2015 Iowa State Athletic Training Program Awards Banquet

The Iowa State University Athletic Training Program celebrated another great academic year with our annual golf outing and awards banquet on Sunday, April 26, 2015.

The annual golf outing again took place at Homewood Golf Course, a local municipal course that has been the host to our event for several years. Competition was fierce again this year with Alex Harrison & Zach Kuchta taking home the lowest score honors. Other golf winners were: Alex Harrison with the longest drive for men and Jolene Randall with the longest drive for women. Nate Postma sank the longest putt on the day and Alex Harrison dropped his ball closest to the pin on hole number 4.

Following the afternoon golf event, the celebration turned to academic awards and athletic Letterwinners that were handed out in Heartland Hall inside the Jacobson Athletic Building.

The evening began with a new feature this year as Lindsey Long and the ISU Letterwinner's Club attended the banquet and welcomed the new class of letterwinner's into the club by presenting each new letterwinner with their Varsity jacket. Our outgoing seniors also received their ISU Letterwinner's rings.

Several athletic training scholarships and awards were presented to our most outstanding students in the classroom and in their professional preparation in the clinical settings.

The Athletic Training Program Academic Award is given each year to students who carry a 3.0GPA through the previous spring and fall semesters while maintaining full time student status; this award is also given to any student who makes a GPA improvemnt of 0.75 from one semster to the next. This year's academic award winners are:

• Third Year Students: Anna Farrington, Nicole Joens, Jacob Laverman, Jenni Noel, Meghan Peacock, Lynzy Peters, Jordan Pierce, Corey Smith, and Nick Statz

• Second Year Students: Cody Brunclik, Kevin Duhrkopf, Maranda Eichenberger, Nick Eller, Matt Geren, Megan Hedges, Hallie Main, Michael Montgomery, Austin Smith, Gaelen Watt, Logan Wood, Taylor Young, and Josh Zabel

• First Year Students: Emma Baumann, Dana Cash, Trevor Elmitt, Caitlyn Greenspan, Kevin Hughes, Cody Kliever, Zach Kuchta, Christina Novy, Sophie Puente, Emily Rocha, Jess Rogge, Ben Spurgeon, Tabitha Toland, and Blaine Wessels

The Robert Watkins and Mary Schwartz Athletic Training Acheivment Award was established in 2000 by former athletic training student and loyal supporter of our program, Bill Watkins. The goal of this award is to recognize students in the Athletic Training Program who have contributed a strong work ethic, leadership and service to their future profession. The 2015 Robert Watkins/Mary Schwartz award winners are:

Michael Montgomery

Josh Zabel

The Frank Randall Distinguished Athletic Training Student Award was established in 2008 in honor of Frank Randall who served as the head athletic trainer at Iowa State for 29 years and was invaluable to the athletic training program. This is award is presented to the Iowa State Athletic Training Student who exemplifies dedication, work ethic, accountability, and excellence in the field of athletic training. The 2015 Frank Randall award winner is:

Meghan Peacock

The Unsung Hero Award is an atheltic training student award that was established in 2012 by Bill Watkins and is presented to a student who demonstrates qualities of becoming a leading Athletic Trainer, but is not necessarily in the spotlight of the program. The 2015 Bill Watkins Unsung Hero Award winner is:

Sarah Nielsen

The 2015 Graduating Class of Seniors were also recognized and presented with a Iowa State Monogrammed professonal portfolio as a graduation gift. The class and their future plans are listed below:

Anna Farrington - Graduate Assistant at East Carolina University in North Carolina

Alex Fruetel - Graduate Assistant at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA working with Volleyball and working on a Masters in Business

Jordan Hayes - Graduate Assistant at Minot State in North Dakota working with wrestling

Nicole Joens - Graduate Assistant at Syracuse University in New York working on a Masters in Exercise Science

Austin Larsen - Entering workforce - exploring options around Des Moines

Jacob Laverman - Attending PT school at Washington University in St. Louis, MO

Sarah Nielsen - Exploring options

Jenni Noel - Entering workforce and exploring options

Meghan Peacock - Graduate Assistant at Sam Houston State in Huntsville, TX working with softball

Lynzy Peters - Attending PT school at Des Moines University

Jordan Pierce - Graduate Assistant at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA working with Track & Field

Brian Sanders - Exploring options

Corey Smith - Graduate Assistant at Purdue University in W. Lafayette, IN working with Trank & Field

Wes Sokol - Exploring options

Nick Statz - Exploring options

Matthew Stern - Working with the Air Force for the next year and then he will start a Masters Program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Sadie Voigt - Exploring options

Congratualtions to all of our seniors and award winners.