Mehnert, Welch, Rundus named Athletes of the Year

Gargoyle photo by Dave Porreca (click to enlarge)Michelle Mehnert heads for the finish line in the Twin City Championship Meet on Sept. 4. Mehnert won the race for the second straight year as she led Uni to its fourth consecutive title as the best girls cross country team in Champaign-Urbana. Mehnert shared Uni's Female Athlete of the Year award with fellow senior Ruthie Welch at Tuesday's sports awards ceremony in Uni Gym.

By Erika Belmont & Gargoyle Staff
Published: Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 2:17pm

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ATHLETIC AWARDS CEREMONY AT A GLANCE

When: Tuesday, May 20

Where: Uni Gym

Tom Jolly "Spirit of Uni" Award: Zoë Schein and Ruthie Welch (co-winners)

Athletic Director's Award: Frankie McFarland

Female Athlete of the Year: Michelle Mehnert and Ruthie Welch (co-winners)

Male Athlete of the Year: Austin Rundus

Other awards: Girls soccer, senior athletes, IHSA scholastic achievement, East Central Illinois Conference scholar athletes; track awards to be announced later this month

Senior Ruthie Welch helped the 2007 volleyball team win a school record 20 matches. The senior shared the 2007-08 Female Athlete of the Year award with classmate Michelle Mehnert. Gargoyle photos by Dave Porreca (click to enlarge)

Male Athlete of the Year Austin Rundus runs the second leg of the 4x800 relay at last week's Class A Monticello sectional. The team will compete in the IHSA state meet on Friday.

URBANA — Track and girls soccer athletes were honored at Tuesday's sports awards ceremony at Uni Gym along with senior athletes, scholar athletes, and Athletes of the Year Michelle Mehnert, Ruth Welch, and Austin Rundus.

The evening concluded with the much-anticipated athletic department year-end video, produced by the Uni yearbook video crew of seniors Zoë Schein and Micah Berman and juniors Isaac Chambers and Adam Tiouririne.

Mehnert, who shared the Female Athlete of the Year honors with Welch, was recognized for her outstanding performance as a runner on the 2007 girls cross country team.

The all-state senior finished her career by placing third individually at the IHSA Class A state meet in November and leading her teammates to a ninth-place finish. The nationally competitive swimmer helped make Uni one of the top cross country teams in Class A during her two years of varsity running.

Welch was a standout in three sports: volleyball, basketball, and track. The senior led her teammates to a school-record 20 wins in volleyball and a second-place conference finish in basketball.

On Saturday she became the first Uni girl since 1995 to win a medal at the IHSA state track meet, placing ninth in the 800-meter run. Welch made it to the state meet three times in her track career.

Rundus, the Male Athlete of the Year, also was a standout in three sports: cross country, basketball, and track. In the fall the senior helped Uni place second at the St. Joseph cross country regional with a 13th-place individual finish.

In basketball his 3-point shooting ability was a key factor in propelling the team to a stellar 21-7 overall record, 10-2 in the East Central Illinois Conference.

On Friday, Rundus will make his third appearance at the Class A state track meet as he competes in the 4x800 relay.

Also winning schoolwide athletic awards were Schein and fellow senior Frankie McFarland.

Schein, one of the leaders of the girls soccer team, shared the Tom Jolly "Spirit of Uni" Award with Welch. Schein's tenacious work as a stopper defined the Illineks' toughness this year. The team went from four wins in her sophomore season to 11 this year and fell just one game short of playing for a spot in the Class A state tournament.

McFarland won the Athletic Director's Award. The three-sport athlete ran cross country in the fall, was an invaluable presence in the middle for the basketball team in the winter, and broke two Uni track and field records in the spring. McFarland, who set school records in the discus throw and shot put, won both events at last week's Monticello sectional and will compete in the state track meet on Friday.

Individual honors for Uni's track and field teams will be announced later this month. Doug Mynatt is head coach of the boys and girls teams. Assistant coaches are Katrina Watry, Karl Knox, and Phil Suprenant.

The following girls soccer awards were announced Tuesday night. In head coach Philip Anders' second year, the varsity finished 11-6-2 overall, 3-1 in the ECIC, and 1-1 in the Class A playoffs. The JV finished 2-5-4. Assistant coaches are Ralph Falarca, Megan McCaffrey, and Betsy Dorner.

Team Honors
Most Valuable: Sarah Pfander
Offense: Suran Yoo
Defense: Jessi Sullivan
Most Improved: Sian Best
Most Intense: Chelsea Freeland
Leadership: Sarah Pfander
Sportsmanship: Shara Esbenshade
Most Dedicated: Zoë Schein
Tough Illinek: Joy Shapley
Most Valuable JV: Katie Buzard
Most Improved JV: Revathi Maturi

ECIC Honorable Mention
Shara Esbenshade
Annie Machesky
Jessi Sullivan

ECIC All-Conference Team
Erika Belmont
Chelsea Freeland
Sarah Pfander
Zoë Schein
Michelle Wong
Suran Yoo

The following Uni athletes were recognized as winners of IHSA Scholastic Achievement Awards:

Seniors
Geoffrey Beck
Thomas Bozada
Emily Chu
Shara Esbenshade
Chelsea Freeland
Julian Hartman
Sam Imlay
Marika Iyer
Angela Jin
Claire Johnson
Samantha Nguyen
Larissa Pittenger
Sarah Pfander
Mike Renner
Austin Rundus
Zoë Schein
Jake Seeley
Jessica Stark
Bhaskar Vaidya
Jamie Weiser
Ruth Welch
Karen Woodley
Aran Yoo
Suran Yoo
Alex Zhai

Juniors
Daniel Borup
Isaac Chambers
Sheri Grill
Elaine Gu
Rachel Hyman
Jeremy Kemball
Alan Kessler
Maddy Levin
Alan Liang
Sierra Marcum
Natsuki Nakamura
Nish Nookala
Carl Pearson
Gordon Ruan
Joy Shapley
Laura Sligar
Jessica Stewart
Jessica Sullivan
Adam Tiouririne
Brian Wang
Richard Wang

The following Uni students were honored as East Central Illinois Conference Scholar Athletes:

The following seniors were recognized for their participation in Uni sports:

Mehnert, Welch, Rundus named Athletes of the Year

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