Corrigan and Korhonen
nab top athlete honors at UMPI
PRESQUE ISLE — The University of Maine at Presque Isle held its annual athletic awards program May 3.
Highlighting the ceremony was the presentation of the 2010-11 male and female athletes of the year, and the recipients are Aroostook County natives Kyle Corrigan of Caribou and Megan Korhonen of Littleton.
Corrigan, a junior majoring in business administration, made significant contributions on both the soccer field and basketball court this past season.
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KYLE CORRIGAN of Caribou was named Male Athlete of the Year at the University of Maine at Presque Isle for the 2010-11 school year. The award was presented by Chris Corsello, athletic director at the university.
As a striker for the soccer team, he was second on the Owls in scoring and helped the team to an 11-5-1 record. As a point guard on the basketball team, he was a floor general and coach on the court, leading his team in assists per game with 5.7, while averaging an impressive 85 percent from the foul line.
Corrigan was ranked first in the state among Division III universities in both assists and free throw percentage, while also leading the way among Association of Division III Independents in assists per game and assists-to-turnovers ratio.
He was also third on the Owls in scoring and led the team in steals.
He also was named both an NAIA national scholar and Sunrise Conference scholar-athlete in both sports.
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MEGAN KORHONEN of Littleton, right, was named Female Athlete of the Year at the University of Maine at Presque Isle for the 2010-11 school year. The award was presented by Chris Corsello, athletic director at the university.
Korhonen, who also won the award last year, is a senior physical education major. She has competed in volleyball, basketball and softball during her UMPI playing career. A four-year member of both the volleyball and basketball teams, she served as captain of both squads.
Throughout her career as an Owl, she has garnered many accolades as a two-sport athlete, including making the Association of Division III Independents all-conference teams and Sunrise Conference all-conference teams. In her first year on the softball team this past spring, she was the starting first baseman and helped the Owls to an 8-2 conference record. She has been chosen MVP, rookie of the year and most inspirational player by her Owl coaches and has led her teams in many statistical categories.
She also excels in the classroom, evidenced by being named an NAIA national scholar and a Sunrise Conference Scholar-Athlete in all three sports she participated in this year.
Korhonen was also this year’s recipient of the Stanley H. Small Coaches Award. Students selected for the honor must be either a junior or a senior and have shown exemplary dedication to the athletic program during their years at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
Kayla Fleming of Hodgdon came away with the Ruel Parks Basketball Award, presented in memory of Parks, a former assistant women’s basketball coach at UMPI. It goes to a passionate player who may not always be the star, but is very dedicated to the team, has a passion for the game of basketball and is essential to team chemistry.
The annual Al Arman “Make A Difference” Award is presented to the student-athletes or students who truly have made a difference within athletics and the campus community. These contributions can range from being a team manager to being a star player. Attitude and effort mean everything. Each year the athletic staff discusses events of the past season and determines who is worthy to receive this award. This year’s recipients are LeAnn Abbott, a sophomore secondary education major from Sumner, and Paul Rucci, a senior athletic training major from Millinocket.
Rucci was also named Athletic Training Student of the Year, while the Athletic Training Rising Star Award went to Peter Desmond of Topsham.
The Donald N. Zillman “Character Award” winner was Desiree Smith, a junior physical education major from Thomaston. The new award goes to a student-athlete who, through their actions in the competitive arena of intercollegiate athletics, has demonstrated one or more of the ideals of character development, through sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility. The recipient should promote and enhance the integrity of higher education and civility in society.
UMPI’s Most Valuable Players for the 2010-11 season included: men’s cross country, Justin Fereshetian of Turner; women’s cross country, Kathleen Christoffel of Clifton Park, N.Y.; golf, Michael Balmer of Smyrna Beach, Fla.; men’s soccer, Matthew Carrington of Nottingham, United Kingdom; women’s soccer, Chelsea Boudreau of Wallace, Nova Scotia; volleyball, Karen Creighton of Sussex, New Brunswick; men’s basketball, Chris Coffin of Presque Isle and Cliff McDonald of Sarasota, Fla.; women’s basketball, Emily Pelletier of Fort Kent; men’s Nordic skiing, Wellington Ramsey of New Sharon; women’s Nordic skiing, Justine Cyr of Fort Kent; baseball, Corey Harding of Plymouth; and softball, Danielle Humphrey and Brittany Humphrey, both of New Gloucester.
Most Inspirational Athlete award winners for each of the varsity sports were: men’s cross country, Samuel Johnson of South Berwick; women’s cross country, Alessandra Pizzuti of Caribou; golf, Randy Whitmore of Milford; men’s soccer, Seth Dorr of Hodgdon; women’s soccer, Kellie Peers of Caswell; volleyball, Korhonen; men’s basketball, Corrigan; women’s basketball, Renee Moore of Lisbon; men’s Nordic skiing, Fereshetian; women’s Nordic skiing, Christoffel; baseball, Jacob Fillebrown of Stoneham; and softball, Smith.
Rookie of the Year awards went to: men’s cross country, Zachary Barnes of Presque Isle; women’s cross country, Carly Langley of Truro, Nova Scotia; golf, Balmer; men’s soccer, Corrigan and Joshua MacKinnon of Antigonish, Nova Scotia; women’s soccer, Susan Lavertu of Madawaska; volleyball, Amanda Moore of Seattle, Wash.; men’s basketball, Aaron Hutchins of East Millinocket; women’s basketball, Rashell Saucier of Washburn; men’s Nordic skiing, Richard Landry of Mill Village, Nova Scotia; women’s Nordic skiing, Abbott; baseball, Carlos Villoria of Caracas, Venezuela; and softball, Krista Coffin of Presque Isle.
