Cleveland State's Luginbuhl, UW-Milwaukee's Nygren Receive Coleman Medal of Honor
June 28, 2006
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Softball pitcher Grace Luginbuhl of Cleveland State University and distance runner Josh Nygren from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have been named the recipients of the 2005-06 Horizon League Cecil N. Coleman Medal of Honor.
The Horizon League's highest individual honor, the Coleman Award is presented annually to the Horizon League's top male and female student-athletes who best exemplify the dignity and high purpose of the Horizon League and its membership.The individuals demonstrate outstanding achievement in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities. Candidates must be a senior who has exhausted his/her eligibility and was a participant on the varsity level in a League-sponsored sport. In addition, nominees must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 on a 4.00 scale, or its equivalent.
"We are exceptionally proud of what Grace and Josh have accomplished in their collegiate careers as individuals and as members of successful teams," said Horizon League Commissioner Jon LeCrone. "While athletes so often get praised for their work on the court or on the field, the Coleman Award also recognizes athletes for their character and tireless efforts in the classroom and community. These two individuals exemplify what our four platforms are all about, and we wish them well in their future endeavors."
Luginbuhl led the CSU softball team to a 38-15 overall record and second-place finish (14-7) in the League during the regular season. She was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season and also earned Second-Team All-Great Lakes Region honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for the second year in a row.
Luginbuhl topped the League statistical charts with her 23 victories (including seven shutouts among 25 complete games) and 226 innings pitched, while her 224 strikeouts were second-best in the circuit this year and ninth in loop history. The senior right-hander concluded her collegiate career with 659 strikeouts---ninth in League history---while her 716 innings pitched and 59 victories are among the League's all-time top ten in those respective categories.
The three-time First-Team All-League choice also hit .302 with 30 runs scored and 16 runs batted in this year, while her 68 career stolen bases are the seventh-most in League history.
The Viking ace earned First-Team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors for her efforts on the field and in the classroom, where she maintained a 3.72 grade-point average as a chemical engineering major. She was a member of the Dean's List all eight semesters at CSU, graduated magna cum laude last month and is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In the community, she has worked with the Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities' SOAR! program, and also participated in a clinic for the Avon Challenger Youth Baseball League. She is the first Cleveland State student-athlete to receive the Coleman Medal of Honor since swimming and diving standout Dmitri Ponomarev in 1998-99.
"Grace is the epitome of what the Coleman Medal stands for. She is a winner in everything that she does, be it academics, athletics or life in general, and I am proud that she has represented Cleveland State for the last four years," said Cleveland State athletic director Lee Reed.
"It is only fitting that Grace receives the Coleman Medal because she is truly a special student-athlete," Vikings softball coach Julie Jones added. "Her hard work and dedication towards making the Viking softball program a winner and her achievements in the classroom have only been surpassed by her desire to be a good teammate."
Nygren was a member of the UW-Milwaukee teams which won League championships in both indoor and outdoor men's track and field for each of the last three years. Individually, he won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2006 League Outdoor Championships and finished 17th at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in the same event. Nygren also finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at both League summits and added a fifth-place showing in the 3,000 meters at the indoor gathering after winning that event in 2005. In addition, his sixth-place performance at the 2005 Horizon League Cross Country Championships earned First-Team All-League recognition in that sport for the second year in a row. Nygren served as captain of the Panther cross country team for the past three years and carried the same duties for the UWM track and field distance team since 2004. His athletic achievements also include second-place certificates in the steeplechase in both 2004 and 2005 plus the 500 meters at the 2004 League outdoor meet.
In the classroom, Nygren compiled a 3.930 grade-point average, majoring in history and political science. He was an eight-time honoree on the Dean's Honor List at UWM, and owns five Academic All-Horizon League citations. He earned UWM's Faculty Athletics Representative Award---recognizing the highest GPA on his team---in each of the last three years and was a four-time UWM Scholar-Athlete with Distinction.
Outside the competitve arena, Nygren served as a member of the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the past two years and also participated in several community service projects, including Toys for Tots and the East Side Neighborhood Clean-Up. Additionally, he is a member of Campus Crusade for Christ, the Honors College Committee and the UWM College Republicans.
"We are very excited for Josh and proud of all he has accomplished," UW-Milwaukee athletic director
Bud Haidet
explained. "Over the years, a number of our student-athletes have set very high standards, both athletically and academically, and Josh has done a remarkable job of meeting and exceeding those standards. His work in the classroom has been exemplary, his contributions to our campus and community noteworthy and his accomplishments on the athletic field extraordinary. This is a very well-deserved honor."
"For Josh, this is a great way of summing up his time here," UWM track and field/cross country coach Pete Corfeld added. "He is an outstanding individual who has succeeded in track, cross country and the classroom. Wherever he goes from here, he will have an impact on all those around him. It's nice to see a quality student-athlete like Josh receive an honor like this to cap his collegiate career."
Nygren follows in the footsteps of UW-Milwaukee's Antou Jallow (soccer), who won the men's Coleman Medal of Honor last year. He is the sixth Panther to win the Coleman Medal of Honor since 1997-98.
Each Horizon League institution had the opportunity to nominate a male and female student-athlete. The other nominees were Will Turner (golf) and Kate Lord (soccer) from Butler University; Jay Tee (tennis) from Cleveland State; Mead Goedert (cross country/track and field) and Caitie Goddard (basketball) from the University of Detroit Mercy; LeRoy Stevens (swimming) and Sara O'Mara (track and field) from the University of Illinois at Chicago; Joe Nierzwicki (soccer) and Trish Oberhaus (softball) of Loyola University Chicago; Adam Ben-Zikri (soccer) and Sarah Oligney (soccer) from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; Nichole Drummond (basketball) from UW-Milwaukee; Josh Burke (cross country/track and field) and Michelle Sarmiento (soccer) of Wright State University; plus Brandon Caipen (baseball) and Abby Ettenhofer (volleyball) from Youngstown State University.
Thirteen of the 18 nominees completed their careers with GPAs of 3.70 or higher, including five of 3.90 and above.
Note: A complete list of the Coleman Medal of Honor winners can be found on the PDF version of this release.
Comprised of nine public and private institutions of higher learning, the Horizon League is an NCAA Division I athletics conference that sponsors 19 intercollegiate championship sports and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The League and its member institutions aspire to teach young people, through athletic competition, the value of learning, service to others and personal responsibility.
