John Brown Sends 13 Fall Student-Athletes to the NAIA Scholar-Athlete List
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (December 9, 2014) -- Thirteen John Brown University fall sport athletes have been selected to the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete list for their respective sports, the NAIA national office announced today.
The 13 nominations improve last academic year’s 12 that JBU boasted as seven student-athletes make their second appearance in two years on the academic honor list. To be eligible for nomination, the student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status.
“I am very proud of the 13 student-athletes in volleyball, soccer and cross country who received this prestigious award,” said Robyn Daugherty, director of athletics. “The award is recognition for a lot of hard work in the classroom over the last several years. I am honored to have these student-athletes in our athletic programs at JBU and appreciate all of their efforts, both on and off the playing fields.”
Kenny Crane earns his first-career honors after setting a season-best mark at the Arkansas – Little Rock Invitational on Oct. 18. A native of Colorado Springs, Colo., Crane turned in a time of 27:10 on the eight-kilometer course. The junior is currently majoring in graphic design.
Landing the honors for the second-consecutive year from women’s cross country are seniors Kari Miller and Kelsey Rae. Miller, from Colorado Springs, Colo., ran a season-best time of 19:51 in the Chile Pepper Festival back on Oct. 4 to place 262nd in the prestigious five-kilometer race. Rae, a native of McKinney, Texas, also turned in her best time of the season at the Chile Pepper, crossing the finish line in 21:21 to capture 330th place. Joining the duo is first-year recipient Elizabeth St. Louis. The junior from Ebert, Colo., ran a season-best time of 22:39 at the Chile Pepper and garnered a 362nd place finish. Miller is majoring in biblical studies and minor in history while Rae is majoring in family and human services. St. Louis currently majors in graphic design.
Returning to the list for a second time is senior Jose Nino, who is also joined by first-year winner junior Cory Cole. Nino, a native of Katy, Texas, saw action in seven games this season and recorded one start. He is majoring in construction management. Cole, a business administration major from Colorado Springs, Colo., registered 16 games played and notched an assist in a 3-1 win over NCAA II Rogers State (Okla.) on Sept. 16.
Senior Chloe Fennell leads a trio of women’s soccer players nominated with a second Scholar-Athlete recognition of her career. Accompanying her are juniors Julie Whitlow and Alex Fahr. An illustration major from Tahlequah, Okla., Fennell posted 13 games played and one start while earning an assist in JBU’s 4-2 win over Oklahoma Wesleyan on Sept. 13. Whitlow played in all 19 games this season and recorded a goal against Rogers State on Sept. 16. The Rogers, Ark., native landed an assist in the Golden Eagles’ 4-0 win over Bethel (Tenn.) on Sept. 12. Fahr notched her long goal of the year in a 3-0 win over Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Oct. 12. The Little Rock, Ark., native that majors in biology earned playing time in all 19 matches this year.
The volleyball team contributed the most Scholar-Athletes of any team with four, which was highlighted by three returning to the distinguished list. Seniors Kendra Ammons, Venessa Uhrhahn and Becca Young each won the accolades for the second time in their careers while junior Libby Blasingame landed the honors in her first season of eligibility. Ammons, from Wichita Kansas, is majoring in photography and notched a career-high 73 digs in 54 sets played, also a career high. Uhrhahn, a creative writing major from Greenwood, Ark., played in 78 sets, contributed 96 terminations and recorded 25 total blocks, all career-highs. Young, a native of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, majors in psychology and biology. She enjoyed a career year in 2014 by 4.13 digs per set, a career-high, and also passed out a personal-best 68 assists, eclipsing a previous career-high of nine in a single season. Young also claimed All-Conference second team accolades for her efforts. Hailing from Plano, Texas, Blasingame notched 1.53 kills per set and hit at a .266 percent average.
“I am very proud to have four student-athletes recognized as Scholar-Athletes,” admitted head coach Ken Carver, whose squad placed more on the volleyball list than any other Sooner Athletic Conference institution. “These four student-athletes are but the tip of the iceberg for our team as it relates to our focus on academics and their performance in the classroom. Being able to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher to earn this award speaks to the high level of performance all four of these players have attained. Our team has enjoyed a very consistent and strong showing academically in the past, not only individually, but collectively.
“Kendra, Libby, Vanessa and Becca are awesome young women who do a fantastic job of embracing and modeling what we want for our student-athletes not only for their teammates, but as members of the JBU student community at large.”
