Germino earns Janet Bachna Award; Hughes & Lyon earn Merle Wagoner Award

KENT, Ohio – The Kent State Department of Athletics has named Mercedes Germino, Mackenzie Hughes and David Lyon the 2011-12 recipients of the Janet Bachna and Merle Wagoner Awards given annually to the top female and male senior student-athletes.  The awards recognize deserving student-athletes based on their leadership, academic performance and athletic ability during their time at Kent State.

Germino of the women’s golf team graduated from Kent State in May with a degree in organizational communication. On the course, the Necochea, Argentina native was named the 2012 Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Year and posted a 74.27 stroke average as a senior, the best single-season average in program history.  Germino helped lead the Golden Flashes to four straight MAC titles and four NCAA Appearances in her four year career at Kent State.  

“We have been very blessed to have Mercedes in our program the past four years,” said women’s golf Head Coach Mike Morrow of the four-time NGCA All-American Scholar.  “She provided instant leadership the day she arrived on campus.  She is just a class individual and a great ambassador for Kent State.  I can not think of a better role model for parents with young children then Mercedes.”

Hughes and Lyon were named co-recipients of the Wagoner Award.  

The lone senior for the men’s golf team this past year, Hughes capped off 2012 by leading Kent State to a tie for fifth in the country after the Golden Flashes advanced to the NCAA Championship match-play bracket.  A two-time GCAA All-American Scholar, the business management graduate was also named all-region and all-conference for a third straight season this spring.  On the course this year he produced five top 10s and three top 5 finishes in 14 events.  The 2011 Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion closed out his collegiate career this season by posting a career best .773 winning percentage and a 72.82 scoring average.  The past week the Dundas, Ontario product made his PGA Tour debut at the RBC Canadian Open

“The most impressive part about Mackenzie is his tremendous work ethic both in the classroom and on the golf course,” said Director of Golf/Head Coach Herb Page.  “The definition of student-athlete, he excelled this year in a leadership role by setting an example for our freshmen on what it takes to succeed and carry forth the championship tradition at Kent State.”

Lyon completed his senior campaign this spring by leading the Golden Flashes baseball team to the most memorable postseason run in program history.  With the Emporium, Pa. product at catcher, Kent State finished fifth in the national after advancing to the College World Series, winning the MAC Tournament, Gary Regional and Eugene Super Regional Championship along the way.  A 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-America honoree who was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 34th round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Lyon sported a .282 batting average in 2012, including 17 doubles, four triples and a team-high 10 home runs. He served as the backstop for a Kent State pitching staff ranked among the best in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings. Lyon led the charge with a triple, two singles and an RBI on June 18 as Kent State topped No. 1 Florida, 5-4, in a 2012 College World Series Bracket 2 elimination game at TD Ameritrade Park. He graduated from Kent State in May with a degree in finance.  

“David is a great player and a great student that takes pride in everything he does,” said baseball Head Coach Scott Stricklin.  “One of the things I like best about him is that he is just as competitive in the classroom as he is on the field.  It has been a privilege to have him in out line-up and behind the plate these past four years.”

The Bachna and Wagoner Award winners cap off what has been another banner year for Kent State athletics that included eight MAC regular season and tournament championships.

Other 2011-12 Department Highlights Include:

• Won the Mid-American Conference’s Reese Trophy (Men’s All-Sport) for the fourth straight year and seventh time overall.

• Top MAC finisher in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup for the 12th time in 13 years and the 15th time in the 19-year history of the award. (Recognizes success at the NCAA level.)
• Ranked No. 73 in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup & Ranked No. 48 nationally in the Spring alone
• One of only 20 schools in the nation to have two teams finish top 5 in the country during the Spring Season

• Finished No. 43 nationally in the Capital One Cup

MAC Championships (8):
Regular Season (3) — Wrestling, Baseball, Soccer (East)

Tournament (5) — Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Women’s Outdoor Track & Field, Men’s Golf, Women’s Golf, Baseball

MAC Coaches of the Year (5):
Bill Lawson, Women’s Indoor Track & Field

Bill Lawson, Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Herb Page, Men’s Golf

Mike Morrow, Women’s Golf

Scott Stricklin, Baseball

MAC Players of the Year (7):

Corey Conners, Men’s Golf

Mercedes Germino, Women’s Golf

Shanequa Williams - Most Outstanding Track Performance - Indoor

Marie Case, Gymnast of the Year

Rachel Goldenberg, Gymnastics Co-Specialist of the Year

David Starn, Baseball Pitcher of the Year

George Roberts, Baseball Player of the Year

MAC Freshman of the Year (2):

Jennifer Ha, Women’s Golf Freshman of the Year

Ian Miller, Wrestling Freshman of the Year

All-Americans (6):

Nic Bedelyon, Wrestling (6th place, 125 pounds)

Corey Conners, Men’s Golf (GCAA Honorable Mention)

Jimmy Rider, Baseball (Baseball American, First Team) (American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings, Second Team) (Perfect Game, Third Team)

David Lyon, Baseball (Lowe’s Senior CLASS Second Team)

David Starn, Baseball (American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings, Third Team) (Louisville Slugger, Second Team)

George Roberts, Baseball (Louisville Slugger, Second Team)

Academic All-District (4):

Trisha Krewson, Women’s Basketball (First Team)

Jessacca Gironda, Soccer (Second Team)

Mercedes Germino, W. Golf (First Team)

Sara Oczypok, Track & Field (Second Team)

First Team All-MAC (31)

Second Team All-MAC (32)

Third Team All-MAC (3)

Honorable Mention All-MAC (3)

MAC All Freshmen Team (3)

Academic All-MAC (45) 

Academic Highlights:

• The average 2012 Spring Semester grade point average for the Golden Flashes among 18 varsity sports was a 3.10, the highest in recorded history. 
• The cumulative GPA for current Kent State student-athletes (3.06) is also at its highest since records were first kept during the 1982-83 academic year.

• Five teams (football, softball, gymnastics, women’s basketball, field hockey) recorded their highest GPAs in program history this past semester. 
• Ten different teams netted term and cumulative GPAs above 3.0.  Five of those squads had term GPAs above a 3.4, while four teams had cumulative GPAs above a 3.4.

• Among those elite academic performances, the 22-member softball team posted a 3.645, the highest term GPA of any in-season team in recorded history.  Also reaching a new term milestone was the football team, with 50 players earning a 3.0 or better.

• Individually, 117 of Kent State’s 381 student-athletes (30.7%) recorded a spring semester GPA of 3.5 or better.  Twenty three Golden Flashes nailed down a perfect 4.0 for the term and nearly 63 percent of student-athletes (238) earned a 3.0 or better.