South Windsor Resident Named Senior Scholar-Athlete Award at Keene State

The following information was provided by Keene State College:

Ryan Martin (Wayne, Maine) and Janel Haggerty (Guilford, Conn.) were named male and female athletes of the year, respectively, at Keene State College's 2012-13 Senior Athletics Awards ceremony, held Sunday at the Lloyd P. Young Student Center.

Austin Harris (Essex Junction, Vt.) and Lisa Sander (South Windsor, Conn.) were the recipients of the Senior Scholar-Athlete Award, and the Keene State men’s track and field, women’s soccer and cross country squads were presented with the Don Carle Award for having the highest cumulative GPA among Owl teams.

In addition, the 21-member senior KSC All-Academic team was also recognized.Sarah Testo, KSC’s strength and conditioning coach, also presented National Strength and Conditioning Association All-America certificates to women’s soccer player Brittany Croteau (Swanzey, N.H.) and Martin.

Joining the Keene State men’s basketball team after playing his freshman season at the University of Maine, Martin made an immediate impact in the Owls’ backcourt.  A three-time All-Little East Conference first- team guard, Martin, who averaged 15.9 ppg., led the team in scoring all three seasons, finishing 11th on KSC all-time scoring list with 1,303 points becoming the sixth Owl player to reach the 1,000-point career milestone in three seasons. Martin, who led Division III in free throw pct. as a sophomore and junior, went 307-335 (.916) at the line during his KSC career. A four-year member of the Keene State cross country and track teams, Haggerty saved her best for last, becoming the first Owl athlete to capture a national championship in the pentathlon, with a school record 3,467 points. 

The LEC champion in the 55-meter hurdles and the high jump, Haggerty, who also earned All-New England (pentathlon) and All-New England Division III honors (55-meter hurdles and high jump), is just the second Owl to receive consecutive LEC indoor field athlete of the year awards. As a sophomore, Haggerty also raced to all-America honors as a member of KSC’ distance medley relay that placed third at the NCAA championships. Harris, an architecture major and a freestyle sprinter and relay specialists, got the job done in the classroom and the pool this year. 

Boasting an impressive 3.92 cumulative GPA and earning district CoSIDA Academic All-American as junior, Harris also produced some notable numbers in the pool. A three-time NCAA championship qualifier who earned honorable All-America honors in six relay events the past two years, Harris finally earned his fort out-right All-American honor as a member of KSC’s 200 free relay team that finished eighth at this year’s championship meet. A 10-time All-New England relay champion, Harris is also a member of four record-setting relays at Keene State.

An elementary education/psychology major with a 3.92 cumulative GPA, Sander also gets high marks for the dedication and leadership she provides to the KSC cross country and track teams. A walk-on who joined the Owls running teams as a freshman, Sander was not deterred in her desire to improve.  Favoring cross country and distance races on the track, Sander has become one of the teams’ most dependable athletes, never missing a practice and leading by example.

The following 21 senior athletes have been named to the 2012-13 KSC All-Academic team: Baseball: Kyle Underwood (Campton, N.H.); Cheerleading:  Chelsea I’Anson (Pelham, N.H.), Stephanie O’Donnell (Derry, N.H.); Field Hockey: Alex Billert (Center Conway, N.H.), Kalin Billert (Center Conway, N.H.); Katie Foyle (Salem, N.H.); Men’s Cross Country/Track: Marcus Ferenc (Westmoreland, N.H.), Thomas Paquette (Bolton, Conn.); Men’s Lacrosse: Andrew Sutton (Norfolk, Mass.); Men’s Soccer: Preston Ingram (Derby, Vt.); Men’s Swimming: Austin Harris (Essex Junction, Vt.); Softball: Jessica Fiorenza (Wakefield, Mass.); Women’s Cross Country/Track: Whitney Cyr (Milford, Mass.), Lisa Sander (South Windsor, Conn.), Allison Tamiso (Manchester, Conn.), Marie Whitney (Jaffrey, N.H.); Women’s Lacrosse: Nicole Curry (Hampstead, N.H.), Lindsay McManus (Dover, N.H.); Women’s Soccer: Elise Bolster (Narragansett, R.I.), Brittany Croteau (Swanzey, N.H.), Jane Walsh (Portsmouth, R.I.).