HOUGHTON -- Courtesy: MTU
Michigan Tech athletics has named its major award winners from the 2009-10 season. The Raymond L. Smith Award winners as the school’s outstanding senior student-athletes were Ken Gilkerson of the track and field team and the women’s basketball starting lineup of Danae Danen (Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon), Tara Ferris (Hartland, Wis./Waukesha Catholic), Sarah Stream (Ishpeming, Mich./Westwood), Katie Wysocky (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) and Katie Zimmerman (Green Bay, Wis./East). The Terry Smith Award winners as Tech’s outstanding freshman student-athletes were Ali Haidar (Windsor, Ont./Forster) of the men’s basketball team and Sam Hoyt (Arkansaw, Wis./Durand) of the women’s basketball squad. Hockey player Malcolm Gwilliam was selected as the Rick Webster “SISU” Award winner.
Gilkerson finished 10th in the 800-meter run in a school record time of 1:51.08 at the 2010 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He recently graduated with a 3.94 grade point average in mechanical engineering and was a two-time selection to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Cross Country and Track and Field Team. He also earned the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Commissioners Award and was a six-time GLIAC All-Academic selection.
The quintet of women’s basketball seniors led Tech to back-to-back NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Elite 8 appearances, a school-record 31 wins and three GLIAC North Division championships. The group combined for 7,326 points and a 100-27 record over the last four years. They were also responsible for breaking Tech’s all-time records for points, rebounds, assists, blocks and 3-pointers made. The 2009-10 Huskies also garnered the program’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking and boasted the highest grade point average of any collegiate women’s basketball team in the country.
Haidar averaged 9.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for the men’s basketball squad. The 6-7 forward was tops in the GLIAC among freshman in rebounds and second in scoring. He started 23 games and was named the team’s Bob Olson Award winner as the top newcomer.Haidar posted a cumulative GPA of 3.13 in electrical engineering.
Hoyt was a key component of Tech’s school-record women’s basketball season. The 5-5 guard appeared in 33 games for the Huskies and was the
backup running the point. Hoyt averaged 3.3 points per game, shot 90.5 percent from the foul line and had a 1.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio en route to earning the team’s outstanding newcomer of the year award. She compiled a 3.94 GPA in mathematics.
The “SISU” Award is a special honor bestowed upon an individual associated with athletics at Michigan Tech who has overcome adversity, exhibited courage through difficult situations, performed with pain/injury, or performed admirably after recovering from a severe injury. The word “SISU” comes from the Finnish language meaning “guts,” and was exemplified through the perseverance of Rick Webster, who was paralyzed during the spring football game on April 4, 1974. Webster’s bravery and determination allowed him to complete his degree and successfully find employment despite his handicap.
Gwilliam finished with 72 points (31 goals, 41 assists) in 152 games during his six-year career. He was granted two medical hardships. The first was after he suffered a knee injury his sophomore year. He was granted a second medical hardship after suffering a season-ending stroke 10 games into his senior season. He returned the following year and tied for the team lead with 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists) while serving as team captain.
In addition to the major awards, the Michigan Tech Huskies Club selected Phyllis Boutilier and Art Weaver as the Ken Hamar Award winners as “true supporters” of Michigan Tech Athletics.
Athletic director Suzanne Sanregret chose to award honorary letters to Jim Cortright and Julie Cortright.
Michigan Tech’s major award winners will be recognized formally during a ceremony at halftime of the Sept. 18 football game vs. Wayne State.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC