Photo Gallery
INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI cross country student-athletes
Aaron Kremer and
Brittney McDuffee have been named the 2010-11 Melvyn Garland Distinguished Student-Athlete award winners as the athletics department announced its major award winners on Friday night. In addition, volleyball senior
Dana Gardner earned the Dorothy Cheesman Award and men's cross country student-athlete
Joe Hoffman was named the Jaguars Athletics Club Academic Achievement Award winner.
All of the honorees were recognized at the Senior Dinner, held inside Scholars Hall at the on-campus University Place Hotel & Conference Center.
The Mel Garland Awards are the highest single honors given to a male and female senior student-athlete. The winners are chosen based on athletic achievement, scholarship, mental attitude, leadership and perseverance. The award is named after the former IUPUI Athletics Director/Basketball Coach who died of leukemia in 1983.
Kremer recently capped a fantastic four-year career in which he was a two-time First Team All-Summit League performer. The Indianapolis-native owns five of the 11 fastest 8K races in IUPUI history, including having run a school record time of 24:32.57 at the IPFW Invitational on Sept. 11, 2010. He also owns two of the 15 quickest 10K times in the program's history, topped by his personal record time of 32:29.93 in his collegiate finale at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet on Nov. 13, 2010. He was twice named the team's Most Valuable Runner and was an Academic All-Summit League selection all four years. In his 28 career entries, he led IUPUI to the finish line 14 times including in all seven meets of his senior season. Academically, he maintained a 3.74 grade point average while majoring in mathematics.
McDuffee also recently capped a sensational four-year career in which she earned two Second Team All-Summit League awards. The Plainfield, Ind.-native finished her IUPUI career with three of the top 14 5K's in school history and four of the top 14 6K's which includes her school record time of 21:59.2 at The Summit League Championships on Nov. 1, 2008. Her 18:16 5K is the third quickest in school history and just 11 seconds shy of the school record, set in 2000. She was a two-time IUPUI Most Valuable Runner and a four-time Academic All-Summit League runner. In her 28 career meets, she was IUPUI's top finisher 15 times and ran among IUPUI's top five in every meet of her career. In the classroom, McDuffee recorded a 3.66 cumulative GPA while majoring in Spanish.
Hoffman earned the Jaguars Athletics Club Academic Achievement Award, which is the highest academic honor given to a graduating male student-athlete annually. The Frankfort, Ind.-native holds a 3.78 GPA and will earn his degree in PE & Health Education/Teaching in December 2011. Hoffman earned the Michael A. Carroll Scholarship prior to his senior year, but missed this past season due to injury. Forced to redshirt, Hoffman continued his academic prowess by being named to the IUPUI Academic Advisor's List for the seventh straight semester this fall. A former IUPUI Top 100 student honoree, Hoffman is a three-time Academic All-Summit League pick and two-time Academic All-District nominee.
Gardner received the Dorothy Cheesman Award, which annually recognizes the top senior female student-athlete, based on academic prowess. The award is named after a longtime staffer in the IUPUI Admissions office who was a staunch supporter of the athletics program. The Shelbyville, Ind.-native has a 3.86 GPA and will earn her degree in marketing from the Kelley School of Business. She has found her name on the IUPUI Academic Advisor’s List every semester of her collegiate career and was a four-time Academic All-Summit League selection, which honors student-athletes for posting a 3.0 or better grade point average in the semester in which they compete. Additionally, Gardner is a three-time Summit League Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence honoree.
