NEW LONDON — The Colby-Sawyer Athletic Advisory Council announced the winners of the Wynne Jesser McGrew Senior Scholar-Athlete, the Male Senior Scholar-Athlete, the Outstanding Male Senior Athlete, and the Outstanding Female Senior Athlete awards at a recent banquet.
The Charger Awards for Outstanding Male and Female Athlete of the Year will be awarded during the summer and the winners will be honored at the 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in October.
The 2018 honorees included Karl Nyholm (Concord, Mass.) of the men’s track and field team who took home the Outstanding Male Senior Athlete Award, while Emmani Robinson (Newburgh, N.Y.) of the women’s basketball and track and field teams won the Outstanding Female Senior Athlete Award. Evelyn Miller (Smithfield, R.I.) received the Wynne Jesser McGrew Senior Scholar-Athlete Award and Curtis Warren (Morrill, Maine) of the men’s track and field team earned the Male Scholar-Athlete award.
Karl Nyholm of the men’s indoor/outdoor track and field team received the Outstanding Senior Male Athlete Award, which is given each year to the senior male athlete who has demonstrated outstanding athletic ability over the course of his entire career.
The recipient of this award will be nominated by a coach and then selected by the Athletic Advisory Council. Nominees must be senior class men. The award is based solely on athletic talent, ability, attitude, performance, and success. It is a token of hard work, good judgment, understanding, and determination.
Karl holds the indoor shot put, indoor weight throw, outdoor shot put, outdoor discus and outdoor hammer throw school records. He is an eight-time New England Championship qualifier and a four-time ECAC qualifier in the shot put. He also has qualified for New England’s twice and ECAC’s once in the discus.
At these championships, he has earned All-New England honors four times and All-ECAC honors three times. Karl has earned USTFCCA All-Region honors in four seasons, NAC-All Conference in two seasons and NAC Field Athlete of the Year in 2016 and 2017, years in which he helped the team win the NAC Championship. Throughout his illustrious career, Karl has an impressive 26 individual victories.
Karl has achieved NCAA national rankings each of the last three years in his primary event, the shot put. As a sophomore, he was ranked 28th in indoor and 26th in outdoor. In his junior year, Karl ranked 46th in outdoor. He was ranked 31st at the end of this year’s indoor season and at the time of this nomination, with much of his senior outdoor season left, he is ranked 30th.
In addition to his own accolades on in the throwing circle, Karl has shown great team leadership by also serving as a three-year team captain and as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Outstanding Male Senior Athlete Award Nominees
Doug Avellino (Baseball)
Taylor Grande (Basketball)
Gustav Jigrup (Tennis)
Karl Nyholm (Track and Field)
Denali Sexton (Soccer)
Emmani Robinson of the basketball and outdoor track and field team won the Outstanding Senior Female Athlete Award, which is given each year to the senior female athlete who has demonstrated outstanding athletic ability over the course of her entire career.
The recipient of this award will be nominated by a coach and then selected by the Athletic Advisory Council. Nominees must be senior class women. The award is based solely on athletic talent, ability, attitude, performance, and success. It is a token of hard work, good judgment, understanding, and determination.
Emmani has been a dominant force on the track and field team since her arrival at Colby-Sawyer, amassing 12 individual wins throughout her career. In her first throw of her first meet as a freshman, she qualified for the New England Championship in the shot put.
She went on to qualify for the ECAC Championship that year, finishing seventh and earning ALL-ECAC honors. As a sophomore, she qualified for both the New England and ECAC Championships, once again earning ECAC honors. Emmani’s junior campaign was truly phenomenal; she not only qualified for these same postseason championships, but also finished second in New England and first at the ECAC Championship.
Her mark from ECACs not only reset her own school record, but also gave her an NCAA national ranking of 24th to finish the season. Her mark of 13.64 meters was only three centimeters short of a national championship qualification. Emmani has captured the shot put win at the NAC Championship each of the last three years, earning All-NAC honors. She also earned 2016 and 2017 USTFCAAA All-Region accolades.
Beginning her senior year, Emmani had a great debut, qualifying for the New England Championship in shot put right away. Currently that mark ranks her 16th in the NCAA.
In basketball, Emmani has been a contributing member of the team for all four years, and was rewarded during a stellar senior season with All-Conference accolades.
As a freshman, Emmani played in 25 of the 27 games and impacted the team with great rebounding and defensive pressure.
In her sophomore campaign, she showed steady improvement and more than doubled her points and rebounds from her first season. She was third on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game and fifth with 5.2 points per game.
She showed improvement once again in her junior year. Robinson was named to the NAC All-Tournament team for her efforts in the postseason and finished the year averaging 6.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She was second on the team with 39 steals.
As a senior, Emmani had a break out season resulting in All-NAC Second Team and All-NAC Sportsmanship honors. She ranked third on the team with 11.8 points per game and second with 9.2 rebounds per game. She led Colby-Sawyer and the NAC with a 53.7 field goal percentage, which also ranked her 27th in the nation.
She recorded nine double-doubles and had the program’s first triple-double in a win over Thomas on January 6. She registered 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 steals in the game. The 10 steals tied a Colby-Sawyer single-game record. She also ranked tied for first in the conference with 76 steals, third in rebounds per game at 9.2, and 11th in points at 11.8.
Basketball Head Coach George Martin says, “Emmani has been a pleasure to coach over the last four years, always giving her all, putting in a tremendous amount of work in the off season, and practicing and playing with her trademark smile on her face. She will leave us with big shoes to fill, and a standard of play to live up to.”
Outstanding Female Senior Athlete Award Nominees
Corrie Hoyt (Soccer)
Nicole Lavigne (Lacrosse)
Evelyn Miller (Tennis)
Emmani Robinson (Basketball & Track and Field)
Emma Schick (Equestrian)
Ashley Woodside (Tennis)
Evelyn Miller of the tennis team earned the Wynne Jesser McGrew Scholar-Athlete Award which is given to the graduating female senior who, in the opinion of the Athletic Advisory Council, has made significant contributions to both the scholastic and varsity programs of the College.
Evelyn has only spent three years at Colby-Sawyer, but what she has packed into those years is simply amazing. A student-athlete who truly pursues excellence, Evelyn has thrived on the court, and more importantly, in the classroom.
Evelyn is a Wesson Honors Scholar, holding a 3.94 GPA while majoring in Biology with a Chemistry minor. She has been on the Dean’s List every semester and is a two-time NAC All-Academic Team honoree. Evelyn was this year’s North Atlantic Conference Tennis Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Evelyn won this year’s Biology Capstone Award after conducting research at the Huang Lab in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
She also presented research in Specialized Immune Cells protection in Melanoma at the spring 2018 Eastern New England Biological Conference. The Colby-Sawyer Chair of the Biology Department selected Evelyn to present this research to the Presidents Alumni Advisor Council this semester.
Evelyn worked as a clinical assistant in the Brain and Spine Neurological institute last summer.
Here at Colby-Sawyer, in the summer of 2016, she worked as a research assistant with NH-INBE, using applied genomics techniques to study neurobiology and behavior of bees.
Evelyn has also used her talents to assist residents of New London. This spring at Woodcrest Village she arranged a service project in music therapy to improve the quality of life for residents suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
At the 2017 International Festival, Evelyn entertained students, faculty and staff with Irish Step Dance and Irish Fiddle.
In her spare time, Evelyn plays tennis for the Chargers. She is a tri-captain of the women’s tennis team and has been twice named NAC First Team Singles, twice NAC Second Team Doubles, once NAC First Team Doubles and NAC Sportsmanship Team.
She earned NAC All-Tournament Team honors three times and was the MVP this season. Evelyn has never lost a set or match in NAC singles or doubles competition. In just three years, Evelyn ranks eighth in career wins with 100, seventh in career singles wins with 46 and is tied for sixth in career doubles wins with 54.
Head Coach Barry Schoonmaker says, “Evelyn is a true example of a student-athlete. Rarely have I been so impressed with a student’s ambition, focus and work ethic. Everything she does makes the women’s tennis team better. I have no doubt Evelyn will continue to make Colby-Sawyer proud in all that she does after she leaves campus.”
Wynne Jesser McGrew Scholar-Athlete Nominees
Diana Abbott (Alpine Skiing)
Carli Chiodo (Lacrosse)
Nicole Lavigne (Lacrosse)
Emily Martin (Soccer)
Evelyn Miller (Tennis)
Jesse Murch (Field Hockey)
Lauren Oligny (Cross Country & Track and Field)
Makenzie Welch (Swimming)
Curtis Warren of the indoor/outdoor track and field teams received the Male Senior Scholar-Athlete Award, given to the graduating male senior who, in the opinion of the Athletic Advisory Council, has made significant contributions to both the scholastic and varsity programs of the college.
Curtis has been a four-year member of the indoor and outdoor track & field teams. He has developed into a tremendous leader and served as a two-year captain. Curtis is the epitome of the term “student-athlete”, having maintained a 3.79 GPA, balancing schoolwork and being a multi-season collegiate athlete. He has set a strong example for the team, excelling in all that he does athletically and academically here at Colby-Sawyer.
In the classroom, Curtis has earned Dean’s List seven times and been part of the NAC All-Academic Team for the last two years. He is also a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society.
On the track, Curtis is a seven-time New England qualifier in pole vault. In 2017, he also earned All-ECAC honors. Curtis holds the indoor and outdoor school records in the vault. He has earned NAC All-Conference twice in pole vault and once in the 110 meter Hurdles.
In addition to his busy academic and athletic schedule, Curtis finds time to serve in many additional capacities here on campus. He is President of the Exercise & Sport Sciences Majors Club, as well as, a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He has honed his leadership skills by participating in our Emerging Leaders Program and will be receiving the Colby-Sawyer Award at this year’s graduation ceremony.
That prestigious award is given to the senior who “best exemplifies the ideals of the college in personal dignity, intellectual growth, contribution to campus life and constructive influence on other students.” I can’t think of a more perfect description of all that Curtis is,” says head coach Lyndsay Ostler.
Although Curtis’s GPA and accolades are impressive, it will be his leadership that is most missed when he graduates. It is difficult to put together a complete list of all that Curtis has given to the program, as he is a one-of-a-kind leader and an athlete that his coaches and teammates can rely on always.
He has led by example in commitment to excellence, dedicating significant time to traveling to off-campus facilities to work on his primary event of pole vault. He is the first athlete to reach out and help a teammate, whether it is someone needing assistance with a drill or a coach’s request to assist a fellow teammate with the lifting program.
He holds those around him to high standards and helps them rise to the occasion in doing so. The examples that he has set for the program will leave a lasting legacy for many years to come.
Male Senior Scholar-Athlete Nominees
James Marshall (Alpine Skiing)
Evyn Nolette (Basketball)
Andrew Peloquin (Tennis)
Curtis Warren (Track and Field)
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.