FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Friday, April 8, 2005)
ADAM JONAS, COURTNEY QUIRIN NAMED
MAYNARD AWARD WINNERS AT WESLEYAN
(Three-Time All-New England Wrestler, Two-Time All-American in
X-C Receive University's Scholar-Athlete Award)
Adam
Jonas (second from right), a graduate student at Wesleyan University in
Middletown, Conn., and resident of Francestown, N.H., and Courtney Quirin
(middle), a senior at the college and native of Villanova, Pa., were named
the recipients of Wesleyan's Roger Maynard Memorial Award, presented
annually to the outstanding male and female scholar-athlete in their final
year of study at the college. Jonas and Quirin represent the finest
combination of athletic accomplishment and academic achievement at
Wesleyan. Both have an overall GPA in excess of 3.50. Jonas and
Quirin are joined in the photo (L to R) by head men's and women track coach
Walter Curry, head men's and women's cross-country and assistant track coach
John Crooke and head wrestling coach Drew Black.
Jonas was a four-year wrestler for the Cardinals,
beginning his career during the 2000-01 season as a freshman. He worked his
way into the starting lineup, posting a 7-7 dual-match record and an overall
record of 11-16 while representing the Cardinals at 157 pounds in the New
England College Conference Wrestling Association (NECCA) tournament.
As a sophomore in 2001-02, Jonas stepped it up and
produced a 13-1 dual-match record at 157 pounds and an overall record of
26-6. Again representing the team at 157 pounds in the NECCWA tournament,
Jonas won his first match then suffered an injury that knocked him out of
the tournament. Still, he placed sixth overall to claim all-New England
honors.
Sitting out the 2002-03 season to rehabilitate, Jonas
returned to the mat in 2003-04. He posted a 12-2 dual-match mark, mostly at
157 pounds, and went 22-7 overall while winning individual titles at both
the Doug Parker Invitational at Springfield and the Ursinus College
Invitational. He was ranked among the top-eight wrestlers in his weight
class nationally for several weeks during the season. He earned all-New
England honors for the second time, placing second at 157 pounds at the
NECCWA tournament.
Returning to wrestler as a graduate student in
2004-05, Jonas cruised to a 12-1 dual-match record and an overall mark of
29-4 with titles at the Doug Parker and Ursinus tournaments once again while
also claiming a spot in the national rankings for a majority of the season.
He closed out his career with a third all-New England showing at the NECCWA
tournament, placing third at 157 pounds.
For his career, Jonas fashioned a dual-match record
of 44-11 and an overall record of 88-33. He was named academic all-NESCAC
three times and was a scholar All-American, as named by the Division III
College Wrestling Coaches Association, three times as well.
Quirin left little doubt about her running talent the
moment she starting competing for the women's cross-country team in the fall
of 2001. Competing in her first colleguate event at the UMass Dartmouth
Invitational, Quirin finished third of 226 runners in a stellar time of
17:50.25 for 5,000 meters to lead Wesleyan to a fourth-place finish among 27
teams. The next week at the Codfish Bowl, her fourth-place showing among
227 runners solidified her place among the region's top runners as the team
came in fifth of 19. Other top performance by Quirin that first year
included second of 89 at the Bantam Invitational at Trinity and ninth of 128
runners at the NESCAC Championship, making her a second-team all-NESCAC
choice. At the New England Division III Championship, Quirin's 13th-place
effort in a field of 276 runners qualified her for a spot in the NCAA
Division III Championship and she took advantage of that by finishing 28th
to earn All-America honors.
In the fall of 2002, Quirin again came through as one
of the cross-country team's top two runners and helped Wesleyan qualify for
the NCAA Division III Championship as a team for the first time. Quirin was
14th at the NESCAC Championship to be named second-team all-NESCAC and 24th
at the New England Division III Championship to receive all-New England
accolades. At Nationals, Quirin placed 65th of 215 competitors while the
team finished 23rd of 24.
Hitting the course for a third time in 2003, Quirin
led the team to the finish line on all six races she ran including a
second-place finish at the N.Y.U. Invitational won by Wesleyan, a
second-place finish in the NESCAC Meet for first-team all-NESCAC honors and
a 14th-place showing in the New England Division III Championship, giving
her all-New England laurels for the third consecutive season as well as a
third straight trip to Nationals. Succumbing to the illness that had been
creeping up on her all season, Quirin dipped to 128th of 213 there.
Back to the course with a vengeance in 2004, Quirin
and fellow top runner Ellen Davis paced the team to another trip to the NCAA
Championship. This time Wesleyan improved to 14th place among 24 teams
while Quirin was 29th of 215 runners to become an All-American for the
second time. Her sixth-place finish at NESCACs made her a four-time all-NESCAC
performer while her seventh-place effort at the New England Division III
Meet made her a four-time all-New England honoree as well.
Not limiting her athletic talents to the
cross-country course, Quirin was a two-time letterwinner in women's
lacrosse, seeing action during both the 2002 and 2003 seasons. She was a
starting midfielder as a freshman and played in half the team's games as a
sophomore. In 20 career games, she scored 12 goals and had nine assists for
21 points. She also was a top distance runner for the indoor track squad
during the 2002-03 season and also competed this past winter. She is part
of the outdoor track team for the first time this spring despite being
hampered by nagging injuries.
Both Jonas, who received his B.A. in psychology in
2004 and is completing work on his M.A. this year, and Quirin, a biology
major, were honored at a luncheon Friday, April 8, in support of National
Student-Athlete Day, an annual NCAA event.
