April 24, 2012
Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet Gallery
SAN DIEGO - A San Diego State athletic department record 275 scholar-athletes were honored Monday evening at the 18th Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet held at Peterson Gym on campus.
The 275 student-athletes possessing a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average or recording a 3.2 semester GPA eclipsed the previous record of 256 set in 2011. This is the seventh consecutive year in which the student-athlete total has increased.
Logan Ketchum, a senior linebacker on the football team from Oak Park, Calif., and Leanne Ford, a senior two-meter defender on the water polo team from Upland, Calif., were each named SDSU Student-Athletes of the Year for demonstrating excellence in academics, athletics and leadership, while boasting outstanding character.
Ketchum finished his SDSU career with 114 tackles, two quarterback sacks, four broken-up passes, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 35 total games. In 2011, he was also selected to the preseason all-Mountain West fourth team by Phil Steele's College Football Preview Magazine.
Academically, Ketchum has been a scholar-athlete in eight of his nine semesters, earned Dean's List honors on four occasions and earned the prestigious Malik Award twice. He has been named a Mountain West all-academic recipient three times for maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA and also earned Mountain West Scholar-Athlete honors for having above a 3.5 GPA during the 2010-11 academic year. This past fall, Ketchum was tabbed to the Capital One Academic All-District 8 first team.
Ford is the second-leading scorer on the water polo team this season, after being No. 1 in goals last year. Her athletic excellence was recognized in 2011 where she was voted as honorable mention All-American by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC). She has been a scholar-athlete five of the seven semesters since she arrived on the Mesa in fall 2008, and also received a Malik Award with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in spring 2010. She has been selected to the all-MPSF academic team in 2010 and 2011, as well as the ACWPC All-Academic Excellent Team in 2011.
The Malik Award, which is named after SDSU professor emeritus of chemistry Dr. James Malik, was presented Monday to 13 student-athletes who achieved the department's highest semester GPAs. This year's recipients included Greg Allen (baseball), Roxanne Ellison (women's tennis), Malin Enarsson (women's golf), Marisa Fraticelli (women's soccer), Andrea Hannasch (volleyball), Kelsie Jarratt (track), Logan Ketchum (football), Kelsey Manasco (volleyball), Kayla McKenna (crew), Tim Schulz van Endert (men's tennis), Marissa Shaw (crew), D.J. Shields (football) and Spencer Thornton (baseball).
The Montezuma Cup, presented annually to the team that develops life skills and competencies while enhancing collective team unity by working together to achieve the maximum possible points, was claimed by the women's rowing team. The SDSU men's tennis, women's tennis and men's soccer squads, meanwhile, each received the Faculty Athletics Representative Award for having the highest team semester GPAs. The Helping Hand Award, presented to the outstanding tutor or mentor in recognition of exceptional leadership and devoted service to student-athletes at San Diego State, was given to Megan Parry and Micah Berger.
Dr. James Kitchen was presented with the Distinguished Service Award for his work at San Diego State and his commitment to Aztec Athletics as the Vice President for Student Affairs. After this year, the honor will be renamed the Dr. James Kitchen Distinguished Service Award.
18th Annual San Diego State Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet
Malik Award Recipients (highest semester GPAs)
Greg Allen, Baseball
Roxanne Ellison, Women's Tennis
Malin Enarsson, Women's Golf
Marisa Fraticelli, Women's Soccer
Andrea Hannasch, Women's Volleyball
Kelsie Jarratt, Track
Logan Ketchum, Football
Kelsey Manasco, Women's Volleyball
Kayla McKenna, Crew
Tim Schulz van Endert, Men's Tennis
Marissa Shaw, Crew
D.J. Shields, Football
Spencer Thornton, Baseball
Student-Athlete of the Year Award
Logan Ketchum, Football
Leanne Ford, Water Polo
Distinguished Service Award
Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. James Kitchen
Helping Hand Award
Megan Parry, Mentor
Micah Berger, Tutor
Montezuma Cup
Women's Rowing
Faculty Athletics Representative Award (Highest Team Semester GPA)
Women's Tennis (Spring 2011, Fall 2011)
Men's Tennis (Spring 2011)
Men's Soccer (Fall 2011)