Print Story | Email Story

Issued: October 20, 2005

DRAKE, SCHUNA REPEAT AS SUPER SIX WINNERS

EAU CLAIRE - Casey Drake and John Schuna are repeat winners to headline the six recipients of UW-Eau Claire's 2005 Blugold Super Six Salute awards.

Drake, a two-time All-Conference pick, and Schuna, a nine-time NCAA All-American in the shot put and discus, will be honored along with the four other winners at the Hall of Fame banquet Saturday (October 22).

Joining Drake (Rhinelander) and Schuna (Hudson) as winners of the university's highest athletics honor are volleyball-basketball player Becca Carstensen (Eau Claire/Memorial), football player Matt Evensen (Junction City/Auburndale), basketball player Katie Murphy (La Crosse/Aquinas) and track athlete Jen Stafslien (Onalaska/West Salem).

The Super Six award, in its 19th 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.

This year, a total of 24 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 Saturday represent the elite of the student-athletes from our 20 intercollegiate teams," said Sports Information Director Tim Petermann who will present the awards.

"Intercollegiate athletics 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."

BECCA CARSTENSEN

A four-year letterwinner in volleyball and two-year letterwinner in basketball, Carstensen earned third team AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) All-American honors last year. That honor highlighted a brilliant senior season in which she was named to the All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team for a second straight year, the AVCA All-Midwest Region first team and five All-Tournament teams. In addition to being named the team MVP, she earned the team Best Offensive Player and Hustle awards. She was also named the WIAC Co-Scholar-Athlete for volleyball.

Carstensen left the Blugold program as the school record holder in career blocks (466), career blocking assists (384), blocking assists in a season (148), total blocks in a season (182), blocking assists in a match (14) and service aces in a match (9).

She earned the team Most Improved Award in each of her first three Blugold seasons and also shared the team MVP honor as a junior. In basketball, she started 23 games last year for a Blugold team that finished 16-11.

Carstensen was an active member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serving as the treasurer one year and as a sub-committee chair. She was also involved in the UWEC Community Fitness Program. She graduated with a 3.60 GPA and is now doing graduate work at Northern Illinois University.

KATIE MURPHY

Murphy was a four-year starting point guard for Tonja Englund's basketball team. She was named to the five-player All-WIAC Defensive Team as a senior and also earned the team Defensive Player of the Year for a second time after receiving the honor as a sophomore. She was the team Rookie of the Year in 2001-02. She helped lead the Blugolds to an overall 32-2 record, a conference championship with a 16-0 mark and third place in the NCAA National Tournament in 2002-03. She served as team captain in both her junior and senior seasons.

Murphy was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Murphy graduated in August as a kinesiology major with an emphasis in exercise management. She was recently hired by the Minnesota Lynx. Eventually, she wants to pursue a master's degree in cardiac rehab.

JEN STAFSLIEN

A three-year letterwinner in track after transferring from UW-La Crosse, Stafslien was the preeminent hurdler in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference the last three seasons, winning the 55-meter indoor title twice and the 100-meter outdoor title three times. She also won the conference indoor long jump event twice. During her Blugold career, she won 18 conference individual medals in the hurdles, long jump and triple jump. She was nearly as successful at the national level, scoring points in five indoor and five outdoor events. In her final competition last spring, she finished as the national runner-up in the long jump. She was the WIAC Co-Track Performer of the Meet at last spring's WIAC outdoor championship.

She also leaves the university with numerous indoor and outdoor records in the hurdles, long jump and triple jump plus the 400 and 1600-meter relays.

A nursing major, Stafslien was a member of a Nurses of World War II research team. She will graduate in December and wants to enter the nursing field in Eau Claire before heading off to do graduate work at the University of Wisconsin Hospital.

CASEY DRAKE

Drake was a four-year Blugold basketball letterwinner and leaves the program ranked No. 21 in career scoring with 1,177 points. He was a two-year All-WIAC first team selection. As both a junior and a senior, he led the Blugolds in scoring and steals. He also led one of the two years in rebounds, assists, free throw percentage and 3-point field goal percentage.

As a senior, he was also named to the Inside Wisconsin Sports Division III All-State first team and the D3hoops.com All-West Region third team. He received the WIAC Scholar-Athlete award for the sport of basketball this past year.

Drake was named MVP of the Eau Claire Holiday Classic in each of the past two tournaments and also earned berths on two other All-Tournament teams. Among his team awards were MVP twice, Inspiration award as a junior, Fireman Award as a sophomore and Hustle Award as a freshman.

Drake is a secondary education major with an emphasis in broadfield social studies. He owns a 3.53 GPA and will graduate in December. His career goal is to teach and coach.

MATT EVENSEN

A three-year letterwinner in football, Evensen led the Blugolds in pass receptions in both the 2003 and 2004 seasons. His total of 57 catches as a sophomore is the second best in school history.

He is sitting out this season as a result of a shoulder injury he suffered in a game against the Chrysler Vikings in Vienna, Austria during the Blugolds' European trip this past summer. He will enter his final season next fall ranked fourth in career receptions, fifth in touchdown receptions and eighth in receiving yardage.

Evensen earned All-WIAC first team honors in 2004 after receiving honorable mention as a sophomore. He was the team Most Valuable Offensive Newcomer in 2002.

Last fall, he was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V first team. A kinesiology/pre-med major with a 3.83 GPA, Evensen is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

JOHN SCHUNA

Schuna was the NCAA Division III indoor national shot put champion his freshman season in 2002. He was an All-American four consecutive years in the shot put at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships. He won the WIAC outdoor shot put titles in both 2002 and 2004. He also placed three times in the discus at the conference outdoor meet and once in the weight throw at the conference indoor championship, accumulating 11 conference medals. He earned All-American honors in the discus at the 2002 NCAA meet, making him a nine-time NCAA All-American.

Schuna holds the school indoor and outdoor records in the shot put. He was the team MVP four straight years. He was the WIAC Scholar-Athlete in indoor track as a senior and also served as a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

He is an exercise management major with a 3.80 GPA and will graduate in December, 2005.

Super Six Webpage

- TP -

Go Back