The Athletic Department is proud to announce that two of our student-athletes were recipients of two of Lakeland Community College’s 2009 OUTSTANDING STUDENT AWARDS.
The Athletic Department announced their Male and Female Student Athletes of the Year at their awards banquet held on May 5, 2009. Those nominated for Student Athlete of the Year displayed leadership, character and made a significant contribution to their team. The nominees included: Sonya Dominick, Volleyball; Caprita Bell, Basketball; Samantha Dean, Softball; Kwesi Peterson, Soccer; Nate Barnes, Basketball and Brian Laznik, Baseball.
Freshman softball player Samantha Dean was named the 2009 Female Athlete of the Year. Coach Judy Sargent says that she has never nominated a freshman for this award until this year. Samantha is a former PSEO student who has an overall GPA of 3.35. On the field she led the Lakers in several offensive categories including: total hits (31), on base percentage (.411), batting average (.323) and walks (15). She also had 14 stolen bases and 9 RBI. Sargent says that Samantha is a strong and intelligent infielder who leads by example. Post season conference and other awards have not yet been announced for softball.
Sophomore soccer player Kwesi Peterson was named the 2009 Male Athlete of the Year. Kwesi’s list of awards continues to grow, even as the academic year draws to a close, so we won’t list them all. Here are a few highlights. Statistically, this team captain scored 14 goals and had 5 assists, while playing most of the season in the defensive back-four. In addition to several in-season all-tournament honors, his OCCAC awards included First Team OCCAC, Best Defensive Player and Conference MVP. He was named to the Region XII First Team and was the top ranked player in Region XII. Kwesi was a First Team ALL NORTH Region and was a Second Team NJCAA All-American and First Team NSCAA All-American. Kwesi is widely known on campus for his welcoming smile and friendly demeanor. His leadership on the field, at work in Lakeland’s Food Services Department and in the classroom is recognized and admired by many. He will continue his academic and soccer career at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Athletic Department also awarded two Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards to two athletes who demonstrated outstanding academic progress, significant contributions to their team, leadership and character. The recipients of those awards were both members of our soccer team: Damir Kuduzovic and Luke McCullagh who had overall GPAs of 3.85 and 3.83 respectively.
The Athletic Department also recognized six sophomores who carried a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above through the fall semester. Those student athletes were: William Couchenour, Baseball; Jennifer Graham, Softball; Damir Kuduzovic, Luke McCullagh, Kwesi Peterson and John D’Antonio, Soccer.