EAU CLAIRE -- Brooke Schmidt is a repeat winner to headline the six recipients of UW-Eau Claire's 2004 Blugold Super Six Salute awards.
Schmidt, a volleyball All-American and a basketball All-Conference performer, will be honored along with the five other winners at the Hall of Fame banquet September 25.
Joining Schmidt (Stanley/Stanley-Boyd) as winners of the university's highest athletics honor are basketball-softball player Emilee Planert (Eau Claire/North), basketball player Becca Spaeth (Chippewa Falls), basketball player Casey Drake (Rhinelander), football player Dave Maas (Waunakee) and track athlete John Schuna (Hudson).
The Super Six award, in its 18th year of existence, recognizes and honors outstanding athletes who have also demonstrated a high level of proficiency in the classroom. Each year the award honors three female and three male student-athletes. These individuals epitomize the ideals of intercollegiate athletics as an educational experience at UWEC.
To be nominated for the award, the student-athletes must have completed their junior or senior year of eligibility, have attended UWEC for two years, have a cumulative resident grade point average of 3.00 or better, have a declared major, be recommended by their head coach and have demonstrated above average performance in their sport.
A total of 28 athletes were nominated for the award which was selected by the coaching staff and the student athlete advisory committee. "The six athletes that will be honored September 25 represent the elite of the student-athletes from our 20 intercollegiate teams," said Sports Information Director Tim Petermann who will present the awards.
"Intercollegiate athletes at UW-Eau Claire has been and will continue to be a classroom outside the classroom," said Petermann. "All of our athletes, like these six, come to UWEC as students first and use athletics as an enjoyable recreational activity in which to broaden their horizons and learn things that may not be offered in specific academic areas. Any vocation can be enhanced through participation in athletics, learning things from teamwork to time management to interpersonal communication skills to discipline, assertiveness, overcoming adversity and motivation among many."
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Brooke Schmidt
A four-time letterwinner in basketball and volleyball and three-time letterwinner in track, Schmidt earned AVCA first team All-American honors last year in leading the volleyball team to a 23-10 record. She was a team captain and the team co-MVP after being named to four All-Tournament teams.
In basketball, she was named to the All-WIAC Defensive Team and the All-WIAC team for the second consecutive season as a senior. She is the two-time defending conference rebound champion in helping the Blugolds to 32-2 and 21-6 records the past two seasons.
She has earned several team honors including Rookie of the Year and Best Offensive Player in volleyball and Defensive Player and Most Improved in basketball. She also earned All-American status in track during her first three seasons but redshirted this past year.
Schmidt also served as president of the student athlete advisory committee this past year.
A math education major with a 3.79 GPA, Schmidt will graduate during the 2005-06 academic year.
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Emilee Planert
Planert lettered four years in softball and three years in basketball. She was a three-time All-WIAC pick in softball where she played shortstop. She was named to the NFCA Great Lakes All-Region second team as a senior after making the third team as both a sophomore and junior. Planert was the team MVP in leading the Blugolds to a 26-17 record and first place in the conference regular season standings.
This year, she was selected to a Midwest Collegiate All-Star team which played the United States' gold-medal winning national softball team in an exhibition game before some 4,000 fans at Stevens Point.
As a basketball player, she made some major contributions during her career including a 28-point effort against UW-Stout during an unbeaten 2002-03 campaign and being named MVP of the Thanksgiving ShowcaseTournament in 2001.
A middle childhood education and special education major with an emphasis in learning disabilities, Planert owns a 3.52 cumulative GPA and expects to graduate in May, 2006.
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Becca Spaeth
A four-year letterwinner in basketball, Spaeth was one of 10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy as the Division III Player of the Year last year.
She was a two-time All-Conference pick and shared the conference Scholar-Athlete award as a senior. She was named to the All-Tournament teams in the Thanksgiving Showcase and the California Lutheran Royale Classic. She was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American third team as a senior.
She was a starter on teams that went 72-15 over the past three years including 32-2 in 2002-03 when the team finished third in the national tournament.
She was active in both the biology club and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Spaeth is a biology education major with a 3.92 GPA and expects to graduate in May, 2005.
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Dave Maas
Currently a captain of the nationally-ranked Blugold football team, Maas has lettered his first three years and has also earned a letter in wrestling. He was the team defensive lineman of the year last year when he earned a spot on the All-Conference second team.
Maas is currently a representative and committee chair on the student athlete advisory committee. He has been a volunteer with Special Olympics and is involved with the football team’s Reading/Recess program in a local elementary school.
Maas is also a member of the university's renowned Singing Statesmen and the Concert Choir. He is an elementary education major with a 3.66 GPA and expects to graduate in December, 2005.
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Casey Drake
Drake led the men's basketball team in scoring, free throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage, rebounds and steals last year as a junior. A three-year letterwinner, Drake was named to the All-Conference first team in addition to three All-Tournament teams. He was MVP of the Eau Claire Holiday Classic and also the team MVP and Inspiration Award winner.
His first two seasons on the team, he won the team Hustle Award and the team Fireman award.
A secondary education and broadfield social studies major, Drake owns a 3.51 GPA. He expects to graduate in December, 2005.
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John Schuna
Schuna was the NCAA Division III indoor national shot put champion his freshman season in 2002. Although he has not repeated as a national champion, he has been a six-time All-American in the indoor and outdoor shot put. He won the conference outdoor shot put title this past spring and set a school outdoor record in the shot with a toss of 58 feet, 6.5 inches He holds the school indoor mark of 56-4. He also qualified for the NCAA outdoor nationals in the discus.
Schuna has been the team Most Valuable track athlete for three straight seasons.
He is an exercise management major with a 3.78 GPA and expects to graduate in December, 2005.
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