Elly Leyva – Soccer (Fy., San Jacinto, Calif.)
Leyva helped spark a huge turnaround for the Wildcat soccer team in 2012 as the team improved from 1-17 in 2011 to 9-8 – which ties the most wins in St. Kate's history since joining the MIAC. Leyva finished her rookie season second on the team in points (13) and 12th in the MIAC. She scored three game-winning goals, including the lone goal in the Wildcats 1-0 victory over Carleton College for the first time in program history. Her five goals were also tied for 14th in the MIAC.
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