Garret Guthrie Selected As Lowe?s Senior CLASS Award Finalist
10/16/2008 4:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Kansas City, Mo. -- UMKC men's soccer player Garret Guthrie was named a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, it was announced today. The Wichita, Kan., native is one of 10 candidates for the award, given annually to senior student-athletes across nine NCAA Division I sports. The winner of the award, as selected by balloting of media, coaches, sponsors and fans will be announced during the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, scheduled for December 12-14 in Frisco, Texas.
“Garret's worthiness for this prestigious award is easily recognizable,” said head coach Rick Benben. “He has shown his character through his outstanding academic performance and his continuing excellence on the field, but even more impressively in his efforts as a leader in our team both as an example for out younger players and through his dedication to the community, both through the activities we participate in as a team and in the community at large. We are very proud of Garret and his accomplishments and service to our team and university. He is very deserving of this award.”
Guthrie has started all 12 matches for the Kangaroos on the 2008 season, with 67 appearances and 46 starts throughout his career at UMKC. He has struck for three goals on the season, adding an assist on the game-tying goal in the Blue-and-Gold's 4-3 upset of then #19 Drake, and was named a second team all-Summit League selection in 2007 after twice earning Offensive Player of the Week recognition.
He has also excelled off the field, earning back-to-back ESPN/CoSIDA District 7 Academic All-America honors as a sophomore and junior, adding NSCAA Scholar all-Region honors as a junior. The chemistry major was also honored with UMKC's Jack Gant Award in 2008, given to the best overall student-athlete based on both athletic and academic criteria, and was the recipient of the Lester Milgram Award in 2007.
He is the first Summit League student-athlete selected as a finalist for this award, one of the most prestigious awards in college athletics, and just the second student-athlete in the league to qualify as a semifinalist, joining Oral Roberts' Caleb Green, who was named a semifinalist during the 2006-07 season.
From an initial group of 30 male and 30 female student-athletes, 10 finalists per gender were selected, and have displayed both on-field and off-field excellence have been selected as candidates for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the men's soccer and women's soccer divisions. These individuals qualified based on their dedication and achievement in four areas: Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition. The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award is distinctive from many other honors in that on-the-field performance is only one factor in determining candidacy ? a major emphasis is placed on off-the-field commitments and personal character.
Fan balloting, available at http://soccer.seniorclassaward.com/public/men/vote.aspx, will run from October 16 to November 19, and will be combined with votes from coaches, national sponsors and select media to determine the recipient of the award. Each component of the voting will account for 25 percent of the overall total.
“Lowe's is incredibly proud to announce the 2008 finalist class for men's and women's soccer,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising. “These 20 student-athletes represent all that is great about collegiate athletics. Each is to be admired for their commitment and dedication not only to soccer, but to the classroom and their community.”
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season in response to the trend of college basketball players leaving college early to turn professional. The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman, and has recognized winners in men's and women's basketball for seven years. Lowe's extended the award in 2006 to include baseball, softball, men's hockey and men's lacrosse, then in 2007 added men's and women's soccer. The award will also include the sport of football this fall, bringing the total awards program to nine NCAA Division I sports.
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: classroom, community, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards that a senior season can bring. For more information, visit www.seniorclassaward.com or e-mail Melynda Stein with Premier Sports Management.
ABOUT LOWE'S
With fiscal year 2007 sales of $48.3 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE? 50 company that serves approximately 14 million customers a week at more than 1,525 home improvement stores in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit www.Lowes.com.
ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association.
2008 Men's Soccer Candidates
Name (Position) -- School/Conference
Matt Besler (Defender) --- University of Notre Dame/Big East
Sam Cronin (Midfielder) --- Wake Forest University/Atlantic Coast
Dylan Curtis (Midfielder) --- University of California Davis/Big West
Michael Fucito (Midfielder) --- Harvard University/Ivy
Adam Gartner (Defender) --- Eastern Illinois University/Missouri Valley
A.J. Glubzinski (Goalkeeper) --- United States Military Academy/Patriot
Garret Guthrie (Defender) --- University of Missouri?Kansas City/The Summit League
Yohance Marshall (Defender) --- University of South Florida/Big East
Dylan Sheehan (Forward) --- Brown University/Ivy
O'Brien White (Forward) --- University of Connecticut/Big East
