Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Announces End Of Year Awards
7/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
June 15, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - National Indoor long jump and triple jump champion Aarik Wilson and NCAA platform diving champion Cassandra Cardinell are the 2005 Indiana Male and Female Athletes of the Year, respectively. Additionally, senior men's soccer player Danny O'Rourke and senior cross country runner Jessica Gall received the Big Ten Medal of Honor, presented annually to a male and female senior student-athlete at each league institution who maintained an outstanding scholastic rating and who distinguished themselves in athletic endeavors. Finally, it was men's golf standout Jeff Overton receiving the Jake Gimbel Award and volleyball athlete Katie Pollom honored with the Anita Aldrich Leadership Award. The Jake Gimbel Award is annually presented to the senior male student-athlete who has distinguished himself in athletics and scholarship and who has displayed an outstanding mental attitude. The Anita Aldrich Leadership Award is named for the former chair of the IU School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and honors the senior female student-athlete who best exemplifies Aldrich's ideals of leadership, scholastic achievement and athletic ability.
Wilson just came off earning his ninth and 10th All-America honors in his career, after competing at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., where he placed third in both the long jump and triple jump. Wilson earned numerous honors this past year, including being named Big Ten Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Championships after claiming both the long and triple jump titles at the indoor and outdoor conference meets. In doing so, he became just the second IU student-athlete to be selected Big Ten Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, as Olympian Bob Kennedy won it three-straight years (1990,91,92). He also broke the school record in the long jump (8.17m/26-9.75) en route to winning the crown indoor national title. He was also named the Great Lakes Athlete of the Year.
Like Wilson, Cardinell also had an excellent year in 2005. At the 2005 NCAA Championship in West Lafayette, Ind., Cardinell came from behind to snare the platform title, becoming the first Hoosier from the swimming and diving team to win a national championship since Kimiko Hirai claimed the one-meter crown in 1996. She also became the first non-one-meter champion as IU's only other national titles came with AIAW one-meter triumphs by Amy McGrath (1980) and Lona Foss (1982). Thanks in large part to her performance, IU had its best finish (ninth) at the national championship in program history. Cardinell also earned a spot on the USA Diving International Team, and traveled to Zhuhai, China for the China Open. The six-time All-American will compete at the 2005 World University Games in Izmir, Turkey, Aug. 11-21. She also excelled in the classroom as she was named the recipient of the NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship and earned first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V honors. She is also an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.
The Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients also had outstanding years both in and out of the classroom. O'Rourke, who was the team captain for the last two years, led the Hoosiers to consecutive national titles in 2004 and 2005 and the program's sixth and seventh championships. In doing so, O'Rourke was named the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy winner, which is given annually to the nation's top soccer player. He was selected as a first team 2004 All-American by College Soccer News, NSCAA/adidas and Soccer America, and was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection for a second consecutive year and was also named to the first team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region team. Furthermore, O'Rourke showed he had talent off the field as he was named the NSCAA/adidas Scholar Athlete of the Year and a third team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. He was drafted in the first round (fourth overall) by the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. During his Hoosier career, IU went 69-15-9 with four regular season Big Ten Championships, two Big Ten Tournament Championships, three College Cup Final Appearances and two national titles.
After redshirting in 2003 with an injury, Gall led the Hoosiers in all but one race during the 2004 campaign. She became just the eighth runner in school history to earn All-American honors with an 18th-place finish at the 2004 NCAA Championship. Gall also earned all-region honors with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. She was named first team All-Big Ten by finishing third at the Big Ten Championship.
Overton, honored with the Jake Gimbel Award, was named to the PING All-Midwest Region team, marking the second consecutive year Overton has been selected to the All-Midwest Region squad. He dominated the field at the 2005 Big Ten Championship with a record-tying 17-under-par 199 (65-65-69) en route to a four-shot victory over Michigan State's Ryan Brehm. In doing so, he was the seventh Hoosier to win medalist honors at the Big Tens and the first since Shaun Micheel did so in 1991. He was named Big Ten Player of the Year, becoming the first Hoosier since Randy Leen (1996-98) to garner the award in consecutive seasons. Overton also was named the National Player of the Week by GolfWorld and Golfweek magazines following the Big Ten Championship. The Evansville, Ind., native was the recipient of the Les Bolstad Award for low season stroke average for the second time in as many years. In addition, for the fourth consecutive season, Overton was named to the All-Big Ten team, claiming first team honors for the third time in his career. He ends his IU career as the only Hoosier golfer to ever card a single-season scoring average under 70 with 69.97 this past campaign, and his career average of 71.72 bests Randy Leen's 73.49 mark for the top spot in school history.
Likewise to Overton, Pollom had a terrific year on and off the court this past season. She was selected honorable mention All-Big Ten, marking the second time the senior has been recognized by the conference after being named honorable mention in 2002. The Indianapolis, Ind., native concluded one of the most successful careers in IU history as the fourth-best blocker with 379 block assists, 63 block solos and 442 total blocks. Additionally, she finished her collegiate play with the sixth-best kills (1,350) and hitting percentage (.259) in the Hoosiers annals. Meanwhile, the middle blocker finished her career as only the fifth Hoosier to close out a season with over .300 hitting after connecting at a .306 clip last year. Pollom also became the 11th member of the Indiana volleyball 1,000 kills club and was the fifth member of the Indiana volleyball 400 total block club.
Each sport annually recognizes a Hoosier Award winner, one who brings honor and distinction to their respective sport during the year. In addition, each female sport recognizes one individual for the Aline Robinson Mental Attitude Award, honoring athletics, leadership and mental attitude.
Female Athlete of the Year - Cassandra Cardinell, diving
Male Athlete of the Year - Aarik Wilson, track and field
Big Ten Medals of Honor - Jessica Gall, cross country/track and Danny O'Rourke, men's soccer
Jake Gimbel Award - Jeff Overton, men's golf
Anita Aldrich Leadership Award - Katie Pollom, volleyball
Hoosier Award - Women
Volleyball - Katie Pollom
Women's Cross Country - Jessica Gall
Field Hockey - Lydia Schrott
Women's Soccer - Courtney O'Bryan
Women's Tennis - Sarah Batty
Women's Diving - Christina Loukas
Water Polo - Kandace Waldthaler
Women's Golf - Bethany Brunner
Softball - Lauren Hines
Women's Basketball - Cyndi Valentin
Women's Track and Field - Stacey Clausing
Rowing - Amanda Walker
Swimming - Erin Smith
Hoosier Award - Men
Baseball - Jay Brant
Men's Cross Country - Sean Jefferson
Men's Basketball - D.J. White
Football - Kyle Killion
Golf - Jeff Overton
Men's Diving - Alexander Burns
Men's Soccer - Jay Nolly
Men's Tennis - Jakub Praibis
Men's Track and Field - Aarik Wilson
Wrestling - Joe Dubuque
Swimming - Scott Tanner
Aline Robinson Award
Volleyball - Mandy Eberle
Women's Cross Country - Kelly Siefker
Field Hockey - Katie Kanara
Women's Soccer - Kristen Zmijewski
Women's Tennis - Laura McGaffigan
Women's Diving - Lisa Silvestri
Water Polo - Jessica Goldner
Women's Golf - Molly Redfearn
Softball - Tory Yamaguchi
Women's Basketball - Leah Enterline
Women's Track and Field - Larra Overton
Rowing - Mary Bell
Swimming - Lauren Lubus
