CROOKSTON, Minn.- The University of Minnesota Crookston athletic department recognized their distinguished award recipients for the 2014-15 season during the University's award banquet held Thur., April 23 at Kiehle Auditorium. UMC football player Greg Lofquist (Sr., LB, South St. Paul, Minn./Criminal Justice) was selected Male Outstanding Athlete of the Year, while women's basketball player Katrina Moenkedick (Jr., F, Perham, Minn./Applied Studies) was Feamle Outstanding Athlete of the Year. Moenkedick is a back-to-back award winner.

UMC also handed out awards for Outstanding Student-Athletes of the Year. Matt Borowicz of the football team (Sr., OL, Stephen, Minn./Health Science) and Ashley Martell of the women's basketball team (Sr., G, Somerset, Wis./Health Science) were selected as Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year.

The Athlete of the Year award honors someone who has both outstanding athletic and academic achievements and displays exemplary citizenship and is a role model for their respective program.
Lofquist had an outstanding senior season in the Maroon and Gold during the 2014 season. Lofquist led the Golden Eagles with 160 tackles, which was the most tackles a player has ever had in a single-season at UMC, surpassing the previous mark set by Neil Austin in 2001. Lofquist's 98 tackles were also a single-season record, as were his 62 solo tackles. Lofquist led the NSIC in tackles on the season and was third in the nation in total tackles. The senior was moved to linebacker from defensive end prior to the start of his senior campaign due to injury and far exceeded expectations with his performance. Lofquist had nine-straight games with 10 or more tackles and ended his season with 20 tackles against Minnesota State University Moorhead, which ranks third all-time in a single game. Lofquist had 13.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and one interception on the season.

Lofquist was named NSIC North Division All-Conference First Team after his outstanding season, becoming the first player since Richard Haley in 2011 and 2012 to receive First Team honors. Lofquist will become service of the United States of America when he reports to Marine Corps base Quantico to begin Officer Candidate School in June, to fulfull a linelong dream. Lofquist's younger brother Chuck accepted on his behalf.

Moenkedick earned the honor for the second-consecutive season. She hlped the UMC women's basketball team achieve one of their best seasons in program history, leading the team to the NSIC/Sanfiord Health Tournament including a thrilling win over Concordia University-St. Paul in order to advance to the Sanford Pentagon and the final eight of the tournament. Moenkedick joined Alexa Thielman as the fourth and fifth Golden Eagle basketball players to earn All-NSIC First Team honors. She averaged 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a junior for UMC. In addition, she became the ninth player in program history to score 1,000 career points. She also has surpassed 500 rebounds in her career, becoming the third player in program history to do so. Moenkedick will have one season
remaining at UMC.

The Student-Athlete of the Year Award honors someone with a 3.2 GPA or higher, who has lettered in the same sports for two years with outstanding athletic and academic achievements. This person also displays exemplary citizenship and is a role model for their respective program.

Borowicz was a four-year member of the football team and was named Capital One Academic All-America Division I First Team for his excellence in the classroom over four years in Crookston. Borowicz maintains a 3.9 grade point average and has been accepted into the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He earned Capital One Academic All-District for Super Region 3 for the second-season in a row. Borowicz was a Myles Brand NSIC All-Academic with Distinction recipient and was named NSIC All-Academic. Borowicz was also a key member of the offensive line as a senior, starting at tackle for the Golden Eagles.

Martell maintained a 3.994 grade point average in health science. Martell earned the Butch Raymond Scholarship, a $5000 scholarship sponsored by Sanford Health that was given to a student-athlete at each NSIC institution who was going into a health related field. In addition, Martell earned the NSIC Myles Brand Academic with Distinction Award for being a graduating student-athlete with a 3.75 GPA or higher. Martell was a member of the NSIC All-Academic team. She was a team captain for the UMC women's basketball team that achieved one of their best seasons in program history with 14 wins and a berth in the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament. In addition, she was a member of the Chancellor's 4.0 list for the Fall semester of 2014. She way a key contributor off the bench, averaging 15 minutes per game with 3.8 points per game. She shot 35.1 percent from beyond the arc. Martell will be attending the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo. for physician's assistant school.

Lucas Reller (Sr., G, Lead, S.D./Management) earned the Justin Knebel Memorial Award. The recipient of the award is somebody that exlempifies the things Justin did, being the ultimate team player who works hard on the court and in the classroom and excels both athletically and academically. Reller is a management major at UMC.



In addition to athletic awards, UMC volleyball player and women's golfer Mary Mikutowski earned the UMC Woman of the Year honor, which recognized a student who has excelled not only academically, but also through leadership and service to the University and local community. Each student is ranked in six categories: GPA, Honors, Leadership, Campus Activities, Community Service and UMC Service. Mikutowski is a health science major.


In addition, UMC student Josh Rudbeck earned Student Employee of the Year. Rudbeck has worked all year long with UMC facilities and has been an integral part in keeping the facility up to standard and ready for games, pre-and post-game under the guidance of Facilities and Operations worker Dennis Regan.

Finally, UMC honor their All-Academic team, which included 68 individuals, an all-time high. To earn UMC All-Academic, an athlete has to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 higher and be at least a sophomore in academic standing. The full listing of the UMC All-Academic Team is listed below.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.



UMC All-Academic Spring 2015
Baseball
Trevor Buttermore
Marcus Campbell
Ryan Haggstrom
Colton Haight
Jesse Jennings
Travis Magdzas
Richie Navratil
Dalton Parks
Nolan Wahlberg
Luke Thoma
Equestrian
Sable Bettencourt
Chloe Nelson
Amberly Pesall
Danielle Schelonka
Emily Steeley
Amy Stadtherr
Football
Matt Borowicz
Ben Bucholz
Joe Machacek
Drew McDurmin
Drew Selvestra
Nathan Cole
Myint Maung
Men's Basketball
Austin Dierks
Lucas Reller
John Hughes
Kevin Larson
Tomas Parker
Men's Golf
Zach Cymbaluk
Jesse Roscoe
Matt Bjorgo
Michael Roedl
Soccer
Cayla Bendel
Samantha Deutsch
Daniele Gau
Delaney Kohorst
Delaney McIntyre
Erin Mears
Lindsey Paul
Kary Sheppard
Softball
Kaylin Beatty
Bailey Braatz
Jordyn Derflinger
Allison Foley
Ashley Hoyle
Alexis Khoshaba
Kristi Larson
Josee Plante
Brooke Vatthauer
Shelby Hollinger
Tennis
Catherine Brown
Volleyball
Casey Cashman
Kali Erickson
Brittany Looker
Mary Mikutowski
Stephanie Pearson
Sierra Trost
Women's Basketball
Kenzie Church
Ashley Martell
Katrina Moenkedick
Alexa Thielman
Megan Taylor
Women's Golf
Baillee Hauer
Rikki Roscoe
Katie Sheetz