Southeast leads conference with 22 Medals of Honor

Southeast Missouri State athletes claimed a league-high 22 Ohio Valley Conference Medals of Honor as announced Tuesday by the league.

The award is given annually to athletes who achieve the highest grade point average while competing in a conference-sponsored sport.

Southeast Medal of Honor winners all had a 4.0 grade point average for the 2005-06 school year.

Earning the awards: Cory Justice, Josh Parham (baseball); Rachel Blunt, Natalie Purcell (women's basketball); Matt Boyack, Zach Leible (football); Jessica Kaiz, Jessica Wuellner (soccer); Kim Anderson (tennis); Kenji Chiba, Mark McNamara (men's track); Michele Jett, Hannah Korte, Kim Krieger, Sarah Verelst, Amy Warren, Amy West, Heather West (women's track).

Korte, Verelst, Warren and McNamara also were honored for cross country.

Parham, Anderson and the West sisters all graduated from Jackson High School, while Leible is a Perryville High School product.

Also, the Southeast women's track and field team received an OVC Team Academic Achievement Award for having the greatest percentage of its athletes named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll (3.25 grade point average or higher).

Southeast women's track had 16 honorees: Lindsay Hearne, Orie Ibe, Michele Jett, Kyra Joiner, Juli Koenegstein, Hannah Korte, Kim Krieger, Rebecca Martin, Michelle McMahon, Brittni Peck, Sarah Verelst, Amy Warren, Amy West, Heather West, Kris Woolf, Lindsay Zeiler.

They are a part of 97 Southeast athletes on the Commissioner's Honor Roll. Other honorees are:

Zachary Blemker, Matthew Carter, Brandon Gendron, Cory Justice Josh Parham, Dustin Pritchett, Sean Zollner (baseball); Rachel Blunt, Heather Diebold, Szandra Pal, Natalie Purcell, Tiffanne Ryan (women's basketball); Brad DeMattei, Gabe Lutes, Mark McNamara, Kirk Nesbit, Daniel Stults (men's cross country); Hannah Korte, Michelle McMahon, Brittni Peck, Sarah Verelst, Amy Warren, Lindsay Zeiler (women's cross country);

Kevin Ballatore, Matt Boyack, Adam Casper, Joe Goff, Zach Leible, Kendall Magana, Brian Matthews, Francisco Perez, Mark Stolle, Elijah Willis (football); Molli Beard, Nicole Bussman, Lauren Costello, Erin Hartmann, Megan Hejlek, Caitlin Huber, Jessica Kaiz, Mary Kalinowski, Megan Matter, Megan McGrath, Lindsay Pickering, Jodie Reed, Lisa Schweppe, Jessica Wuellner (soccer); Stephanie Huffman, Stephanie Mata, Megan McDonald, Lindsay Pickering, Jessica Rosencrants, Chloe Tubbs, Lyndsey Webb, Lindsey Woodworth (softball);

Kim Anderson, Morgan Kemp, Miranda Petrea (tennis); Kenji Chiba, Brad DeMattei, Robert Doty, Kyle LeMarbe, Gabe Lutes, Mark McNamara, Kirk Nesbit, Daniel Stults (men's track); Alyssa Aston, Jill Miller, Katrina Miemeyer, Kimberly Unnerstall (volleyball); Sandra Blake, Tara Boldt, Jennifer Dinan, Maureen Grimaldi, Amanda Grimes, Lexie Hein, Brystol Powelski, Starlyn Schwartz, Kelsey Stauffer, Erika Thomas, Chelsea Unold (gymnastics).

* Morehead State won the 2005-06 OVC Institutional Academic Achievement Award, given annually to the member institution with the greatest percentage of its athletes named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll for that academic year.

Tennessee-Martin collected a league-high five of the OVC's 17 Team Academic Achievement Awards, followed by Morehead State with four.