Empire 8 Announces Senior Scholar-Athlete Award Winners
May 3, 2007
ROCHESTER, NY – Football player Justin Brunell and gymnast Kelly Stevison of Ithaca College have been named the 2007 Empire 8 Senior Scholar-Athlete Award winners. The award honors those student-athletes who best exemplify what it means to be a dedicated scholar and athlete over the course of their four-year collegiate careers.
“Kelly and Justin represent the best of the Empire 8 and they are the embodiment of today’s student-athlete,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “They excel in the classroom, on the playing surface, and in the community. We are honored to name them as recipients of our highest honor.”
The award winners are selected by a committee comprised of conference Faculty Athletic Representatives. To be eligible, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.75 cumulative grade point average.
Brunell, team captain and center, is a five-time Empire 8 Presidents’ List and five-time Dean’s List honoree majoring in Television and Radio. He was named to the District I First Team All-Academic Team each of the past two years and this past season, received the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar Athlete Award. This spring, Brunell was nominated for Phi Kappa Phi as well as the Ithaca Campus Life Award honoring those who make outstanding contributions to the school.
Brunell, a four-year member of the football program, earned all-conference recognition this past season and was also named the team’s representative on the Empire 8 Football Sportsman of the Year Team. The sportsman honor is given to student-athletes who distinguish themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits of sportsmanship emphasized by the Empire 8’s motto of “Competing with Honor and Integrity.”
“The only characteristic that shined brighter than his performance on the field was his ability to lead,” said Ithaca Head Football Coach Mike Welch. “He was elected captain his senior year and took great pride in leading by example. No one worked harder than Justin or was more dedicated to game preparation.” Brunell was awarded the Jim Butterfield Award given to the senior football player who best displays the character of the legendary former Bombers’ football coach.
Stevison, a two-time Harriet Marranca Gymnast of the Year at Ithaca and two-year team captain, has earned Dean’s List honors every semester and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honor Society. A CoSIDA Women’s Academic All-American First Team selection, Stevison is a six-time All-American and national finalist.
She is one of the most successful gymnasts in the program’s history with nine all-conference honors, including the vault title in 2004. Stevison has finished in the top-10 in the all-around competition each year and finished as high as second in the nation in the vault. She is the only Ithaca gymnast to earn All-America honors in the all-around event three times.
Stevison has volunteered for several campus programs such as “Ithaca in Motion,” which provides information to prospective students interested in physical therapy at the school. She has worked with senior citizens in local long-term care facilities, organized and implemented a team demonstration at the Longview Retirement Community, and recently participated in a program on Women and Girls in Sports.
“Kelly is an invaluable member of the gymnastics program, the athletics department, and the department of physical therapy,” said Ithaca Head Gymnastics Coach Rick Suddaby.