Eastern Michigan Athletics
MAC Honors 24 Student-Athletes With Medal of Excellence Award
5/13/2014 4:30:00 PM | Football, Soccer, General, E-Gridiron Group, SASS
EMU's Cy Maughmer and Stephanie Clarke were given the newly created award
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's Cy Maughmer (Glendale, Ariz.-Apache Junction-Glendale C.C.) and Stephanie Clarke (London, Ontario-St. Thomas Aquinas) were presented the Medal of Excellence Award as part of the Mid-American Conference Spring Meetings. In total, twenty-four MAC student-athletes were honored Tuesday, May 13, during the Honors Dinner Ceremony at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.
The Medal of Excellence is a newly-created award which will be presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 conference member institutions.
To be honored with the Medal of Excellence Award, student-athletes had to participate on the varsity level in a conference sponsored sport, show evidence of academic success with a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade-point average and exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Selection of the recipients was made by each MAC institution.
"The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service," said MAC Commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher. "We congratulate all of our 24 Medal of Excellence Award winners."
A standout on the football field, Maughmer boasts a 3.98 GPA in secondary education. He was one of 24 student-athletes nationally named to the Capital One Academic All-American Second Team after the 2013 campaign. He is the second EMU player to earn the award and was the anchor of the EMU defense this season, starting all 11 games he appeared in for the Green and White. The defensive lineman made 32 tackles on the year. Maughmer plans to return home to Arizona where he hopes to teach and eventually attend graduate school to become a college professor and literary critic. While on campus at EMU, he worked on projects with Habitat for Humanity, volunteered at various runs and races, and volunteer coached at the middle school level.
Clarke earned Capital One Academic All-American Third Team accolades on the soccer field as selected by CoSIDA after the 2013 season. The London, Ontario native boasts a 3.90 GPA with a degree in biology. She was one-of-two student-athletes from a Mid-American Conference institution to achieve All-American status this season. She was also an All-MAC First Team honoree after helping EMU to the regular season MAC title. Clarke plans to enter medical school in the fall of 2015. Following graduation, she returned home to continue with her volunteer work at both St. Joseph's Hospital and the London Health Sciences Hospital.
2014 Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron: Reinaldo Brenes (men's soccer); Ariane Beaumont-Courteau (women's track & field)
Ball State: Tyler Merkel (men's golf); Audrey Bickel (softball)
Bowling Green: Cody Apthorpe (baseball); Nicole Chiricosta (women's tennis)
Buffalo: William Regan (men's basketball); Kristen Sharkey (women's basketball)
Central Michigan: Kyle Smith (men's track & field/cross country; Simone Lazar (field hockey)
Eastern Michigan: Cy Maughmer (football); Stephanie Clarke (women's soccer)
Kent State: Nathaniel Vance (football); Jessacca Gironda (women's soccer/softball)
Miami: Mason Krysinski (football); Sarah Mueller (field hockey)
Northern Illinois: Richard Connors (football); Kimberly Gotlund (gymnastics)
Ohio: Travis Wilkins (men's basketball); Juliane Accurso (women's track & field/cross country)
Toledo: Zachary Kerin (football); Lauren Rafdal (volleyball)
Western Michigan: Oliver Mayer (men's soccer); Michelle Watson (women's soccer)
The Medal of Excellence is a newly-created award which will be presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 conference member institutions.
To be honored with the Medal of Excellence Award, student-athletes had to participate on the varsity level in a conference sponsored sport, show evidence of academic success with a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade-point average and exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Selection of the recipients was made by each MAC institution.
"The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service," said MAC Commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher. "We congratulate all of our 24 Medal of Excellence Award winners."
A standout on the football field, Maughmer boasts a 3.98 GPA in secondary education. He was one of 24 student-athletes nationally named to the Capital One Academic All-American Second Team after the 2013 campaign. He is the second EMU player to earn the award and was the anchor of the EMU defense this season, starting all 11 games he appeared in for the Green and White. The defensive lineman made 32 tackles on the year. Maughmer plans to return home to Arizona where he hopes to teach and eventually attend graduate school to become a college professor and literary critic. While on campus at EMU, he worked on projects with Habitat for Humanity, volunteered at various runs and races, and volunteer coached at the middle school level.
Clarke earned Capital One Academic All-American Third Team accolades on the soccer field as selected by CoSIDA after the 2013 season. The London, Ontario native boasts a 3.90 GPA with a degree in biology. She was one-of-two student-athletes from a Mid-American Conference institution to achieve All-American status this season. She was also an All-MAC First Team honoree after helping EMU to the regular season MAC title. Clarke plans to enter medical school in the fall of 2015. Following graduation, she returned home to continue with her volunteer work at both St. Joseph's Hospital and the London Health Sciences Hospital.
2014 Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron: Reinaldo Brenes (men's soccer); Ariane Beaumont-Courteau (women's track & field)
Ball State: Tyler Merkel (men's golf); Audrey Bickel (softball)
Bowling Green: Cody Apthorpe (baseball); Nicole Chiricosta (women's tennis)
Buffalo: William Regan (men's basketball); Kristen Sharkey (women's basketball)
Central Michigan: Kyle Smith (men's track & field/cross country; Simone Lazar (field hockey)
Eastern Michigan: Cy Maughmer (football); Stephanie Clarke (women's soccer)
Kent State: Nathaniel Vance (football); Jessacca Gironda (women's soccer/softball)
Miami: Mason Krysinski (football); Sarah Mueller (field hockey)
Northern Illinois: Richard Connors (football); Kimberly Gotlund (gymnastics)
Ohio: Travis Wilkins (men's basketball); Juliane Accurso (women's track & field/cross country)
Toledo: Zachary Kerin (football); Lauren Rafdal (volleyball)
Western Michigan: Oliver Mayer (men's soccer); Michelle Watson (women's soccer)
Volleyball Highlights vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
Friday, September 05
Script Eastern Volleyball Jerseys Reveal
Thursday, September 04
Cinematic Highlights Soccer vs. Robert Morris 8-31-25
Wednesday, September 03
Eastern in 60 Seconds Part 2
Tuesday, September 02