Allegheny College Athletics - Schaffer Wins NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

Tradition, Commitment, Excellence

Athletes of the Year

Women's Cross Country

Mia Symoniak was selected by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as the Allegheny Female Student-Athlete of the Year. An All-NCAC performer in Cross Country and both Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, she was chosen over five other nominees for the award.

Symoniak had a decorated year as the Allegheny women's top distance runner. During the cross country season, she placed ninth among 91 runners at the NCAC Championships to earn All-NCAC Second Team status. Symoniak finished 25th of 311 finishers at the Mideast Region Regional, claiming All-Region status.

Other in-season accolades included one stint as NCAC Runner of the Week after Symoniak took fifth out of 193 participants at Calvin's Knight Invitational. She was also honored as an Allegheny Athlete of the Week once and was the SAAC Female Student-Athlete of the Month in January.

During the indoor track campaign, Symoniak won the 5,000-meter run at the NCAC Championships while setting a new Allegheny and conference record (17:19.82). She also won the 5,000 individual race at the NCAC Relays and was first in the 3,000 at Mount Union's Jim Wuske Invitational. In her trip to Nationals, Symoniak finished 12th in the 5K.

During the outdoor season, Symoniak established her dominance in the 5,000 with another NCAC title. She also garnered NCAC Distance Runner of the Week honors after placing third in the 10,000 at Bucknell's Bison Classic. Symoniak was also an Allegheny Athlete of the Week.

Chris Marker

Men's Cross Country

Chris Marker was selected by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as the Allegheny Male Student-Athlete of the Year. An All-American performer in Cross Country, he was chosen over three other nominees for the award.

Marker, a junior, began his 2009-10 school year in fine fashion, claiming placing second at the NCAC Cross Country Championships, first at the Mideast Regional and 14th at the Division III Championships.

He was named to the All-NCAC First Team for finishing as runner-up among 109 finishers at the conference meet. At Regionals, he became Allegheny's first-ever individual region champion, placing ahead of 313 other runners, while the team won its first Mideast Region crown. At Nationals, the Gators took third place.

Marker was strong throughout the cross country season, placing first among 245 runners at Oberlin's Inter-Regional Rumble and second of 200 at Calvin's Knight Invitational. He was twice named Allegheny Athlete of the Week and once was an NCAC Runner of the Week after his performance at Calvin. The SAAC honored him twice as its Male Student-Athlete of the Month in September and October.

For the second consecutive year, Marker won the 5,000-meter run at both the NCAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field championship events. He set a new Gator record in the 5K when recording a time of 14:24.08 at Hillsdale's Gina Relays.

After winning the 5,000 at Washington and Lee's Carnival, he was honored as the NCAC Distance Runner of the Week. In April, the SAAC recognized him with his third Male Student-Athlete of the Month award.

Schaffer Wins NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

3/11/2010 2:13:50 PM

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Senior Monica Schaffer has become the first women’s soccer player in Allegheny College history to earn a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Postgraduate Scholarship, recently announced.

Schaffer is one of 29 female student-athletes who compete in fall sports across NCAA Divisions I, II, III to capture the award – a one-time grant of $7,500 to any university or professional school. She is the first Allegheny student-athlete to receive the significant honor since men’s swimmer Benjamin Whittam in 2002.

Schaffer was a four-year standout and senior captain for the Gators, appearing in 65 games and starting in 53 for her career. She is a two-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference performer, two-time NSCAA All-East Region Scholar Honorable Mention and NSCAA All-Region Second Team. This season, Schaffer anchored a defense that allowed only 0.61 goals per game and helped Allegheny record 12 shutouts.

In the classroom, she holds a 3.987 grade-point average as a Biology major with a minor in Economics. She is a member of Lambda Sigma (National Sophomore Honor Society), Beta Beta Beta (Biology Honor Society) as well as Phi Beta Kappa. Schaffer is a four-time Trustee Scholar, three-time Distinguished Alden Scholar and Sandra Doan Turk Award winner. She also was honored with the William Edgar Porter Prize and Biology Department Junior Award in 2009.

Schaffer has been heavily involved in volunteer work in her four years, including the Best Buddies Program, Peer Leadership for Freshmen, Camp Lambec Counselor, Kappa Alpha Theta Philanthropy Group, Won by One Jamaica Mission Trip, and Up’Til Dawn. She has applied for medical school and is awaiting notification of acceptances.

The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. Each sports season (fall, winter and spring), there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women. The scholarships are one-time, non-renewable grants.

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Wed, Nov 04 | 7 p.m. | Women's Soccer

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