Connolly calls it “puck luck” but Minnesota Duluth’s star has skills
Minnesota Duluth coach Scott Sandelin looked past Jack Connolly’s size when he recruited the hometown center. He was playing for a small private school nearby. “[Jack] had skills, a head for the game,” Sandelin said. “I thought he could be a player for us for four years and I hoped we could build around him.” Five years later, Connolly, who spent one season in the USHL, is a senior at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is still only 5-8, 170, but Sandelin’s hopes have turned… Continue Reading
Michigan State’s Cousins sets standard for integrity
The speech started like most speeches begin at these luncheons. Those in attendance gulped down their food, carried on small talk at their tables while feigning attention to the speaker. That was exactly the situation this summer during the Big Ten’s Kickoff Luncheon when Michigan State senior quarterback Kirk Cousins stepped to the podium. The crowd of 1,800 soon discovered, however, that the speech delivered by Cousins, one of about two dozen speakers that day, would be different. Vastly… Continue Reading
Hawai’i's Kanani Danielson Has it All
With roots winding far back into Hawaiian culture, the traditional name Kanani means “the beautiful one.” University of Hawaii senior and 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award winner for volleyball Kanani Danielson has her own roots dug deeply into the chain of islands, and has worked hard to make both the volleyball world, and her local community, proud. Living up to her moniker, Danielson has not only worked hard and given an immense amount of physical and mental strength on the court and in… Continue Reading
Holt states his case for a successful career
As a goalkeeper who is all of 5-foot-8, Creighton University senior Brian Holt has heard the talk that he was too small to be a goalkeeper. Yet, he has managed to stand tall in the net and off the pitch in more ways than one. Holt wound up as one of four NCAA Division I goalkeepers still standing as Creighton earned a spot in the NCAA Men’s College Cup in Hoover, Ala. So, given his play and leadership on the field, and focus, classroom and volunteer work off it, it was not surprising that… Continue Reading
Simonin reaps the rewards of doing the right thing
Let this be a lesson for every soccer player or every athlete that is asked to move to another position. Prior to the University of Memphis women’s 2010 soccer season, Lizzy Simonin was asked to move from forward to backline. Many players would balk. Simonin, on the other hand, has thrived and has been just rewarded It should not be surprising that Simonin was named the winner of the Lowe’s CLASS award for women’s soccer for 2011 because she exemplified the award’s ideals—community,… Continue Reading
Princeton chose Edwards for a reason
Lauren Edwards is a basketball player at Princeton and a candidate for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior Class Award. If you are on this list of 30 finalists, you project the 4 Cs that are by definition, the criteria. Given Lauren’s exemplary background and service over her four years at Princeton, it’s difficult to choose just one of the 4 Cs – character, class, community or competition – because she excels in each category. Princeton chose Lauren and she chose them right back. If the… Continue Reading
The Left Coast’s top players - Danielson and Hill completing well rounded college experience
Great players. Even better people. Hawaii’s Kanani Danielson and Pepperdine’s Kim Hill have much in common beyond success on the volleyball court. The two senior All-Americans bring new meaning to the term “time management” when managing to devote quality time in the community and in the classroom. And it’s all done with a humility that is as rare as they are. “She wears it well,” Pepperdine coach Nina Matthies said of Hill. “If you didn’t look at the stats, you’d never know she was a great… Continue Reading
Men’s soccer standout Agaba prepares to repay the villagers who helped him stay in school
As an elite student and standout soccer player in Kampala, Uganda, Perez Agaba was poised to make a choice as his time at King’s College Budo Secondary School came to an end. “You’ve got to choose one of the two; doing both is almost impossible,” Agaba said of the setup in his homeland, where college sports are essentially limited to intramural activities. “You’re either going for the academics or for the soccer, and you’ve got to decide.” There was no doubt which way Agaba would have gone.… Continue Reading
Interns, leaders, academic standouts - Football candidates are prepared for graduation
Candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in football have made names for themselves not only on the gridiron but also in the classroom and the community. Here are just a few of the ways they are standing out as senior leaders: Northern Illinois’s Chandler Harnish has served an internship in the Huskies’ athletics marketing office. Washington State’s Jared Karstetter served a microbiology lab internship and was a traumatic brain injury research assistant. He will enter dental school… Continue Reading
Mission trips open the eyes of Senior CLASS Award candidates
When Sarah Havel first traveled to Honduras in 2010, she had a simple goal. “I went in expecting to bring a smile to people’s faces,” said Havel, a senior middle blocker at College of Charleston. What she didn’t expect was for the experience to change the way she approached life as a student-athlete. Havel is one of many candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award who have contributed to communities across the globe and taken the lessons back to their campus and their teammates.… Continue Reading
