Macalester held its annual Athletic Banquet last Sunday night (May 4) at Kagin Commons and announced the selection of Grace King (Jr. Northampton, Mass.) from soccer as the M Club Female Athlete of the Year and Tom Conboy (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn. / Minnetonka) from basketball as M Club Male Athlete of the Year.

The department also announced its other major awards for the 2007-08 academic season:

George E. Scotton Senior Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Aaron Heerboth (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) – tennis

David C. Primrose Junior Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Carson Gorecki (Mahtomedi, Minn.) - soccer

Dorothy Michel Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Katie Grudnowski (Minnetonka, Minn. / Blake School) - softball

Dorothy Michel Junior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Grace King (Jr., Northampton, Mass.)

Two years ago, the Macalester College athletic department began a tradition of selecting female and male athletes of the year for each of the four academic classes. This award is called “The Athletic Director's Award.”  M Club athletes of the year are not eligible for these honors. Athletic Director Award winners for 2007-08 are:

Senior Female Athlete of the Year – Katie Grudnowski (Minnetonka, Minn. / Blake) – softball.

Senior Male Athlete of the Year – Evan Mitchell (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) – track & field and soccer

Junior Female Athlete of the Year – Jordan Matheson (Vancouver, B.C. / The Nichols School – N.Y.) – golf.

Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Andrew Yokom (Arden Hills, Minn. / Mounds View) – track & field and soccer

Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year – Angie Horner (Bismarck, N.D. / Century) – tennis

Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year – James Murrey (Western Springs, Ill. / Lyon Township) - baseball

First-Year Female Athlete of the Year – Majra Mucic (St. Louis Park, Minn.) – volleyball, basketball and track & field

First-Year Male Athlete of the Year – Nathan Young (Denver, Colo. / Littleton) - swimming

Wrean Family Prizes
Annie Virnig (Jr., Spokane, Wash. / Lewis & Clark) – Women's Soccer
Trina PaStarr (So., Minneapolis, Minn. / Southwest) – Women's Basketball
Kari Tanaka (Sr., Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) - Volleyball


Macalester Athletic Dept. 2007-08 Awards & Bios

M Club Female Athlete of the Year
Grace King - Soccer
Grace King was named MIAC Player of the Year and received third-team All-America honors after leading Macalester to a 10-win season and finishing the year with 11 goals scored and nine assists. A three-time all-conference pick, King will enter her senior season with 30 goals and 19 assists at Mac.

M Club Male Athlete of the Year
Tom Conboy – Basketball
Tom Conboy will graduate as Macalester's all-time scoring leader with 1,909 points and all-time rebounding leader with 836. Conboy led the MIAC in both scoring and rebounding and his 23.4 scoring average ranked 12th in the nation. He reached double figures in scoring in 97 of 101 games at Mac and finished his career as the No. 12 all-time point scorer in conference history.


Athletic Director's Awards

Senior Female Athlete of the Year
Katie Grudnowski – Softball
Katie Grudnowski led her team in runs scored all four years while batting near the top of the Macalester batting lineup. Grudnowski earned all-conference honors as a junior and batted over .300 again this season with a team-leading 24 runs scored as the lone senior on a very young squad.

Senior Male Athlete of the Year
Evan Mitchell – Track & Field and Soccer
Evan Mitchell is a two-time conference track and field champion in the javelin throw and will be going for his third straight title next weekend. Mitchell is currently having his strongest season and is a strong candidate to qualify for the national meet. A goalkeeper for the Mac soccer team, Mitchell had his best season as a senior, allowing just three goals in seven starts.

Junior Female Athlete of the Year
Jordan Matheson – Golf
Jordan Matheson was invited to the NCAA Division III championships later this month and put together very strong golf campaigns in both the fall and spring seasons. After placing second at the MIAC tournament as a sophomore, Matheson earned all-conference status again last fall, and just a couple weeks ago, placed third at the Minnesota state meet.

Junior Male Athlete of the Year
Andrew Yokom – Track & Field
Andrew Yokom made the finals of 400-meter hurdles last spring at the NCAA championships to cap off a great sophomore season and over this past winter was one of the top sprinters in the area. Back to running the 400 hurdles this spring Yokom is once again turning in among the top times in the conference and nation. He was also a reserve on Mac's soccer team.

Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year
Angie Horner – Tennis
Angie Horner transferred to Macalester this year and by the end of the spring season had put together the most successful season in the program's history. Horner went 19-1 on the season – all at No. 1 singles – and teamed up with fellow-sophomore Steph Lee to post an 18-2 record at No. 1 doubles. Horner and the Scots recently completed the most successful season in the history of the program.

Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year
James Murrey – Baseball
Pitching ace James Murrey won his first six starts of the season and finished with a 7-2 won-loss record and 2.29 earned run average. Murrey struck out 60 batters in 55 innings pitched and held opponents to a meager .216 batting average against him. He has recorded more strikeouts than innings pitched in his two-year Macalester career.

First-Year Female Athlete of the Year
Majra Mucic – Volleyball, Basketball and Track & Field
Majra Mucic is a throwback to the days of the three-sport athlete, and was a key member of the Mac volleyball, basketball, and track & field squad. Mucic was second on her team in serving aces and blocks in volleyball, and was the first player off the bench for Mac's best women's basketball team in over a decade. She will compete next weekend in the jumping events at the conference track meet.

First-Year Male Athlete of the Year
Nathan Young - Swimming
Nathan Young is already to most accomplished male swimmer at Macalester in over 25 years and swam to All-America recognition at the season-ending NCAA championships. Young dominated the backstroke events at the MIAC meet in February, easily placing first at both 100-meters and 200-meters. Nathan lost just one backstroke race until the national meet.