Academic Awards Handed Out

STILLWATER – Britton Abbott and Stephanie Ferrante took home top honors at the Oklahoma State Academic Awards Banquet, which was held in the Wes Watkins Center on campus this evening. Abbott, a senior on the football team and Ferrante, a senior on the cross country/track and field team, were recognized as the male and female recipients of the OSU Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, respectively.

In addition to this honor, Abbott was a second-team selection to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team and a first-team Academic All-Big 12 honoree this past season. He was a recipient of the Big 12 Conference's Gerald Lage Award, which is presented to student-athletes who have earned 100 credit hours with a minimum 3.80 cumulative grade point average. The owner of a perfect 4.0 grade point average since stepping on campus, Abbott graduated Summa Cum Laude in December (3.9-4.0 GPA) and was the recipient of the football program's Dr. L.L. Boger Award for academic achievement. On the field, he started 10 games at Cowboy Back and was an important factor in OSU ranking among the national leaders in numerous offensive categories in 2017.

Like Abbott, Ferrante is also a 4.0 student who earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and the Gerald Lage Award this year. She was one of only 48 students campus-wide to be recognized as a Senior of Significance by the OSU Alumni Association and served as president of OSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. In competition, Ferrante has earned seven All-Big 12 honors in her career, including all-conference recognition in the 2018 indoor 800 meters. She has a pair of conference titles to her credit, which she earned running as part of the distance medley relay team in 2015 and 2017.

Department-wide, this has been a strong year for OSU Athletics, evidenced by the following:

During the 2017 calendar year (spring and fall semesters), Oklahoma State had 183 student-athletes named to Academic All-Big 12 squads for their respective sports, including 147 named to the first team with a 3.2 or better grade point average. Twenty-three of those were recognized with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Seventy-one OSU student-athletes were listed on the President's Honor Roll during the Spring semester of 2017, while 85 were honored during the Fall of 2017. Members of the President's Honor Roll achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA during that semester.
Ninety-three student-athletes were listed on the Dean's Honor Roll during the Spring semester of 2017, while 103 were honored during the Fall of 2017. Members of the Dean's Honor Roll achieved a 3.5 or better GPA during that semester.
Oklahoma State had 295 student-athletes named on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (3.0 or better GPA) for the Spring of 2017 and 305 listed for the Fall of 2017.

While Abbott and Ferrante took home the night's top honors, there were several other awards presented. The list:

Director's Chair Winners
The Director's Chair is awarded to a student-athlete in each sport who has demonstrated success in the classroom as well as in the community and the field of competition. The chair winner is chosen by a committee considering several factors: cumulative grade point average, academic achievement, community service and leadership, closest to graduation, exhausted eligibility, number of years on the team, and athletic achievement.

Baseball – Jon Littell
Men's Basketball – Mitchell Solomon
Women's Basketball – Kaylee Jensen
Equestrian – Kaitlyn Arnold
Football – Britton Abbott
Men's Golf – Stratton Nolen
Women's Golf – Kenzie Neisen
Soccer – Anna Beffer
Softball – Vanessa Shippy
Men's Spirit Group – Drake Burns
Women's Spirit Group – Brya d'Abrosca
Men's Tennis – Julian Cash
Women's Tennis – Vladica Babic
Men's Track/Cross Country – Luis Martinez
Women's Track/Cross Country – Stephanie Ferrante
Wrestling – Dean Heil

2018 Nate Fleming Academic Effort and Improvement Award

Tyron Johnson, Football
LaTashia Jones, Women's Basketball

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Community Service Award

Equestrian
Men's Golf

Seniors of Significance
The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association announced 48 students as OSU Seniors of Significance for the 2017-18 academic year. Five of those recognized are affiliated with OSU athletics:

Brya d'Abrosca (cheerleader)
Lana Duke (soccer)
Stephanie Ferrante (women's track)
Emily Hart (women's track)
Erin Hart (women's track)

Graduating with Honors
Eighteen Cowboys and Cowgirls graduated with Honors during the 2017 calendar year, including 10 who were recognized as graduating Summa Cum Laude (3.9-4.0 GPA). Two graduated Magna Cum Laude (3.80-3.89 GPA) while six more graduated Cum Laude (3.70-3.79 GPA).

Summa Cum Laude

Britton Abbott (football)
Erin Hart (women's track)
Davey Dolan (wrestling)
Noah Gade (men's track/cross country)
Ashton Hierholzer (soccer)
Jordan Langan (equestrian)
Brad Lundblade (football)
Sarah Robinson (women's track)
Lauren Thomas (women's track)
Matt Wilson (baseball)

Magna Cum Laude

Courtney Dike (soccer)
Katie Kehl (women's track & field)

Cum Laude

Mia Bray (equestrian)
Lucas Gerch (men's tennis)
Zachary Olsen (men's golf)
Joanna Robertson (soccer)
Nathan Roper (men's tennis)
Jack Kurzu (football)

Gerald Lage Award
Fourteen Oklahoma State senior student-athletes recently were awarded the prestigious Gerald Lage Award by the Big 12 Conference office. This award recognizes student-athletes who have earned 100 hours or more with a minimum 3.80 cumulative grade point average. Those Cowboys and Cowgirls who earned the award this year are:

Britton Abbott (football)
Kirsten Chamberland (equestrian)
Lana Duke (soccer)
Stephanie Ferrante (women's track)
Kambi Gabel (women's track/cross country)
Emily Hart (women's track)
Erin Hart (women's track)
Anna Hurlbut (women's track/cross country)
Jamie Lowrie (softball)
Brad Lundblade (football)
Allie Rivers (soccer)
Sarah Robinson (women's track)
Vanessa Shippy (softball)
Cole Verble (men's track & field)

Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year
The Big 12 Conference established its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2012-13. A Scholar-Athlete of the Year is named in each of the Conference's sponsored sports. Each Big 12 institution nominates one individual per sport with the winners selected by a vote of the league's head coaches for that sport. Oklahoma State has had 12 student-athletes receive the award. The winner's from this past calendar year were:

Winter 2017      Kaylee Jensen (women's basketball)
Spring 2017      Craig Nowak (men's track & field)
                                Vanessa Shippy (softball)
Fall 2017            Luis Martinez (men's cross country)

CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
Oklahoma State had seven student-athletes named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America teams during the 2016 calendar year, bringing the school total to 74. The following were named in 2017:

Kaylee Jensen (women's basketball) – Second Team
Vanessa Shippy (softball) – First Team
Kaela Edwards (women's track/cross country) – First Team
Stephanie Ferrante (women's track/cross country) – Third Team
Britton Abbott (football) – Second Team
Justice Hill (football) – First Team
Brad Lundblade (football) – First Team

Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholar Awards
Oklahoma State matched last year's school-record total with 36 student-athletes named Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholars in 2017-18, giving OSU a total of 305 all-time recipients. Oklahoma State also had two individual sport-award winners:

Elizabeth Collins (equestrian)
Britni Love (cheer squad)

Academic Momentum Award
The Scholar Baller® Academic Momentum Award™ for improved academic performance has been awarded to:

Mandy Coleman (women's basketball)
James Washington (football)

Coaches Associations Team Academic Awards

Men's Tennis – fourth consecutive year
Women's Tennis – second consecutive year
Men's Track & Field – 13^th consecutive year
Women's Track & Field – 16^th consecutive year
Men's Golf – Third consecutive year
Men's Cross Country – Seventh consecutive year
Women's Cross Country – 16^th consecutive year
Soccer – 16^th consecutive year

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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