UMC Golden Eagle News Archive:
June 6, 2006 - July 1, 2009

(St. Paul, Minn.)- The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has announced Southwest Minnesota State University’s Tyler Fischer as the 2008 Dr. William Britton Scholar-Athlete Award winner and Winona State University’s Kallie Tellefsen as the 2008 Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award recipient. The Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence, in its 24th year, recognizes the NSIC’s top male student-athlete, while the Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award, in its 23rd year, is presented to the NSIC’s top female student-athlete.

The Britton Award was created in 1985 in honor of Dr. William Britton, a longtime faculty representative at Bemidji State University. The Kelly Award is named in honor of Willis R. Kelly, an associate professor of physical education at the University of Minnesota, Morris. A member of the NSIC Hall of Fame, Kelly also coordinated the Minnesota-Morris Physical Education Department from 1970-87. She became the first director of women’s intercollegiate athletics at Minnesota-Morris in 1976 and was later promoted to athletic director for the whole department. Kelly passed away in 1988.

The member institutions of the NSIC nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the Britton and Kelly Awards. The nominees must meet the following criteria: a grade point average of 3.2 or better (on a 4.0 scale); evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum grade point average (scholarship prizes and other academic recognition), evidence of participation in the life of the institution, and evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual’s primary sport.

The 18 student-athletes nominated for the NSIC’s two most prestigious awards will also be honored as NSIC Male and Female Honor Student-Athletes of the Year at their respective institutions. Fischer and Tellefsen will be recognized Friday, July 25 at the 2008 NSIC Hall of Fame Banquet at the Best Western Kelly Inn and Convention Center in St. Cloud, Minn. Fischer and Tellefsen will each receive a $1000 post-graduate scholarship.

Crance was a middle hitter for the Golden Eagle Women’s Volleyball program and a forward for the women’s basketball program. She averaged 2.59 kills/game and led the team with a .302 attack percentage. Defensively, she tallied 78 total blocks and was named NSIC All-Conference Honorable Mention for volleyball. On the basketball court, Crance had a .917 free-throw percentage and grabbed 35 total rebounds. Her 3.6 cumulative GPA earned her recognition on both the NSIC volleyball and basketball All-Academic teams. Crance is double-majoring in Pre-Medicine and Biology. She is the daughter of Roy and Anne Crance of Timber Lake, S.D.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at: www.goldeneaglesports.com 

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is a NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Golden Eagle Hockey is a member of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).