Horizon League Announces 2009-10 Cecil N. Coleman Award Winners
INDIANAPOLIS -- Milwaukee swimmer Jeremy Waldhart (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) and women’s soccer standout Jackie Kondratko (Granger, Ind./Penn) of Valparaiso have been named the recipients of the Horizon League’s 2009-10 Cecil N. Coleman Medal of Honor, Commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone announced Thursday (July 1).
The Horizon League’s highest individual honor, the Coleman Award is presented annually to the League’s top male and female student-athletes who best exemplify the dignity and high purpose of the League and its membership. The individuals demonstrate outstanding achievement in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities. Candidates must be seniors who have exhausted their eligibility and were participants 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 Jeremy and Jackie have accomplished in their collegiate careers as individuals and as members of successful teams,” said LeCrone. “While student-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.”
Waldhart becomes the eighth Panther all-time to garner the Coleman Award and the sixth male recipient. In the last six years, UWM male student-athletes have collected four honors, including a string of three straight from 2005-07. The senior was a two-time captain of the Milwaukee men’s swimming and diving program, leading his squad to a Horizon League championship in 2010. He holds six Panther swimming records and two Klotsche Natatorium Pool records. Waldhart has qualified for and competed in the 2009 U.S. Open Championships and the 2009 USA AT&T Short Course National Championships. The West Bend, Wis., native has been honored with the Milwaukee Swimming and Diving Coach’s Award all four years of his collegiate career and earned the prestigious Panther Senior Athlete Award at the annual Student-Athlete Awards reception.
The Pre-Med Biology graduate was recently named a member of the 2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America At-Large Men’s Team, the only Horizon League student-athlete to do so. He is a three-time winner of the UWM FAR Award, given annually to the individual with the highest G.P.A on the swimming and diving team. Waldhart has also been honored with the New Direction Scholarship for UWM Letters and Sciences and the Oscar and Augusta Schlegle Academic/Community Scholarship. The eight-time dean’s list honoree plans to attend Medical School at Michigan State this fall for Osteopathic Medicine.
“Jeremy is an outstanding individual whom I couldn’t be more happy for in receiving this honor,” said UWM swim coach Erica Janssen. “He has brought the entire team to a new level over his 4 year career at Milwaukee. His leadership as a captain and as a talented swimmer helped the men win their first championship in 10 years. He is going to continue making huge waves in his life as he moves on from college swimming to medical school this fall.”
Along with being a three-year SAAC member and a representative on the NCAA Recertification Student Committee, Waldhart has spent numerous hours volunteering his time in the community. He has assisted the Walkers Point Community Clinic as a social worker and a Spanish translator and communicator. Waldhart volunteers as a UWM Athletic Department tutor and has participated in the organizing of the Panther Prowl Run all four years.
Kondratko becomes the first Crusader to earn the Coleman Award in school history since Valpo’s inception into the Horizon League in 2007. The senior led Valpo in goals scored in 2008 and 2009 and finished her career as the seventh-highest scorer in school history. The 2009 team captain tied a single-season record for match-winning goals with four while piloting her squad to the Horizon League Championship game.
Off the field, Kondratko shined just as bright, if not brighter. She was named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American First Team, the only Horizon League senior to receive first-team honors this past season. On campus she earned several honors including the SAAC Female Athlete of the Year, the Rebecca D. Carter Memorial Award and the 2010 Alumni Association Distinguished Student Award for the College of Engineering, among many other honors and distinctions. The Mechanical Engineering graduate even had a paper published in the 2010 International Symposium on Bio- and Medical Informatics and Cybernetics titled A Point Vibration Therapy Device for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum.
“I am excited for Jackie being presented the Coleman Award,” said Valparaiso women’s soccer coach John Marovich. “Our women’s soccer program’s mission through our University is to develop strong, confident and powerful women ready to accomplish amazing things. Ms. Kondratko is a fantastic example of this by her commitment to being a champion in the Classroom, Competition and Community. The respect given to her from her coaches, administrators, professors, teammates, opponents and peers has been earned from her consistent display of character, leadership and outgoing personality over her career. Today, I am pleased she is being recognized for these actions and I am honored she is a Valparaiso University Alumnus.”
The October 2009 Horizon League Scholar Athlete of the Month took part in numerous extracurricular activities during her tenure at Valpo. She served two years with SAAC and one year as the Senior Class Gift Chair for the Senior Planning Council. Her time with Tau Beta Pi (engineering honor society) was spent as Vice President as she planned the College of Engineering banquet. Kondratko also served as Treasurer and Vice President (Scholarship Chair) for Chi Omega and even tutored an elementary school student when she was home from school.
“Jackie epitomizes what it means to be a student-athlete,” said Valparaiso Athletic Director Mark LaBarbera. “She has excelled on the soccer field and in her engineering classes. She is a leader on campus and in the community. We are very proud of all her accomplishments.”
