The NCAA News - News and Features

April 7, 1997

Support-staff finalists listed for Sears awards

Forty-six finalists for the fourth annual Sears Directors' Cup Postgraduate Scholarship Awards for members of athletics support staffs were announced March 20 by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Sears.

There are 15 finalists from NCAA Division I, 11 finalists from Division II, and 10 finalists each from Division III and the NAIA.

They will now be reviewed by NACDA's Finalist Committees, which will select four winners per division (16 total) who will each receive a $5,000 grant to be used toward postgraduate studies.

In addition, a fifth $5,000 scholarship per division will be awarded to a student from each of the four institutions that win the Sears Directors' Cup trophies. The total of $100,000 in scholarships is funded by Sears.

The winners will receive their awards at NACDA's 32nd annual convention June 15-18. The NACDA Scholarship Awards Luncheon, presented by Sears, will be June 17.

Finalists include students involved in academic support, band members, equipment-room managers, facility managers, sports information assistants, student coaches and athletic trainers.

The students are required to have a minimum grade-point average of 3.000 or above (4.000 scale), have senior status, demonstrate leadership qualities on an institutional or community level, and play an active role in one of the support categories.

The finalists in NCAA Divisions I, II and III:

Division I

Charlie Boehler, Purdue, sports information assistant; Adam Borcik, Troy State, athletic trainer; Krunoslav Cerovecki, Citadel, team manager; Stan French, Auburn, athletic trainer; Joseph Katz, Alabama, academic support; Anjanette Koritnik, Notre Dame, academic support; Katrina McPherson, Oregon State, academic support; John Neiman, North Carolina, sports information assistant; Julie Parker, Purdue, athletic trainer; Tripp Parker, Wake Forest, cheerleader; Karen Schilling, Washington State, team manager; Ragen Smith, Washington State, athletic trainer; Kendra Thorpe, Purdue, academic support; John Wolfkill, Tulsa, cheerleader; JoAnna Yant, Boston U., cheerleader.

Division II

Cori Elifrits, Northwest Missouri State, athletic trainer; Colleen Garrity, Denver, sports information assistant; Jacqueline Gerdts, Augustana (South Dakota), athletic trainer; Tara Jackson, Fayetteville State, sports information assistant; Ronald Johnson, Barry, athletic trainer; LaKoscia Kennon, St. Leo, assistant coach; John O'Brien, UC Davis, band member; Cory Pack, Tarleton State, athletic trainer; Kristen Pomeroy, North Dakota, cheerleader; Shana Walker, North Carolina Central, cheerleader.

Division III

Russell Adams, Muhlenberg, facility staff; Marc Campbell, Hamilton, assistant coach; Amy Giovanni, UC San Diego, sports information assistant; Jennifer Hurst, Carthage, athletic trainer; Rosemarie Langley, Illinois College, sports information assistant; Pierina Noceti, Coast Guard, team manager; Cortland Reger, George Fox, athletic trainer; Steven Shay, Muhlenburg, athletic trainer; Heidi Szczecinski, Baldwin-Wallace, athletic trainer; Mary Tovornik, Salisbury State, athletic trainer.

Members of the Sears Directors' Cup Committee were responsible for selecting the finalists. Completing this task were R. Elaine Dreidame, chair, senior associate director of athletics, University of Dayton; Tricia Bork, NCAA group executive director for championships; Bill Bradshaw, director of athletics, DePaul University; Barbara L. Camp, associate director of athletics, Auburn University; John Costello, senior executive vice-president, Sears; Lynn L. Dorn, director of women's athletics, North Dakota State University; Greg Feris, director of athletics, Wayland Baptist University; Eric Forseth, director of athletics, Northwest Nazarene College; James Frank, commissioner, Southwestern Athletic Conference; Frederick E. Gruninger, director of athletics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick; Roy Hamlin, president, AdCraft Associates, Inc.; Betty Kruczek, retired director of athletics, Fitchburg State College; Jack Lengyel, director of athletics, U.S. Naval Academy; Lee A. McElroy, director of athletics, American University; Beth Miller, associate director of athletics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Louise O'Neal, director of athletics, Wellesley College; J. Phillip Roach, director of athletics, Rollins College; Eugene D. Smith, director of athletics, Iowa State University; Betsy Stephenson, senior associate director of athletics, UCLA; Judith M. Sweet, director of athletics, University of California, San Diego; Craig Thompson, commissioner, Sun Belt Conference; Wright Waters, commissioner, Southern Conference; Frank Windegger, director of athletics, Texas Christian University; and Deborah A. Yow, director of athletics, University of Maryland.