CLAREMONT, Calif. — A total of 50 University of La Verne senior student-athletes were honored at the 2015 Senior Blanket Awards last Friday evening at the Doubletree Hotel in Claremont.
Kelby Scharmann of men’s golf was honored as the Anthony P. Scafani Award recipient as the top senior male athlete and Maddie Lovrensky of swimming and diving earned the Jesse Iles Scafani Award as the top female athlete.
Scharmann could not attend the banquet, but for a good reason. The Trabuco Canyon native was busy in North Carolina winning the 2015 NCAA Division III Individual National Championship, becoming the first Leopard golfer to win a national championship.
In addition, Scharmann was named the 2015 SCIAC Men’s Golf Athlete of the Year, selected to Second Team All-America in 2014 and tabbed as All-West Region three years in a row.
Schamann was excellent in the classroom as well, earning Golf Coaches Association of America All-America Scholar honors and two Academic All-SCIAC selections.
Maddie Lovrensky leaves La Verne as the most decorated swimmer in La Verne history. In her four years, Lovrensky collected five All-American honors, nine individual SCIAC championships and eight school records. She was also named the SCIAC Swimming and Diving Female Athlete of the Year in 2014 and 2015.
Lovrensky’s magnum opus came at the 2015 NCAA National Championships where she won the silver medal in the 100 yard backstroke.
Maddie has been equally impressive out of the pool. In 2013, she was one of Final Four candidates for Elite 89, an NCAA award that recognizes a student-athlete who has reached the national championship level in his or sport while also achieving the highest academic standards among his or her peers. In addition, she is a three-time Academic All-American, a five-time Academic All-SCIAC selection as a swimmer and a water polo player, and four-time La Verne Scholar-Athlete.
Hope and Nysa Allen of volleyball and Justin Schnurstein of football were named the 2014 La Verne Scholar Athletes of the Year.
Volleyball and Athletic Training seniors Hope and Nysa Allen played an instrumental role putting the Leopards into the national championship in 2012 and 2014 and have been just as valuable for the University of La Verne off the court.
In April, both Hope and Nysa won athletic training scholarships at the district and national level. Nysa was awarded the National Athletic Trainers Association Research and Education Foundation Jack Rockwell Memorial Scholarship while Hope won the Bill Buhler Memorial Scholarship. Nysa also won the Far West Athletic Trainers Association Lew Crowl Scholarship and Hope was the recipient of the California Athletic Trainers Association Scholarship.
As of the 2015 January term, Hope has a 3.95 cumulative GPA and Nysa has a 4.0.
When he wasn’t blocking for a nationally-ranked offense and recording-breaking skills position players, La Verne offensive lineman Justin Schnurstein was busy putting in work as a business and public management major, achieving a 3.92 GPA.
He was a four-year starter for the Leopards, graduated in seven semesters with high honors, holds numerous weight room records and is a three-time Academic All-SCIAC selection.
The year before Justin arrived on campus, La Verne was last in the nation in rushing offense. With Justin, La Verne produced the all-time leading rusher Matthew Biggers and finished top-25 in the country in total offense in 2014.
A special award presented to Hal Hargrave, La Verne’s student broadcaster. Hargrave served as the voice of the Leopards the past two years and as an inspiration to La Verne’s student-athletes. In addition, he reported on the Leopards’s success for the Campus Times and LeopardAthletics.com, bringing awareness to students, faculty and staff.
More photos can be found at: KJH Photography