Husker Graduates Feature All-America Flavor

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Lincoln - Nebraska’s spring student-athlete graduates featured a distinct All-America flavor on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, with the 39 Husker graduates combining for 24 All-America awards in competition and one Academic All-America award in the classroom.

 

The 2009 May class of graduates was headlined by 2008 U.S. Olympian and NCAA indoor high jump champion Dusty Jonas, who was an eight-time All-American for Coach Gary Pepin's Husker track and field team. Emily Parsons, an 11-time NCAA All-American, and Desire' Sniatynski, a four-time All-American for Coach Dan Kendig's women's gymnastics team, also added an All-America flavor to NU's list of graduates, along with Husker rifle All-American Kim Chrostowski.

 

Molly Hill, a 2008 CoSIDA Academic All-American, earned her bachelor's degree on Saturday while leading Coach Rhonda Revelle's Nebraska softball team at the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City. Nick Sullivan, Nebraska's 2008-09 Male Student-Athlete of the Year, received his diploma before leading Coach Mike Anderson's Husker baseball team on the field against Cal State Bakersfield at Hawks Field on Saturday afternoon. Sullivan was joined by teammate Jake Mort (Nebraska City) in the Husker baseball graduating class.

 

The Husker graduates came from 13 U.S. states, along with one graduate from Canada and another from England. The class also enjoyed a rich Nebraska flavor with 17 graduates from the Cornhusker State.

 

In addition to Jonas as an athletic headliner in NU's class of graduates, Coach Gary Pepin's track and field program also featured 2008-09 Nebraska Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President Patrick Burke and 2007-08 SAAC President Betsy Miller, who was also a 2009 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient. In all, seven members of the track and field team received diplomas on Saturday, including Bryan Bell, Joslyn Dalton, Zac Holoch and Eric Petersen.

 

Coach Bo Pelini’s Nebraska football program had five student-athletes graduate on Saturday, including Lance Brandenburgh, Zach Potter, Matt Slauson, Mike Stuntz and Tyler Wortman.

 

Coach Mark Manning's wrestling program featured four May graduates, with Patrick Aleksanyan, Matt Nelson, Casey Roberts and Rob Sanders earning their degrees.

 

The NU softball team showcased three graduates, including Hill, Jordan Keen and Cassie Kleinsmith, as did the NU women's gymnastics program, including Parsons, Sniatynski and 2009 Big 12 bars champion Brittney Williams.

 

Coach Doc Sadler's men's basketball team honored a pair of graduates with Ade Dagunduro and Nick Krenk picking up their diplomas on Saturday, while Coach John Walker's soccer team contributed two graduates in Selenia Iacchelli and Lauren Isenhower.

 

Coach Bill Spangler's men's golf team (Chris Bruening, Mark Pillen), Coach Morgan Hicks' rifle squad (Kim Chrostowski, Katie Harrington) and Kerry McDermott's men's tennis team (Karl Jones, Mark Tate) each produced a pair of graduates as well.

 

Coach John Cook's volleyball team was represented by Lincoln native Rachel Schwartz, while Coach Scott Jacobson's women's tennis team added Ashley Finnegan to the list. Coach Pablo Morales' swimming and diving squad also honored Courtney Jolly as a May graduate, while Coach Francis Allen's men's gymnastics program added Andrew Podany to NU's class.

“I admire each of these student-athletes for the way they balanced school with competition,” Nebraska Senior Associate Athletic Director for Academics, Compliance and Planning Dennis Leblanc said. “These graduates add to Nebraska’s great tradition of academic and athletic excellence. These student-athletes have come from different parts of the country and the world to receive the highest quality of education while competing in athletics at the highest level. The athletic department, the University and the entire state of Nebraska are proud of them.”  

 

Nebraska’s 2009 May class of graduates built on the Huskers’ great student-athlete tradition, which includes an NCAA-leading 268 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans across all sports. Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation with a Big 12-leading exhausted eligibility graduation rate of 93 percent.

 

May 2009 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (39)

• Student-Athlete, Sport, Hometown, Major
• Patrick Aleksanyan, Wrestling, Santa Ana, Calif., Criminal Justice
• Bryan Bell, Track and Field, Bellevue, Neb., Economics
• Lance Brandenburgh, Football, Overland Park, Kan., Business Administration
• Chris Bruening, Men's Golf, Norfolk, Neb., Management
• Patrick Burke, Track and Field, Bellevue, Neb., Marketing
• Kim Chrostowski, Rifle, Rockville, R.I., History
• Ade Dagunduro, Men's Basketball, Inglewood, Calif., Sociology
• Joslyn Dalton, Track and Field, Fremont, Neb., Communication Studies
• Ashley Finnegan, Women's Tennis, Weston, Fla., Marketing
• Katie Harrington, Rifle, New Richmond, Wis., Elementary Education
• Molly Hill, Softball, Wayne, Neb., Speech-Language Pathology
• Zac Holoch, Track and Field, York, Neb., Economics
• Selenia Iacchelli, Soccer, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Nutrition Science
• Lauren Isenhower, Soccer, Lenexa, Kan., International Business
• Courtney Jolly, Swimming and Diving, Plantation, Fla., Animal Science
• Dusty Jonas, Track and Field, LaVernia, Texas, Horticulture
• Karl Jones, Men's Tennis, Fareham, England, English
• Jordan Keen, Softball, Sarasota, Fla., Biological Sciences
• Cassie Kleinsmith, Softball, Omaha, Neb., Broadcasting
• Nick Krenk, Men's Basketball, Nebraska City, Neb., Psychology
• Betsy Miller, Cross Country/Track and Field, Lodgepole, Neb., Biological Sciences
• Jake Mort, Baseball, Nebraska City, Neb., Spanish
• Matt Nelson, Wrestling, Wayne, Neb., Construction Management
• Emily Parsons, Women's Gymnastics, St. Charles, Mo., Sociology
• Eric Petersen, Track and Field, Rapid City, S.D., Physics
• Mark Pillen, Men's Golf, Houston, Texas, Management
• Megan Place, Women's Golf, Omaha, Neb., Art History and Criticism
• Andrew Podany, Men's Gymnastics, Papillion, Neb., Fisheries and Wildlife
• Zach Potter, Football, Omaha, Neb., Communication Studies
• Casey Roberts, Wrestling, Lincoln, Neb., Architectural Studies
• Rob Sanders, Wrestling, Blanding, Utah, Nutrition, Fitness and Health Promotion
• Rachel Schwartz, Volleyball, Lincoln, Neb., Communication Studies
• Matt Slauson, Football, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sociology
• Desire' Sniatynski, Women's Gymnastics, Kenosha, Wis., Communication Studies
• Mike Stuntz, Football, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Professional Golf Management
• Nick Sullivan, Baseball, Arvada, Colo., Finance
• Mark Tate, Men's Tennis, The Woodlands, Texas, Business Administration
• Brittney Williams, Women's Gymnastics, Hatboro, Pa., Sociology
• Tyler Wortman, Football, Grand Island, Neb., Mechanical Engineering