2014 Seniors Honored at Senior Celebration
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Athletics honored its 2014 senior class, including a pair of Dr. Bob Frederick Scholar Athletes, and recognized a Jayhawk lineage spanning three generations at the Senior Celebration and K Ring ceremony in the Kansas Student Union Monday night.
The next class of Kansas alums were presented with their K Rings by K Club Director and former KU student-athlete David Johnston, in a nearly hour-long ceremony that also crowned football’s Gavin Howard and volleyball’s Caroline Jarmoc as the Dr. Bob Frederick Male and Female Senior Scholar Athletes of the Year. Bill Hougland was honored with the K Club Lifetime Service Award on a night when his grandson, Tom Hougland, earned his K Ring as a senior member of the baseball team.
“You will forever be a part of the Jayhawk family,” Kansas Director of Athletics Dr. Sheahon Zenger said as he welcomed the senior student-athletes. “As this night moves forward, I hope that we do our job and make it a special memory that you can carry with you as you move forward with your lives, always carrying that badge of honor – the ring that you will receive in tonight’s ceremony.”
During the ceremony, Zenger introduced Hougland, a member of KU’s first NCAA men’s basketball national championship team and two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, was then presented with the K Club Lifetime Service Award by K Club President Bob Lockwood. Hougland played basketball at KU from 1949-52 and was inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. Hougland is an avid supporter of all KU sports and served on the K Club board of directors, including a term as president.
Howard and Jarmoc were named the winners of the Dr. Bob Frederick Male and Female Senior Scholar Athlete Award, which was presented by Dr. Bernie Kish, director of facilities, health, sport, and exercise sciences.
Howard, an Owasso, Okla., native helped open holes for KU running back James Sims’ back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons while starting eight games at center in 2013. Howard also earned his third straight Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection.
The first two-time AVCA Division I All-American in Kansas volleyball history, Jarmoc finished her career first in the Kansas volleyball record book with a .327 career hitting percentage and second all-time with 1,333 kills and 1,769 points. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada native set the bar high on defense as well with a career record 555 total blocks and 454 block assists. Jarmoc started 33 matches in 2013, running her consecutive-starts streak to 126 while leading an NCAA Tournament team in kills (382), attack percentage (.320), service aces (26) and blocks (144, 24 solo/120 block assists) on the season.
“I came here a long way from home, but it only takes a week to learn the traditions and you’re a Jayhawk for life after that,” Jarmoc said. “I’m so honored to have been with this program for five years. This award was such a complete surprise and an amazing honor.”
Elizabeth Scherer (rowing) and Kellum Schneider (track and field) were the recipients of the Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship Award, presented by Dr. Susan Stagg-Williams, KU’s faculty athletics representative, and Sandra Gautt, associate professor in KU’s special education department and widow of Prentice Gautt.
The Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship is a $9,000 award given to two student-athletes at each Big 12 institution who have at least a 3.5 GPA and are expected to enroll in a graduate or professional school within 15 months after they graduate.
Scherer is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team member and a seven-time Athletic Director’s Honor Roll member. An exercise science and pre-physical therapy major maintaining a 3.9 GPA, Scherer is a former Gerald Lage Academic Achievement award winner and the 2013 Big 12 Rowing Scholar Athlete of the Year.
For the second consecutive year, the Gautt Award will go to a member of the Schneider family as Kallum was tabbed this year’s winner after his brother, Kaman, was the recipient in 2013. Kellum is a seven-time Athletics Director Honor Roll member and carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average while studying genetics.
Dr. Aaron Clopton (HSES) was picked as the recipient of the 2014 Del Shankel Teaching Excellence Award, topping a talented field that included Dr. Stephen H. Benedict (Biology), Dr. Joe O’Brien (Education), Dr. Mary Klayder (English) and Dr. Alesia Woszidlo (Communications). The winners were selected by the KU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, whose members, KU seniors Abbey Lozenski (rowing) and Alex Jones (softball), presented the award to Clopton along with Shankel.
The night began with a reception in the Kansas Union Big 12 Room and team photos and the evening ended with a rendition of the alma mater and the Rock Chalk Chant after the seniors received their rings.
“You remember thinking, coming in as a freshman, that you want to get that ring,” Howard said. “You see people graduating who get that ring. It’s the one thing that you know if you work hard, that’s what you’re going to get. It really finalized how hard we’ve worked when we all got to put on the ring at the same time. From now on, you know when you see each other out that they are a fellow student-athlete. That’s a proud moment.”
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