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Date: May 16, 2005
Contact: Bill Sodoma
Nickerson, Bonnner, Miller among senior award winners
WATERVILLE, Maine --- Warner Nickerson (Tilton, N.H.), Wendy Bonner (Lexington, Mass.) and Laura Miller (Manchester, N.H.) all earned Bill Millett Award honors for contributing the most to athletics at Colby College during the annual senior awards ceremony.
Nickerson was the male winner, while Bonner and Miller were co-winners for the women.
Nick Bayley (Cambridge, Ontario) was honored with the Donald P. Lake Award and Karina Johnson (Tolland, Conn.) earned the Marjorie D. Bither Award. Both awards are presented to athletes with outstanding athletic ability, leadership and academic accomplishment.
Sara Hughes (South Burlington, Vt.) was given the Patty Valavanis Award for a senior woman student-athlete who has demonstrated the qualities of academic and athletic excellence and personal leadership and sportsmanship that characterized Patty Valavanis's career at Colby.
Dan Lynch (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was honored with the Warren J. Finegan Award for significant behind the scenes contributions to the success of Colby athletics. Also, Patrick Harner (Middletown, Ohio) was given the Norman White Award and Elizabeth Riley (Saco, Maine) earned the Pamela Hoyt-Sanborn Award for inspirational leadership and sportsmanship.
Nickerson made his mark last year on the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association alpine ski circuit with five victories. This year he went a step beyond that with two silver medals at the FIS-Winter World University Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Nickerson earned a silver medal in the giant slalom competition. His other medal was for combined, taking in his finishes in the four alpine skiing disciplines. Nickerson also was fourth in the Super G, sixth in the slalom, and ninth in the downhill for the United States team.
Nickerson was the first double medallist for the U.S. squad (alpine and Nordic) in World University Games competition since 1997. He is the first alpine skiing double medallist since 1993.
During the winter carnival season, Colby qualified full teams of three men and three women for the NCAA Division I Championships. Nickerson earned first team All-America honors for finishing second in the giant slalom at the NCAA meet. He also won three Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) races during the season, including the Eastern title in the slalom at Middlebury College.
After finishing in fourth place at the U.S. Nationals during the 03-04 season, Nickerson had three top 10 finishes this past year in North American trophy series races.
Bonner has been one of the top all-around athletes to play sports at Colby while playing field hockey, basketball and softball. She was a three-time All-American in field hockey, earning third team honors after her sophomore and junior seasons and then was on the second team this past season. She was the first Colby field hockey player to earn three All-America honors in a career. Bonner finished as Colby's all-time leading scorer in field hockey with 44 goals and 14 assists for 102 points.
Bonner was a captain on the field hockey team and also served that role on the basketball and softball teams. In basketball, Bonner finished her career with 1,074 points and 804 career rebounds. She earned second team NESCAC honors while leading Colby in scoring (13.1), rebounding (9.0) and steals (47). In softball, Bonner was a NESCAC all-conference selection after her junior and sophomore seasons. She had a .398 batting average two years ago to help the softball team host the NESCAC Championships.
Miller will graduate as arguably the best female swimmer to ever compete at Colby. She became the second Colby woman to earn All-American honors in swimming and earned 13 All-America honors in her four years of competing at the NCAA Division III Championships.
Miller was a six-time individual NESCAC champion, still holds the league record in the 50 butterfly and finished her career unbeaten in that race. She holds individual school records in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 individual medley. Miller also is part of four relay school records in the 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 200 medley and 400 medley. She just missed winning a national title in the 100 butterfly when she finished second at the NCAA meet two years ago. Only nine women in Division III since 1982 have posted a faster time than her 56.89 in the 100 fly.
Miller's strong swimming at the NCAA meets have helped the Mules improve in the team standings every year, including the best finish ever this year at eighth place. She was a team captain this past year and also won the squad's Coach's Award.
Bayley did the job on the ice for the men's hockey team and in the classroom during his four years at Colby. He is a two-time National Academic All-American and it is expected he will be named for a third time when the award winners are announced in June.
Bayley, a biology major, led the hockey team in scoring each of his four years. Bayley's 148 points on 61 goals and 47 assists ranks third all-time in Colby men's hockey history. Bayley was not only a three-time NESCAC hockey all-conference selection, but also a three-time NESCAC All-Academic pick.
Johnson, a double major in French and art, has helped the women's cross country team and track teams to great success over the last four years. She was a captain and the top Colby finisher in 45th place when the Mules finished fifth this past fall at the NCAA Division III Championships. The fifth-place finish was the best in school history. Johnson is a three-time MVP of the cross country team and holds All-New England and All-NESCAC honors.
Johnson also was captain of the indoor track team and outdoor teams. She was Maine State champion in the 5,000 meters and also earned All-New England honors during the indoor season. Johnson won the NESCAC title in the 10,000-meter run during the meet at Colby on April 30 and took second at the Open New England Championships in the same event.
Hughes will finish her career as one of the top women's tennis players to ever play at Colby. She has earned All-America honors the last two years and was the 2003 Co-NESCAC Player of the Year. Hughes and Britt Palmedo earned All-America honors two years ago in doubles play. This past fall, she and Allison Dunn '07 finished in third place in doubles competition at the ITA National Small College Championships in Fort Myers, Florida. The pair took second place at the ITA New England Regional meet. Sara has a 29-13 record this year heading into this weekend's NCAA Division III Championships.
Lynch was diagnosed with a serious illness just one week before the season and was unable to play baseball this spring. Despite that, Lynch still helped out with practice, attended games, caught in the bullpen and helped out the pitchers and catchers.
Harner is one of the top sprinters and jumpers in the NESCAC and is serving his fourth season as a team captain. He is in on Colby's top five list in the 55 dash, 100 dash, long jump and triple jump. Harner has earned several All-New England, All-NESCAC and All-State honors.
Riley is a recognizable face in the Colby athletic department whether it's playing soccer or softball, working in the athletic center, being the team manager for the women's basketball team, or taking statistics for the men's basketball team.
Riley played goalie in soccer and led the team to a winning season this past fall and had a memorable game with 19 saves as Colby beat Williams for the first time ever in a thrilling 1-0 win. Riley also went from struggling at the plate in her early seasons with the softball team to being one of the top hitters during her senior season. She was a captain for both the soccer and softball teams.
