INDIANAPOLIS---Eight standout student-athletes will be honored next month with the 2010 NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award, including University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Duke women’s golfer Amanda Blumenherst.

The Today’s Top VIII Award recognizes current student-athletes who will have completed their athletic eligibility for their success on the fields and courts, in the classroom and in the community. Recipients will be honored Jan. 15, 2010 at the NCAA Honors Celebration at the 2010 NCAA Convention in Atlanta.

Joining Tebow and Blumenherst as Top VIII honorees are:

Courtney Kupets, Georgia, gymnastics

Venessa Lee, Pittsburg State, cross country and indoor and outdoor track

Jeff Lerg, Michigan State, men’s ice hockey

Kent Raymond, Wheaton (Illinois), men’s basketball

Brittany Rogers, Alabama, softball

Sarah Stevens, Arizona State, indoor and outdoor track

The Top VIII honorees are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which is composed of athletics administrators at member institutions and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes. Following are summaries of each honoree’s achievements:

Amanda Blumenherst
Duke 
Major: History
Women’s golf

• Member of two NCAA national championship teams and three-time ACC individual champion
• First three-time winner of the Nancy Lopez Award, which is presented to the top amateur golfer in the nation
• Only four-time ACC player of the year in league history
• Tied for first on Duke’s career wins list with 12 and holds career records for top 10 finishes (37), even or under par rounds (78), top stroke average (71.00), top 10 freshman stroke average (71.62), low 18 hole score on par 72 (63), low 36 hole total on par 72 (134) and low 54 hole total on par 72 (203)
• Led the United States to victories in the 2008 and 2006 Curtis Cup, which is contested by women amateur golfers, one team from the United States and one team from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
• First three-time national player of the year and three-time Golfstat Cup Award winner in NCAA women’s golf history
• A four-time All-America and two-time winner of the Honda Award for golf
• Winner of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship
• Three-time first-team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America selection and four-time National Golf Coaches Association Scholar All-American
• Active member of Athletes in Action and Duke’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, including spearheading a holiday initiative that annually raised more than $1,800 to adopt 10-11 families.
• Volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Urban Ministries Soup Kitchen and MLK Day Meals for Millions, in which the golf team partnered with North Carolina Central to assemble food for those in need
• Recently earned her LPGA Tour card

Courtney Kupets
Georgia
Major: Housing/Property Management and Consumer Economics
Gymnastics

• Member of four NCAA national championship teams
• Nine-time NCAA individual champion and the first gymnast to win at least one national title in each event
• 2009 Honda-Broderick Cup recipient as collegiate woman athlete of the year
• 15-time all-American
• 2009 SEC Gymnast of the Year and Roy F. Kramer SEC Female Athlete of the Year
• 2009 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner and SEC Postgraduate Scholarship Award recipient
• ESPN the Magazine first-team academic all-American
• Three-time Dean’s List recipient and eight-time Athletics Director’s Honor Roll
• Met regularly with a Special Olympian to prepare a routine for competition, participated in the SOAR 5K, which involved running with a Special Olympian, and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity as part of a Women Build project where a house was constructed by a team of women from the Athens community

Venessa Lee
Pittsburg State
Majors: Biology (pre-medicine) and Spanish
Cross country and indoor and outdoor track

• Three-time NCAA national champion in the 800m
• Six-time all-American
• 14-time MIAA championship and 20-time all-MIAA selection
• Holds school records in the indoor and outdoor 800m, indoor mile and indoor 1,000m.
• Two-time ESPN the Magazine academic all-American
• 2008-09 Ken B. Jones award winner as MIAA female student-athlete of the year
• Three-time MIAA all-academic team pick
• Participated in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Honors College and Beta Beta Beta, the biology honors society, and served on the Student Government Association cabinet
• Volunteered with the Special Olympics and the Pittsburg State pre-med free health screenings outreach
• Built houses for missionaries during a mission trip to Brazil in 2004
• Currently pursuing graduate studies at the University of Missouri Medical School

Jeff Lerg
Michigan State
Major: Finance
Men’s ice hockey

• Member of 2007 NCAA national championship team and named to the Frozen Four all-tournament team
• Chosen as 2007 USA Hockey College Player of the Year and NCAA Midwest Regional MVP
• Michigan State and CCHA career saves leader and ranks second all-time in NCAA history with 3,996 stops
• Two-time Michigan State George Alderton Male Athlete of the Year selection
• Winner of Michigan State’s 2009 Chester Brewer award, which is presented for distinguished athletics and scholarship and for demonstrating a high degree of character, personality, competitive spirit and other leadership qualities
• 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine At-Large Academic all-American of the Year and two-time first-team academic all-American
• 2009 Mike and Marion Ilitch Humanitarian Award winner
• 2008 CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and three-time CCHA All-academic team selection
• Recipient of the men’s ice hockey team’s Blue Line President’s Award presented to the senior with the highest GPA
• Active participant in Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Shoot for the Cure (a Michigan State hockey outreach initiative to raise money for children’s cancer charities), Project Read at local elementary schools, Have Fun, Play Hockey clinics and wheelchair hockey games to raise funds for local wheelchair hockey team.
• Recipient of 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for ice hockey

Kent Raymond
Wheaton (Illinois)
Major: Intercultural Studies
Men’s basketball

• 2008-09 DIII News Player of the Year
• Two-time D3hoops.com and three-time NABC Division III first-team all-American
• Ranks eighth in Division III for career free throw percentage (88.7 percent)
• Three-time CCIW Most Outstanding Player award recipient
• Holds CCIW records for career made free throws (325), free throws made in a single game (20-for-20), points in a conference tournament game (39)
• Two-time captain of the men’s basketball squad
• ESPN the Magazine first-team academic all-America pick in 2008-09 and second-team academic all-America selection in 2007-08.
• Helped organize and oversee free basketball clinics on the south side of Chicago and volunteered at the local Loaves and Fishes food pantry
• Completed mission trips to Costa Rica and Mexico
• Currently pursuing a master’s degree in intercultural studies

Brittany Rogers
Alabama
Major: Elementary Education
Softball

• Four-year starter helped Alabama register three top 10 national finishes
• Guided the Crimson Tide to three Women’s College World Series berths, including back-to-back semifinal appearances
• Finished career ranked first in stolen bases (198); second in batting average (.417), runs (256) and hits (343); and fifth in on-base percentage (.463).
• Named as an all-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Easton for four straight years
• Guided Alabama to the 2006 SEC championship and three SEC Western Division titles
• Second Crimson Tide athlete in school history to post at least 300 hits, score 200 runs and steal 100 bases
• Recipient of an 2009 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and SEC Boyd McWhorter Postgraduate Scholarship
• Winner of the 2009 Paul Bryant Student-Athlete Award, which is presented to the top male and top female student-athlete at Alabama
• Participated with the campus student-athlete advisory committee and volunteered with multiple community organizations such as Project Angel Tree, Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, Easter Seals walk and visited various local elementary and high schools

Sarah Stevens
Arizona State
Major: Elementary Education Acceleration (MEd)
Indoor and outdoor track

• Two-time NCAA national champion (once in the indoor shot put and once in the discus)
• 15-time all-American
• Four-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Women’s West Region Field Athlete of the Year (twice for indoor and twice for outdoor)
• Seven-time MPSF champion (shot put, weight throw) and six-time Pac-10 champion (shot put, discus, hammer throw)
• Two-time MPSF Female Athlete of the Year and two-time Pac-10 Women’s Field Athlete of the Year
• Recipient of 2009 NCAA Postgraduate and Pac-10 Postgraduate Scholarships
• 2009 Pac-10 Women’s Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• Pac-10 first-team all-academic pick
• Three-time USTFCCCA Women’s Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year selection and 2008 USTFCCCA Women’s Outdoor Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• Two-time president of the campus student-athlete advisory committee
• Volunteered with Pat’s Run fund-raiser, Pat Tillman Leadership Through Action Program, and the Salvation Army at South Mountain outreach, in which she taught and played sports with young children while teaching them about healthy living.

Tim Tebow
Florida
Major: Family, Youth & Community Sciences
Football

• Only sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, Sullivan Award, Davey O’Brien Award and Maxwell Award (2007)
• Three-time Heisman Trophy finalist
• Second player to repeat as Maxwell Award recipient
• Only player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in one season
• Guided Florida to two national championships and two SEC championships
• 2009 SEC Offensive Player of the Year
• ESPY award winner as best male college athlete in 2008
• Two-time ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American of the Year
• Two-time SEC scholar-athlete of the year for football (2008, 2009)
• Dedicated more than 700 hours to community service and appearances this year, including making phone calls to sick children and visiting hospitals
• Named to the 2009 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
• Chosen as 2008 Disney Sports Spirit Award winner as college football’s most inspirational player

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