Sports: Demon athletes make honor roll, Natchitoches Parish Louisiana Source: Alexandria Town Talk, May 29, 1998 Submitted by: Gaytha Thompson ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** DEMON ATHLETES MAKE HONOR ROLL NATCHITOCHES --Half of the 230 student-athletes at Northwestern State carried a 3.0 grade point average and earned honor roll status for at least one semester during the past year. Roxanne Foret, the academic coordinator for athletics, said 115 different student-athletes earned honor roll recognition in 1997-98, including 86 during the recently-completed spring semester. Included in those numbers are many of 73 Northwestern student-athletes who own cumulative college grades of 3.0 or better, she said. {/preview Last week, Northwestern won the Southland Conference Commissioner s Cup awarded to the most successful athletic program in 16 conference championship sports during the 1997-98 season. "This combination of excellence in academics and athletics is truly a noteworthy accomplishment," said athletic director Greg Burke. "Looking at the outstanding academic achievement by our student-athletes and their accomplishments competing for Northwestern, we are bursting with pride." Heading the spring athletic honor roll recipients were four student-athletes who had perfect 4.0 averages: football quarterback Bo Meeks, soccer standout Janet Callahan, volleyball s Gretchen Hecht and track and field distance star Julie Lessiter. Twenty-one other athletes earned grades between 3.5 and 3.99, headlined by SLC men s high jump champion Felipe Apablaza, record-setting baseball pitcher David Balcer, football standout Jason Miller and record-breaking quartermiler Shekerah Kyles of the Lady Demon track program. Also in that group were six other track and field competitors: Chris Baker, Robert Bonner, Jennifer Mitchell, Elizabeth Williams, Lakeisha Henderson and Loretta Johnson. Along with Balcer, representing the conference-champion baseball team were Kenny Homann, Travis Fossett and Brad Tyler. From the conference champion football team were Miller, linebackers Matt Slate and Lanny Lawrence, center William Broussard and receiver Paul Papillion. Also in the group between 3.5 and 3.99 were April Addeo of the volleyball team, Kelly Knapshaefer of the soccer team, Kevin Odom of the golf team and basketball player Martin Reisons. Among the 61 athletes earning grades between 3.0 and 3.5 were SLC baseball Player of the Year Ryan Anholt, SLC softball Hitter of the Year Brandy Kenney, All-SLC baskeball player Seth LeGrand, record-setting women s javelin thrower Regina Roe and Wendy Woodham, a goalkeeper for the Demon soccer team named Most Valuable Player as Northwestern captured the 1997 SLC Tournament title. Kenney was one of four starters on the SLC champion Demon softball team to make the honor roll, along with pitcher/outfielder Amber Welker, rightfielder Linette Stuart and senior second baseman Tammy Peck.