FAIRBANKS – Freshman women's skier and runner
Nichole Bathe (Madison, Wis./Elementary Education) and sophomore shooter
Tim Sherry (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mechanical Engineering) were named the Alaska Nanooks' Most Outstanding Athletes as the department of athletics celebrated the 2013-14 year at its annual All-Sports Awards Banquet Friday night at the Westmark Hotel.
Bathe earned the top female honor after bursting on to the scene as a rookie. She was a First Team All-American at the NCAA Championships after placing fourth in the 5-kilometer classic and later finished 13th in the 15K mass start skate.
Immediately after she returned to the states from her competition at the World Junior Championships in Italy, Bathe captured the NCAA Central Region championship in the 5K classic and was also All-Region with an eight-place finish in the 10K mass start event. She was the top American finisher and third-place overall in the classic sprint race at the United States National Championships while also taking third in the College Cup women's standings at U.S. Nationals.
"I definitely wasn't expecting it at all and is an honor to have received it," Bathe said following the banquet. "My freshman year was a really good one for me. I didn't expect it to go the way it did but am happy and grateful it did and I'm hoping next year will be even better."
Sherry captured his first national championship as a sophomore by winning the individual final in the smallbore competition at the 2014 NCAA Championships. He also qualified for the final the next day in the air rifle discipline and placed seventh. Following the championships, Sherry was named as one of the best shooters in college rifle, being named NRA First Team All-American in both smallbore and air rifle while also being named a CRCA First Team All-American.
As a rookie, Sherry did not make the travel team to the NCAA Championships but after a summer of training, he moved up on the depth chart, finishing his second season with the second-highest smallbore average in the country and the highest air gun average on the team. After helping the Nanooks to a national runner-up finish, he competed at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup USA in Fort Benning, Ga., and fired the 12th-best score in the world in the 50-meter, three-position, 120-shot match.
"It definitely means a lot," Sherry said of being named the top male athlete in the department. "There were a lot of really good performances by everyone, so it's a great honor to be recognized for the year I had."
The Nanook Athletics Advisory Committee Scholar-Athletes of the Year were awarded to volleyball senior
Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) and men's basketball senior
Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration).
The NAAC Scholar-Athletes were selected based on a combination of their academic and athletic achievements as well as their on- and off-campus leadership and activities, community service and character (sportsmanship, leadership, composure and self-control).
Hockey sophomore
Alec Hajdukovich (Fairbanks, Alaska/Business Administration) was named Bart LeBon Humanitarian of the Year after playing an integral role in the community, donating much of his time to community engagement opportunities and following in the footsteps of former hockey player,
Kaare Odegard (2009-13), taking on the task of working first-hand with the "With All Your Heart" foundation.
Senior men's skier
Max Olex (Aalen, Germany/Business Administration) was presented with the Harris Shelton Spirit of Competition award. Olex overcame a broken scapula back in November but did not let that hinder him from achieving great results during the ski season. He was not discouraged by not-so-great results early on in the season and moved his way up into capturing the final spot for the NCAA Championships. After falling in his first race at the NCAA Championships, Olex battled from the back of the pack to finish 21st. Two days later, he did the unthinkable, as he not only earned All-America status but was the national runner-up in the 20-kilometer mass start free technique event.
A new award this year, the Joe Tremarello Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Award was given to rifle freshman
Sagen Maddalena (Groveland, Calif./Natural Resource Management). Maddalena only discovered collegiate shooting last year and showed up in Fairbanks looking to walk on to the team. After being given a spot on the roster, she was unfortunately deemed ineligible for her true freshman year due to NCAA issues. Even though she couldn't compete, she logged more training hours than anyone else on the team and maintained a 3.83 grade-point average in the process. She had the utmost respect for all her teammates and her teammates shared the sentiment. Maddalena was the ultimate supporter of Alaska Rifle being that she couldn't shoot with them, being in the seats at the range for every single one of her teammates, often for more than eight hours and all four relays.
Dr. Gary R. Gray, director of athletics for the Nanooks, handed out honors to the top staff member and coach in the department.
Aelin Allegood, assistant athletic director for marketing, was honored as Staff Member of the Year after not only improving the department's corporate partnerships but also reviving the Junior Nanooks Club with hundreds of new members.
Head coach
Scott Lemley of the Alaska swimming program was named Coach of the Year after leading the Nanooks to their best-ever finish at the conference and national level. He coached the team to a third-place finish at the Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference Championships, in which they broke one meet record and claimed five PCSC titles after winning just three in the previous eight seasons. At the NCAA Championships, the Nanooks finished in 14th place as the six qualifying swimmers scored in nine different events, resulting in a combined 24 All-America accolades.
Gray also presented student
Kurtis Gosney with the Owen Tinker Fan of the Year award. Gosney served as the UAF Sun Star's beat reporter for athletics this past year but prior to coming to every event as a writer and photographer, he was attending events regularly as a fan. He never asked for anything in return and provided not only great coverage on campus but exerts a lot of energy and shows the true meaning of school spirit at Nanooks' home events.
Each team's Dr. William Wood Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Most Valuable Player were submitted by its coaches and this year's winners included:
Men's Basketball: Stefan Tica (Scholar-Athlete) & Andrew Kelly (MVP)
Women's Basketball: Heidi Pichler (Scholar-Athlete) & Jordan Wilson (MVP)
Cheerleading: Lindsey Dudley (Scholar-Athlete) & Chynna Sandgren (MVP)
Men's Cross Country: Tux Seims (Scholar-Athlete) & Ross MacDougall (MVP)
Women's Cross Country: Dorothy O'Donnell (Scholar-Athlete) & Kali Striker (MVP)
Hockey: Sean Cahill (Scholar-Athlete) & Cody Kunyk (MVP)
Rifle:
Mats Eriksson (Scholar-Athlete) &
Sagen Maddalena (MVP)
Men's Skiing: Michael Fehrenbach (Scholar-Athlete) & Logan Hanneman (MVP)
Women's Skiing:
Heather Edic (Scholar-Athlete) &
Nichole Bathe (MVP)
Women's Swimming: Linnea Doumas and Danielle Lyons (Scholar-Athletes) & Victoria Adams (MVP)
Women's Volleyball: Keri Knight (Scholar-Athlete) & Sam Harthun (MVP)
To conclude the evening, everyone in attendance watched the five-minute long season highlight video, courtesy of
Jaime Schwartzwald from Channel 13. The conclusion of the video not only put an end to an exciting evening celebrating academic and athletic excellence but also officially closed out the Nanooks' 2013-14 year.
2013-14 Alaska Nanooks All-Sports Awards Banquet winners:Most Outstanding Female Athlete:
Nichole Bathe, women's cross country and skiing
Most Outstanding Male Athlete:
Tim Sherry, rifle
NAAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Keri Knight, volleyball
NAAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Stefan Tica, men's basketball
Bart LeBon Humanitarian of the Year:
Alec Hajdukovich, hockey
Harris Shelton Spirit of Competition award:
Max Olex, men's skiing
Joe Tremarello Student-Athlete Sportmanship award:
Sagen Maddalena, rifle
Athletic Director's Staff Member of the Year:
Aelin Allegood, marketing
Athletic Director's Coach of the Year:
Scott Lemley, swimming
Owen Tinker Fan of the Year:
Kurtis Gosney
