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Date: May 11, 2006
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Colby honors senior award winners at ceremony

WATERVILLE, Maine ---- Alpine skier Abbi Lathrop (North Conway, N.H.), volleyball player Cait Cleaver (Kennett Square, Pa.) and football player Dan Oliphant (Chatham, N.J.) all earned Bill Millett Award honors for contributing the most to athletics at Colby College during the annual senior awards ceremony on Thursday night.

Oliphant was the male winner, while Lathrop and Cleaver were co-winners for the women.

Women's track and cross country runner Jess Minty (Concord, Mass.) 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.

Men's track and field athlete Jason Foster (Waterbury, Vt.) was honored with the Donald P. Lake Award and women's soccer player/outdoor track and field athlete Kara McCabe (Watertown, Conn.) earned the Marjorie D. Bither Award. Both awards are presented to athletes with outstanding athletic ability, leadership and academic accomplishment.

Cliff White (New York, N.Y.), who works in the Colby Sports Information Office, was honored with the Warren J. Finegan Award for significant behind the scenes contributions to the success of Colby athletics. Also, men's tennis player Ben Crane (Edina, Minn.) was given the Norman White Award and volleyball player Kaitlin Adams (Athol, Mass.) earned the Pamela Hoyt-Sanborn Award for inspirational leadership and sportsmanship.

Finishing one place better than the year before changed Lathrop's skiing career forever. She went from being a runner-up in the giant slalom at the NCAA Skiing Championships in her junior season to being a national champion. Lathrop achieved a first in Colby athletic history by winning a national title while competing against Division I schools.

A captain of the alpine team this past season, Lathrop followed up her championship by taking two top 10 finishes in the giant slalom and slalom at the 2006 U.S. Alpine Ski Championships. She earned All-America honors all four years at Colby and had six top 10 finishes in eight races at the NCAA meet over that time.

Cleaver led the Mules to a 104-33 record over the past four seasons. She started her career as NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2002 and closed things out in 2005 as NESCAC Player of the Year. Cleaver earned third team All-America honors and was the first Colby player to earn a spot on one of the three teams. She earned honorable mention All-America honors as a sophomore, was a three-time Regional All-American and earned All-NESCAC honors in all four years of play.

Cleaver is Colby's all-time leader in career kills (1,562) and defensive digs (1,648). She also had solid career totals of 265 blocks and 197 service aces. She helped the Mules (37-4) make the NCAA tourney for the first time and helped Colby finish 19th in the final national poll.

Oliphant, at 6-foot-5 and more than 300 pounds, was a force on the football team's offensive line for the past three years as a starter and was a co-captain this past fall. The Mules went 18-6 during those three years, finished second in New England in 2005 and were Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) champions all three seasons.

Oliphant earned All-NESCAC first team honors in his junior and senior seasons and was arguably the best offensive lineman in the conference. He was one of 46 seniors in Division III football to be invited to play in the Aztec Bowl in Mexico in a game put on by the American Football Coaches Association. He also earned All-ECAC honors for his play after the 2004 season.

Minty earned All-America honors in cross country and indoor track and field. Despite competing and breaking school records in the 800 and 1,500 meters during her career, she ran in the 10,000-meter run at the NESCAC Championships a few weeks ago and earned the title. She will run in the 10,000 meters at nationals because that event does not conflict with graduation.

Minty finished in second place in the 800 meters at the indoor national meet in 2005 and has earned numerous All-New England, All-NESCAC and All-State of Maine honors. She was the MVP of the cross country team in 2005 and helped the Mules to two straight fifth place finishes at the NCAA meet in her junior and senior seasons. Minty is a seven-time NESCAC All-Academic selection and earned Cosida District One All-Academic honors.

Foster finished his final indoor season by earning All-America honors and setting a school record with a throw of 61 feet in the 35-pound weight throw. He was the 2005 NESCAC champion in the hammer throw and was second in the event this year. His best throw of 191-02 in the hammer ranks second all-time at Colby to three-time national champion Jamie Brewster. Foster has already qualified in the hammer throw for the upcoming NCAA meet in two weeks.

During the current outdoor track season, Foster has won the Maine State title in the hammer throw and took second in the event at the New England Division III Championships. He is a five-time NESCAC All-Academic selection for the winter and spring seasons.

McCabe was a captain on the women's soccer team and earned All-New England and All-NESCAC honors for her play. She also participated in outdoor track and field and competed in the grueling heptathlon at the New England Division III Championships this past weekend.

McCabe was the backbone for Colby's stingy women's soccer defense that allowed just 14 goals in 15 games while posting seven shutouts in a 7-3-5 season in 2005. She helped out offensively as well with three goals and ended her career with seven goals and seven assists for 21 points. McCabe is a five-time NESCAC All-Academic selection.

Adams went from being a role player in her first year at Colby to earning honorable mention All-America honors during her senior season. A two-year volleyball captain, she was the gritty, hard worker in the middle of Colby's front line. Adams led NESCAC in total blocks (135), hitting percentage (.378) and finished as Colby's all-time leader in single-season (.378) and career (.333) hitting percentage. She finished Colby's 2005 season ranked first on the team in blocks (135), second in kills (425) and third in service aces (59).

Adams had fine career totals of 888 kills, 243 blocks and 160 aces. She also earned a District I All-Academic honor and was named to the NESCAC Fall All-Academic Team after her junior and senior year of play.

Crane is a two-year captain for the men's tennis team and his leadership during his final year has been one reason for the success the Mules have had this season. He is the lone senior on the squad with no juniors, two sophomores and nine first-year players.

Crane had 76 victories in singles and doubles play in four years. He tied for the team lead in total wins this year with 23 and had 20 victories last year.

White was a valuable member of the Colby Sports Information Office and earned the respect of the head coaches and administrators with his hard work. The Colby volleyball team, women's cross country team and women's swimmer Kelly Norsworthy earned special recognition honors at the senior awards ceremony.