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Danielle Ayers-Stamper was named SPU's Women's Athlete of the Year. She earned her way into the All-America book four times this year in indoor and outdoor track events at the national championships.

Do-everything athletes prevail. A pair of multi-talented track & field national champions earned Seattle Pacific University Athlete of the Year honors for 2004-05. Danielle Ayers-Stamper (Jr., Lacrosse, Wa.) and Chris Randolph (Jr., Lone Tree, Co./Denver Christian) became the first non-seniors to receive the award since Rachel Ross and Stephanie Huffman shared the distinction in 2001. That award, along with the Falcon Awards for Excellence and various other honors were presented during the annual athletic awards banquet, held June 2 at Upper Gwinn Commons.

Ayers-Stamper became the 17th female track athlete player to win the university’s top annual award. She claimed the NCAA Division II indoor high jump title and finished second in the heptathlon outdoors. Altogether, Ayers-Stamper was a four-time All-American, taking fourth place in the indoor long jump and seventh in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles. Four of her outdoor marks this season ranked among the program’s all-time top five and four were Great Northwest Athletic Conference records. She won a total of six GNAC indoor and outdoor titles.

Chris Randolph is the Seattle Pacific Men's Athlete of the Year. He recently became national champion at the NCAA decathlon competition -- the first SPU male to win a national title in 13 years.

Randolph is the first male track athlete since Jon Swanson in 1995 to become athlete of the year and the program’s 12th winner overall. Last week, he came from 295 points behind in the final event to finish first in the NCAA decathlon competition. His GNAC record score of 7309 is No. 2 all-time at SPU. He won the 400, high jump and long jump at the GNAC indoor championships.

Head coaches of the 14 varsity sports voted for athlete of the year, and the ballot was packed with worthy candidates, including a national championship gymnast, all-region basketball players and All-America track & field athletes.

Tops in their class. The Falcon Award for Excellence, the highest honor for career achievement in athletics, academics and leadership, was presented to seven seniors by President Philip W. Eaton. Honorees were basketball’s Jason Chivers (Sr., Los Angeles, Ca./Palmdale-L.A. Trade Tech), track & field/cross country runners Tim LeCount (Sr., Battle Ground, Wa.) and Paul Mach (Sr., Seattle, Wa./King’s), rower Andrea Martineau (Sr., Superior, Mt.), gymnast Corrie McDaniel (Sr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence) and women’s soccer’s first representatives, Jessica Henson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./University) and Jennifer Hull (Sr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene).

Chivers, a three-year starter at center, earned all-region honors in his final two seasons. A physical education major with a 3.23 GPA, he was academic all-conference as a junior. He was also team co-captain and MVP as a junior and senior. Chivers is ranked No. 5 in career rebounding and No. 7 in field-goal percentage, and helped the team reach the NCAA tournament as a senior.

Henson was an original member of the soccer program and a four-year starter in midfield. A biology major with a 3.71 GPA, she was academic all-region as a senior. Henson ranks No. 2 in career games played and No. 3 in career assists. She was the team co-captain as junior and senior.

Hull was another four-year starter, and holds every goalkeeping record. A Latin America studies and international relations political science double major with a 3.56 GPA, she was the recipient of an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and was Academic All-America as a senior. In addition, Hull was a two-time All-American. She led NCAA in goalkeeping as junior and was No. 3 as senior.

LeCount, a history major with a 3.71 GPA, won a GNAC cross country and two outdoor track 5000 championships, and was second in the indoor 5000. He set a school record for 10,000 and also rates among the top five in the 5000 and 1500. Last fall he led cross country to its first GNAC championship and 19th in the NCAA Championships. LeCount was academic all-district as junior and senior, as well as all-conference in track and cross country each of his four seasons.

Mach lettered four years in both track and cross country and won a total of five conference championships during his career. A computer science major with a 3.72 GPA, he completed his tenure by finishing fourth in the NCAA 800 meters. Mach won a GNAC indoor and outdoor 800 crown, plus three 400 hurdles titles. He ranks No. 2 on school’s all-time list for 800 and 400 hurdles, and is a member of the record-setting 1600 relay. Mach was an Academic All-American in 2004, and academic all-region as a junior and senior.

Martineau, a four-year member of the crew program, is a biology major with a 3.42 GPA. She earned gold medals as a member of national, regional and conference championship varsity fours in 2003 and ‘04, and she rowed in the national novice four champion as a freshman. She was all-conference as sophomore. As a senior, the national regatta was canceled.

McDaniel, a pre-medicine and classics major with a 3.75 GPA, was a four-time All-American gymnast in all-around, floor and beam. She recently received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. McDaniel was Honda Award winner for Div. II as a freshman and all-conference as sophomore and senior. She was voted academic all-district three times and ranks No. 2 all-time on floor and No. 5 in all-around.

Top of the class. Soccer’s Sarah Melby (Sr., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) and basketball’s Jordan Lee (Sr., Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) were recipients of the Clifford McCrath 101 Scholar Athlete Award, presented by the Washington Athletic Club's 101 Club. Melby, a political science major with a 3.88 GPA, and Lee, a theology major with a 3.76, owned the highest GPAs among the graduating seniors.

Our Dean's List. A total of 41 scholar athletes were recognized for maintaining a GPA of 3.50 or higher over the past three quarters, dating back to spring of 2004. The complete list: Chris Barringer, soccer; Tony Binetti, basketball; Linda Blake, track & field; Carley Bollen, crew; Jeremy Bryant, crew; David Carson, crew; Karen Dickson, track/cross country; Michael Gavareski, track/cross country; Jessica Henson, soccer; Ruth Harbaugh, track & field; Amy Harris, track & field; Allison Hedges, track & field; Jennifer Hull, soccer; Kristin Janney, track & field; Elisabeth Kingsley, gymnastics; Jean Kolb, soccer; Haley Krommenhoek, gymnastics; Rebecca Knox, soccer; Jeff Knudson, basketball; Brittney Kroon, basketball; Tim LeCount, cross country/track & field; Jordan Lee, basketball; Aaron Libadisos, cross country; Paul Mach, cross country/track & field; Jennifer Marsh, track & field; Brandi McCoy, cross country/track; Corrie McDaniel, gymnastics; Sarah Melby, soccer; Briana Murphy, soccer; Victoria Perkins, track/cross country; Michelle Sanders, soccer; Edward Strickler, track/cross country; Anna Soule, track & field; Sarah Sullivan, gymnastics; Amy Taylor, basketball; Mollie Taylor, soccer; Allison Teague, soccer; Greg Truax, soccer; Amanda Wood, basketball; Austin Yuen, basketball

Blanketed with awards. Receiving embroidered personalized blankets for being four-year letterwinners were 20 seniors: Michelle Beaumont, basketball; Brent Egbert, soccer; Tyler Falco, soccer; Karen France, soccer; Jessica Henson, Soccer; Trisha Hermanson, basketball; Jennifer Hull, soccer; Kari Kelly, gymnastics; Elisabeth Kingsley, gymnastics; Tim LeCount, track & field; Jordan Lee, basketball; Katie Lim, soccer; Paul Mach, track/cross country; Andrea Martineau, rowing; Corrie McDaniel, gymnastics; Michelle Sanders, soccer; David Smith, Soccer; Leila Stalnaker, soccer; Ally Studer, track & field; James Ward, soccer.

Tale of the tape. Featured speakers at the banquet were outgoing seniors Chivers and McDaniel and, with closing remarks, President Eaton. Amy Taylor performed a musical tribute to her basketball team’s togetherness and an excerpt from the cross country documentary Running for November was screened...SPU won the 2003-04 GNAC Academic All-Sports championship, and finished second to Western Washington for the ‘04-05 All-Sports trophy, 11-158. The women were No. 1 for the second year in a row. The Falcons finished with eight teams among the nation’s top 25. Women’s soccer, men’s cross country, women’s basketball and women’s indoor track accounted for four GNAC championships... Individually, there were 20 All-America athletes, 12 all-region and 56 all-conference. There are eight Academic All-Americans (with spring teams still to be announced), 12 academic all-region and 70 academic all-conference...One of the year’s highlights was the induction of the final charter members into the Falcon Legends Hall of Fame. Those inducted were Laurel Anderson Tindall (gymnastics), Lorna Griffin (track & field), Bente Moe (cross country/track & field), Bruce Raney (soccer) and Sergio Soriano (soccer)...The sole coaching change occurred in volleyball, with Kellie Ryan resigning after five seasons...The Falcons’ Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), comprised of members of each varsity team, organized several community service projects over the year. They conducted a raffle with donations going to the Make A Wish Foundation. Along with other groups in the GNAC, they collected food for Northwest Harvest, and last month hosted more than 50 Coe Elementary School students for activities and lunch on campus.