FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Thursday, April 6, 2006)
OWEN KIELY, HANNAH STUBBS NAMED
MAYNARD AWARD WINNERS AT WESLEYAN
(N.E Champ & All-American in X-C, Three-Time First-Team all-NESCAC
Basketball Star Receive University's Scholar-Athlete Award)
Owen
Kiely '06 (male holding clock in middle), a senior at Wesleyan University in
Middletown, Conn., and resident of Athol, Mass., and Hannah Stubbs
(female holding clock in middle), a senior at the college and native of Arlington,
Va., were named the recipients of Wesleyan's Roger Maynard Memorial Award,
presented annually to the outstanding male and female scholar-athlete as
either a senior or graduate student. Kiely and Stubbs represent
the finest combination of athletic accomplishment and academic achievement
at Wesleyan. Both have an overall GPA in excess of 3.50. Kiely
and Stubbs are joined in the photo (L to R) by head men's and women cross-country and assistant track coach
John Crooke ; associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry and
faculty mentor to cross country Scott Holmes ; Owen's parents Tom and Polly
Kiely ; Hannah's parents Joe and Linda Stubbs ; head women's basketball coach
Kate Mullen ; and associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry
and faculty mentor to women's basketball Ishita Mukerji.
Kiely reached his
best effort as a distance runner in 2005-06 as he led the men's cross country team
to its first-ever bid to the NCAA Division III championship. There the
Cardinals placed 14th of 24 teams. Kiely placed 12th of 211 runners at
Nationals to claim All-America honors. Before that, Kiely won the New
England Division III title and finished second in the New England Small
College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) meet to receive first-team all-NESCAC
honors for the second time. He was first team in 2004 and second-team
in 2003 while earning all-New England Division III honors each year as well.
On the track, Kiely had his best performance during the outdoor season in
2005 as he qualified for the NCAA Division III championships in the
3000-meter steeple chase. He came in ninth at Nationals, missing out
on All-America status by one place. He has been a consistent force in
distance events for the Cardinals both indoors and outdoors throughout his
four years.
Stubbs is a
three-time all-NESCAC first-team choice in women's basketball and the number
two scorer all-time at Wesleyan with 1,395 career points. She holds
team records for career field-goal shooting percentage at .588 and
single-season shooting percentage with .625, accomplished during the 2004-05
season. That performance also ranked fourth among all NCAA Division
III players in 2004-05. Stubbs led Wesleyan to its best-ever season in
2004-05 at 22-5 and a first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Wesleyan repeated that success in 2005-06 with an at-large bid to the NCAAs
as Stubbs paced the team in scoring (15.0 points a game) and rebounding (7.8
rebounds per game) during an 18-8 season. Stubbs was a second-team all-New England Division
III pick as well as a second-team CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine District I
academic All-American in 2005-06. Wesleyan's record over Stubbs'
four-year career was an unprecedented 81-21.
Stubbs is majoring in
molecular biology and biochemistry and intends to stay at Wesleyan during
the 2006-07 academic year pursuing her master's degree. Kiely, a
neuroscience and behavior major, also plans to stay on campus next year in
pursuit of a master's degree while also competing in both indoor and outdoor
track as he remains eligible in both due to injury this year. Stubbs
and Kiely were honored at a luncheon Thursday, April 6, in support of National
Student-Athlete Day, an annual NCAA event.
