April 28, 2010

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LAURINBURG, N.C.—Senior Zack Garst (Huntersville, N.C.) was honored as the Howard Reichner Award recipient, senior Thordur Gissurarson (Reykjavik, Iceland) was named the Robert Renfrow “Peanut” Doak Award winner, and junior Amelia Shill (Moore, S.C.) received the Carl F. Ullrich Award to cap the 2010 St. Andrews Presbyterian College Athletics Award Ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Belk Patio on the SAPC campus.

St. Andrews hosts an Awards Ceremony at the end of every school year to recognize all of the athletic accomplishments for the Knights 16 athletics teams. After a delicious dinner, each sport took time to recognize their respective senior student-athletes, who all received a senior gift. Richard Massey, the official voice of St. Andrews athletics and master of ceremonies, then announced each squad’s team Most Outstanding Player and Knights Award winners.

At the end of the presentation, St. Andrews then announced three special recognition award winners.

The Howard Reichner Award is given to the individual who, by the vote of the head coaches, is determined to embody the characteristics of a St. Android. This student-athlete demonstrates commitment in the classroom, and carries at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA. The award may be presented to a sophomore, junior or senior. By definition, a St. Android is a student who demonstrates passion for all that is St. Andrews - athletics, academics and extracurricular activities. Howard retired from the Army in 1989 after 29 years of service. He came to St. Andrews in 1992 as a politics instructor. He served as a faculty athletic representative from 1992 until taking the interim position of Director of Athletics in 2004. Reichner continued in this position until 2007 when he returned to the classroom. He is a beloved member of the St. Andrews community.

Zack Garst, a senior center on the Knights men’s basketball team, was selected as the Reichner Award winner. Garst has exemplified St. Andrews athletics with his presence on the court, in the class room, and around campus. Garst was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team this season as the only Conference Carolinas player to average a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Garst was named a Conference Carolinas Player of the Week in December. The Huntersville, N.C., native will be graduating St. Andrews early while boasting a 3.80 grade point average and will be the class speaker at graduation. Garst is a Dean’s List student-athlete, Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll honoree, an SAPC representative at the NCAA Division II National Leadership Convention in Orlando, Fla., a member of “Who’s Who Among Students”, a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

The Robert Renfrow “Peanut” DoakAward is presented each spring to the Outstanding Senior Athlete at St. Andrews Presbyterian College. This award is in honor of the legendary Robert Renfrow Doak. The award was established by former student-athletes of Presbyterian Junior College (PJC). PJC merged with Flora Macdonald College in 1958 to form St. Andrews. “Peanut” Doak was a high successful coach at PJC. Doak served as Athletic Director and coach of every team at PJC from 1947-1951. During that time, Doak’s football, basketball, and baseball teams won a total of 111 games. Doak was a three-sport star athlete at North Carolina State University from 1938-1942. He was instrumental in the organization of the N.C. State women’s basketball program in 1970. He was also responsible for the recruitment of Kay Yow to assume the head coaching position at N.C. State. The Robert Renfrow “Peanut” Doak Award was created and is funded by former athletes who admire Doak for the impact he left on the lives of those he coached. The award is given to the individual who, by the vote of the head coaches of each sport, is determined to be the outstanding senior athlete for that year.

Thordur Gissurarson was voted as the Doak Award recipient after putting together a successful senior season on the links for St. Andrews. Gissurarson was tabbed a Conference Carolinas men’s golf First-Team All-Conference honoree with a 73.60 stroke average in 11 tournaments in 2009/10. Gissurarson led the Knights golfers in scoring average and had nine top-25 finishes that included winning the Hurricane Fusillade Challenge, finishing runner-up at the Carolina Sands Intercollegiate, fourth at the St. Andrews Invitational, fifth at Barton Intercollegiate, and 11th at the Conference Carolinas Championships. The Reykjavik, Iceland product served as a team co-captain and ranked No. 26 in the very talented Southeast Region. Gissurarson also is a conference Presidential Honor Roll student-athlete.

The Carl F. Ullrich Award is given to the individual who, by the vote of the head coach of each sport; best demonstrates the characteristics of leadership, courage, integrity, and sportsmanship. Ullrich’s athletic career spans several decades including being on the Cornell University Championship crew team in 1949. He served as the director of athletics at St. Andrews Presbyterian College from 1995-1997. During that time, he was instrumental in the institution’s move to NCAA II status. Most recently, Ullrich again served as the Director of Athletics from 2002 - 2004. He left many lasting impressions on the department. Ullrich was inducted into the Army Hall of Fame in 2007 becoming the first non-athlete ever inducted.

Amelia Shill was picked as the Ullrich Award winner as a dual sport student-athlete at St. Andrews. Shill is a positive and contributing team member of both the women’s cross country and track & field programs as well as with St. Andrews. Shill is always encouraging to others and has a genuine interest in seeing that SAPC is well represented and looked upon as a top institution of higher learning. Shill’s numerous campus activities have included Honors Program, Emerging Leaders (mentor), Student Activities Union (vice president, president), GANZA core (vice president, president), Student Honor Marshall, Residence Assistant, Office of Student Affairs work-study, Student Ambassador, Student Government Association cabinet, Enrollment & Student Services committee representative, Orientation Group Leader, Craft Club member, and Yearbook staff member.

Men's Cross Country Most Outstanding Player: Doug Holt Knights Award: Jim Walls	Women's Cross Country Most Outstanding Player: Alex King Knights Award: Anna Egeln
Men's Soccer Most Outstanding Player: Marbin Escobar Knights Award: Andrew Johnson	Women's Soccer Most Outstanding Player: Olivia Taylor Knights Award: Becky Brandenburg
Volleyball Most Outstanding Player: Galina Podolsky Knights Award: Tyler Lee	Wrestling Most Outstanding Player: Casey Gashaw Knights Award: Justin Hoover
Men's Basketball Most Outstanding Player: Zack Garst Knights Award: Marcus Connor	Women's Basketball Most Outstanding Player: Kayla Hay Knights Award: Sylvee Ubiera
Baseball Co-Most Outstanding Player: R.J. Blasi Co-Most Outstanding Player: Jack Crawford Knights Award: Daniel Oliver	Softball Co-Most Outstanding Player: Danyell Marquez Co-Most Outstanding Player: Kaitlin Harris Knights Award: Brianna Shurtleff
Men's Lacrosse Most Outstanding Player: Kyle Carnaggio Knights Award: Patrick Wade	Women's Lacrosse Most Outstanding Player: Kim McDaniel Knights Award: Elise Moore
Men's Golf Most Outstanding Player: Thordur Gissurarson Knights Award: Matt Tanea	Women's Golf Most Outstanding Player: Michelle Zomers Knights Award: Amy Driggers
Men's Track & Field - Track Events Most Outstanding Player: Tommy Wilson Knights Award: Jon Lecker	Men's Track & Field - Field Events Most Outstanding Player: Matthew Rogers Knights Award: Charles Phillips
Women's Track & Field - Track Events Most Outstanding Player: Danielle Martin Knights Award: Rebecca Maye	Women's Track & Field - Field Events Most Outstanding Player: Tyler Lee Knights Award: Amy Tripson