Tuesday, February 24, 2009

HAMLINE’S THRASHER NAMED JOSTENS TROPHY FINALIST

Piper senior Tony Thrasher (Hustisford, Wis.) was named one of the top 10 finalists for the prestigious Jostens Trophy, the members of the Rotary Club of Salem, Va., announced today.

The club is responsible for the initial review of annual nominations and narrowed the pool to 10 men and 10 women finalists.

The Jostens Trophy is a national award created by the Rotary Club of Salem, Va., to honor the most outstanding men’s and women’s Division III basketball players of the year. The award takes into account three vital parts: basketball ability, academic prowess and community service.

"Tony truly epitomizes the values that we as administrators look for in our student-athletes," said Hamline director of athletics Bob Beeman. "His hard work, dedication, loyalty and integrity are unmatched; we are proud to call him one of our own. Tony will be sorely missed upon his graduation."

The trophy models the Rotary motto of “Service above Self” by recognizing those who truly fit the ideal of the well-rounded Division III student-athlete. This year’s class marks the 12th year the award has been presented.
Thrasher will graduate seventh all-time in scoring at Hamline with 1,360 career points and ninth all-time in rebounds with 452. This season he averaged 14.2 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. He is a mathematics and environmental studies in biology major who has maintained a 3.9 cumulative GPA.

"Tony is one of the greatest players in the history of our storied program," added Piper head coach Nelson Whitmore. "He has been the heart and soul of this program since I came in as a coach in August of 2008."
A 35-person national selection committee will complete the selection process by picking the two Jostens Trophy winners from the top 10 finalists.

Final ballots are due no later than March 6 with the winning schools notified on March 9. The awards presentation is scheduled for Thursday, March 19 at the Salem Civic Center in conjunction with the Men’s Division III Championship being hosted in Salem, Va., on March 20-21.

For more information on the 2009 Jostens Trophy finalists and to see a list of past winners, go to http://www.odaconline.com/jostens/jostens.htm

No comments: