National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - News and FeaturesThe NCAA News -- December 20, 1999 2000 class of Top VIII winners announced A collection of student-athletes that includes an Olympian, two members of national champion teams, a two-sport participant and other outstanding individuals from the sports of football, basketball, baseball and field hockey has been selected as this year's Today's Top VIII. The Today's Top VIII, selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, recognizes distinguished student-athletes from the preceding calendar year for athletics, academic achievement, character and leadership. This year's selections are Michael Hunter Bledsoe, baseball, Vanderbilt University; Debbie L. E. Ferguson, track and field, University of Georgia; Brian D. Moorman, football and track and field, Pittsburg State University; Stephanie Nickitas, tennis, University of Florida; Sally Northcroft, field hockey, Ball State University; Chad Pennington, football, Marshall University; Michael D. Ruffin, basketball, University of Tulsa; and Kelly L. Schade, softball, Simpson College. The Today's Top VIII will be recognized January 9 at the honors dinner during the NCAA Convention in San Diego. Following are biographical sketches of Today's Top VIII:
Michael Hunter Bledsoe
The first from Vanderbilt to win the SEC's highest baseball honor, he led the Commodores in all previously mentioned categories, plus runs scored (61), home runs (10), runs batted in (51), walks (40), stolen bases (31) and multiple RBI games (12), and set school records for career (.425) and single-season (.459) batting average. The 1999 baseball GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year made the 1998 SEC baseball academic honor roll and graduated with a degree in engineering science and economics. A member of his conference's Good Works Team, Bledsoe spent portions of his time at Vanderbilt cooking dinner for families of seriously ill children at the Ronald McDonald House, visiting cancer patients at the Children's Hospital Outreach and tutoring children in local elementary schools through the Adopt-A-School program. He also served as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Debbie L.E. Ferguson
A member of the national team of the Bahamas, she was a combined eight-time Southeastern Conference individual champion in indoor and outdoor track, the top point producer at the 1999 SEC championships and the 1998 SEC female outdoor track and field athlete of the year. A University of Georgia Presidential Scholar, she belongs to the Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Medicine Honor Society. A four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Ferguson was an Academic Roundtable hon-oree for academic accomplishments on the Georgia track team and a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society. Winner of a 1999 Peach of an Athlete Award for community service in the state of Georgia, Ferguson participated in the Clarke County mentor program, and volunteered for teen-pregnancy, homeless-shelter and Adopt-A-Highway programs. A recipient of Georgia's 1999 campus-wide Senior Leader Award, the Student-Athlete Advisory Council member also won the 1999 Lewis Leadership Award for the Bulldog female student-athlete who puts team above self.
Brian D. Moorman
Moorman also is a three-time Division II men's outdoor track and field champion in the 400-meter hurdles (1999, 1998 and 1997). The United States Track Coaches Association's 1999 Division II Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year led the Gorillas to a fourth-place finish in the Division II outdoor national championships. A two-time qualifier for the USA Track and Field championships in the 400-meter hurdles, he ran the 12th-fastest time among all national competitors (49.91 seconds) in that event in 1997. A 12-time all-American, he earned 14 all-MIAA honors, 11 times as an individual performer in the sprints and hurdles and three times as a member of sprint relay teams. Moorman also won two MIAA championships in the indoor 55-meter hurdles, and three each in the outdoor 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, while leading Pittsburg State to conference championships in 1997 and 1996.
The 1999 NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient was a six-time GTE/ Moorman was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta honor societies and a three-year volunteer for the Amer-ican Cancer Society's Relay for Life. He also was a two-year youth educator for the Great American Smoke Out elementary education program , a two-year camp assistant for the National Youth Sports Program, and a three-year team representative on the Pitts-burg State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Stephanie Nickitas
Nickitas reached International Ten-nis Association rankings of 13th in singles and first in doubles during her career. She captured the ITA South Region doubles championship in 1999, and played in the main draw of U.S. Open doubles in 1997. Nickitas was one of six collegiate athletes from the United States to participate on the inaugural United States Tennis Asso-ciation All-American Summer Team in 1996. During her career, she won three Southeastern Conference tournament crowns and was a four-time first-team all-conference singles performer. She set school records for season doubles winning percentage (41-1 in 1996, 97.6 percent). Recipient of a 1999 NCAA postgraduate scholarship, Nickitas was a two-time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American while majoring in business administration. A four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, she won the 1998 Dorothy Anderson Scholarship, which is provided to a women's tennis player who demonstrates excellence in integrity, leadership, character and academics. She was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, Alpha Gamma Delta Honor Society, Adopt-A-Highway and was a member of Florida's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Nickitas also was a "Good-will Gator," volunteering at a pediatric hospital in 1998.
Sally Northcroft
A first-team all-American, she rank-ed second in the nation in goals scored (34) and scoring average (3.95), and third in points (75) in 1998. As a sophomore, she ranked 13th nationally with 57 points. The Mid-American Conference record-holder in career goals (126) and career points (270), she is one of three players in MAC history to earn first-team all-league honors four times, and was a 12-time MAC Player of the Week honoree. During Northcroft's career, Ball State was nationally ranked in 55 of 64 polls, and amassed a 66-21 overall record for a .753 winning percentage. She set school records for career goals (120) and career points (257). She also registered hat tricks in 20 games and scored four or more goals 10 times, setting school records for goals in a game with seven against American Univer-sity in September. Northcroft is a three-time National Academic Team member and a two-time Honda Award nominee. She twice won both the MAC Commis-sioner's Award for academic excellence and the MAC scholar-athlete of the week. She also was a 1998 GTE/ CoSIDA Fall/Winter At-Large All-District pick, a two-time academic all-MAC first-team pick, and a two-time recipient of the Grace Woody scholarship. A participant in the NCAA Found-ation Leadership Conference and a Fellowship of Christian Athletes leader, she has done volunteer work with the Muncie Youth Opportunity Center, Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Big Brother/Big Sisters and literacy programs in local elementary schools.
Chad Pennington
Selected to join the rest of the nation's top senior football players in January's Hula Bowl, Pennington was among the top 10 in various passing categories during the regular season, including passing efficiency and total offense. In 1998, Pennington was a College Sports News honorable mention all-American, Most Valuable Player of the Motor City Bowl and MVP of the Mid-American Conference Championship game. During the preseason of that year, the then-junior was Street and Smith's College Football magazine and Bob Griese's College Football magazine Offensive Player of the Year and a Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award candidate. Pennington was the Washington Post's National Comeback Player of the Year in 1997, the same season in which he set two Division I-A single-season records, one for most touchdown passes, same passer and receiver (24); and the other for most touchdown passes by a sophomore (39). Pennington also set conference season records for most yards of total offense (3,421) and most touchdowns scored or passed for (40). A 1999 Rhodes scholarship nominee, Pennington was elected to the 1999 GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American first team. He also is the only two-time recipient of the Cam Henderson Scholarship Award, which honors the top student-athlete at Marshall. He also was a participant in NCAA Foundation Lead-ership Conference. Pennington is a frequent public speaker, having given talks at numerous churches, hospitals, schools and youth sports organizations. He also is a member of Fellowship of Chris-tian Athletes, hosts a weekly radio show and does color commentary for Marshall's winter sports.
Michael D. Ruffin
He also led the Western Athletic Conference in rebounding (10.4) and was second in blocked shots (2.6), a performance that led to his being the second pick of the second round (32nd selection overall) of the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. He finished his college career as Tulsa's all-time leader in rebounding (1,211), blocked shots (266) and games played (128), and ranks among the school's top 12 in career points (12th, 1,209) and steals (sixth, 153). He is the only player in school history to reach the 1,000 plateau for both points (1,209) and rebounds (1,211). Ruffin graduated with a degree in chemical engineering and was a 1999 first-team GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American. He also won the 1999 College Hoops Insider (CHI) Student-Athlete of the Year award and was a 1997-98 Arthur Ashe Sports Scholars Award nominee. A three-time all-Western Athletic Conference selection, he made Tulsa's president's list twice and the dean's list six times. Ruffin was active in many on- and off-campus leadership activities. A member of Tulsa's Mortar Board, which consists of the school's top senior students, he tutored both fellow and high-school students. Among his other community activities, he worked with mentally and physically limited individuals during Special Olympian Day, and made holiday visits to area children's hospitals.
Kelly L. Schade
That performance followed a junior season during which she pitched 64 2Ž3 consecutive scoreless innings, the third longest such streak in Division III, and posted 32 wins, the third best in Division III history. That same year, she became the fourth pitcher in Division III history to reach 700 career strikeouts. The year before, Schade led the nation in earned-run average with a mark of 0.37, the 12th best in Divi-sion III history. She was the softball nominee for the 1998-99 Honda Division III Collegiate Woman of the Year and finished her Simpson career having set or tied 16 school records. The 1998 GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American Player of the Year made the same organization's Academic All-American second team in 1997. Schade, an economics major, also was treasurer of the campus chapter of Phi Beta Phi, as well as an Adopt-A-School D.A.R.E. speaker and leader of high-school youth group. |
The 1999 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year won the SEC batting title with a .459 average. A 1999 signee of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he led the SEC in hits (95, a school record) and on-base percentage (.552). He also ranked in the top 10 in doubles (second, 24), total bases (fifth, 151), walks (seventh, 40) and slugging percentage (third, .729). He hit an SEC-best .426 in conference games, the sixth-best mark in conference history.
The 1996 Olympic silver medalist in the 400-meter relay was the 1999 Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award winner as the nation's top female collegiate track and field performer. A four-time Division I champion in the indoor 60- and 200-meter dashes and outdoor 100- and 200-meter dashes, Ferguson is a Georgia-record 19-time indoor and outdoor all-American, and was one of eight finalists for the 1999 NCAA Outstanding Sportsperson of the Year award. Included in her all-American performances were runner-up finishes in the 1999 and 1995 Division I outdoor 100- and 200-meter dashes, 1998 indoor 55- and 200-meter dash, and 1996 indoor 55-meter dash.
Pittsburg State's first four-time football all-American was the 1998 NCAA Division II national runner-up in punting after winning the 1997 statistical championship with an average of 46.0 yards per punt. In 1999, he signed a free-agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. Featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in September 1998, Moorman is a four-time first-team all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association punter and the league's all-time career leader in punting average.
One of the most dominant college players in the country for four years, Nickitas was a two-time Division I champion (1997 and 1996) in both singles and doubles. She teamed with doubles partner Dawn Buth to be-come the first duo in the 16-year history of the championships to win two consecutive titles. She also reached the doubles finals in 1998. A six-time all-American, she won four collegiate Grand Slam titles. In addition to individual success, Nickitas helped lead the Gators to team prominence, as Florida won championships in 1996 and 1998, and was runner-up in 1999 and 1997.
Northcroft set the Division I field hockey single-season scoring record with 52 goals this past season, and also led the nation in four offensive categories: points (52 goals and three assists for 107 points), points per game (5.25), goals and goals per game (2.48). For her career, she ranks third among Division I in goals (126) and points (270).
The Thundering Herd quarterback led Marshall to an undefeated regular season, its third consecutive Mid-American Conference title and a second straight berth in the Motor City Bowl.
A Top 50 preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award last year, Ruffin solidified his credentials as one of the country's top upperclassmen during the 1998-99 season, ranking eighth nationally in rebounding and 18th in blocked shots, while leading Tulsa to its third consecutive NCAA tournament bid.
One of the most dominant pitchers in Division III history, Schade set six division records in 1999 for career wins (113), career strikeouts (1,121), career shutouts (77), most wins in a season (37), most strikeouts in a season (371) and most shutouts in a season (25); tied one record, career games (139), and led Simpson its second national championship in three years. She also pitched the fifth 18-strikeout game in Division III history.