June 2, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University's N Club held its annual Senior Recognition Banquet Thursday night at The Hotel Orrington in downtown Evanston. The banquet recognized some of Northwestern's finest athletic efforts from the past season while inducting the senior class into the N Club.
Two athletes were nominated for the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor, Courtney Koester (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) of women's lacrosse and Luis Castillo (Garfield, N.J./Garfield) from football. This award is given annually to one graduating male and female student-athlete of outstanding academic and athletic talent.
Koester, a fifth-year senior, concluded an astounding athletic journey at Northwestern by anchoring a Wildcat defense that helped the lacrosse team win NU's first NCAA team title in 64 years. Despite having never played the game when she joined the team, Koester ended up starting all four years, and this season she earned first-team All-America while also being a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy (given to the nation's top lacrosse player). A standout in the classroom, as well, she is a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America.
Castillo, meanwhile, finished his career by being drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, just the second NU player to be so highly regarded since 2002 and the eighth in history. Castillo was a first-team All-America selection by Pro Football Weekly, and a second-team All-Big Ten honoree after collecting 75 tackles from his defensive line position. He was the 28th pick overall in this year's draft, by the San Diego Chargers. Off the field, Castillo was an ESPN The Magazine first-team Academic All-America honoree.
Northwestern also announced its nominations for the Big Ten Suzy Favor and Jesse Owens Awards. The two awards are given annually to the outstanding female and male athletes in the Big Ten. This year's Northwestern honorees are Kristen Kjellman (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) from women's lacrosse and Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) from men's swimming.
It was an incredible sophomore year for Kjellman, who was not in attendance at Thursday's banquet because she was in Washington, D.C. for the announcement of the Tewaaraton Trophy. Kjellman was the focal point of Northwestern's national championship team, scoring a team-high 59 goals and dishing off 32 assists for 91 points. She was the American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Year as well as a consensus first-team All-America after being among the national leaders in all three scoring categories (goals, assists, points) as well as draw controls per game. Prior to Thursday's dinner, Kjellman was honored as the 2005 Honda Award recipient for lacrosse, arguably the second-biggest honor a lacrosse player can receive after the Tewaaraton.
Grevers brought home a national individual championship this year, taking first in the 100 backstroke during the NCAA Championships. That was the highlight of a championship season that saw him earn seven All-America certificates and five Big Ten titles (in the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 free relay, and 200 and 400 medley relays) while setting four conference records. Not surprisingly, Grevers was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships at the conference meet-where the Wildcats finished fourth-and he led the 'Cats to a best-ever eighth-place finish at the NCAA meet.
The N Club Performance Award winners were Julia Földi (Budapest, Hungary/Szent Istavan Gimnazium) of women's fencing and Noah Herron (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) of football. This award is presented to one male and one female student-athlete in recognition of "spectacular and outstanding" athletic performance by a graduating senior and letter award winner.
Földi became the first fencer in Northwestern history to earn All-America recognition all four years, finishing eighth at this year's NCAA Championships in foil. She went 80-21 in the weapon this year, closing the book on her career with a school-record 386 victories. Földi helped the Wildcats finish 33-4 in dual matches this season-its best win total since 2000-and place third at the Midwest Conference Championships and eighth at the NCAA Championships.
Herron was drafted in the seventh round of this year's NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers after a year as the Wildcats' featured running back. He finished the 2004 season with the fifth-best single-season rushing total in school history (1,381 yards) and closed his career as NU's fifth-leading rusher (2,524 yards). Herron also caught 36 passes for 351 yards, and was just the fourth player in Northwestern history to total 2,500 rushing and 500 receiving yards for his career. Herron was a consensus second-team All-Big Ten pick and a Senior Bowl participant after the season.
Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) from softball and Dominique Price (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) from football were the recipients of the N Club Achievement Award, which is given to the student-athletes (one male and one female) who have exhibited the qualities of good citizenship, significant academic achievement and outstanding athletic performance.
Mobley earned first-team All-Big Ten for the third-straight year this spring, and also was an NFCA Mideast Region All-America for the second consecutive season. She will graduate later this month as Northwestern's all-time leader with 216 hits. Mobley's success helped propel the Wildcats to heights they have not seen for decades; NU finished just out of the running for the Big Ten title behind the No. 1 team in the nation, Michigan, and advanced to an NCAA Championship Super Regional.
Price finished the 2004 football season as the Wildcats' second-leading tackler (93) and also came up with two interceptions, which was second on the team. He ranked 14th in the Big Ten in tackles per game. The safety earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors his senior season and signed a free-agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys in April. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Price closed his career with 281 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, six interceptions, 12 pass deflections, five forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
The Billy McKinney Award is presented to the male student-athlete who has exhibited exemplary leadership qualities, constant (110 percent) effort, and a positive attitude that, in his coach's estimation, makes him a "coach's dream." The award was presented to swimmer Michael Gustafson (Lowell, Mich./Lowell). Gustafson-who was the male speaker at Thursday night's banquet-is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten.
Morgan Kuhn (Chesterfield, Mo./Lafayette) from field hockey was bestowed the Lisa Ishikawa Award, which is presented to a female student-athlete who has exhibited outstanding leadership ability and selfless dedication to team goals; Ishikawa's determination and positive attitude led her to perform above and beyond the expected. Kuhn started every game for the Wildcats this past season and scored once while dishing off three assists. She earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team, and was Academic All-Big Ten for the third straight season.
Diana Hossfeld (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar) from women's cross country and Jeff Backes (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) from football were given The Director's Award, which is presented to the senior male and female student-athletes who will graduate with the highest cumulative grade point average of all graduating student-athletes.
Hossfeld was a three-time All-District runner for the Wildcats, and in 2002 she was the youngest member of NU's team when it ran at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Backes, meanwhile, is a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America and this year's recipient of the Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete from Playboy magazine. He has been named to the Ronnie Lott Award Watch List for next year after totaling 45 tackles, nine pass deflections and an interceptioin last year. Backes also starred as a special teams returner in 2004, scoring touchdowns on both a kickoff and a punt return in Big Ten play.
Northwestern also announced its 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year candidate at the event. This award recognizes individual excellence in three areas: athletics, academics and community service. One graduating senior at each NCAA institution who participated in the 2004-05 academic year will be recognized as the "NCAA Woman of the Year" and will automatically be eligible for state selection. Northwestern's nominee for this year is Courtney Koester (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) from lacrosse.