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14 Wildcats to be Inducted into Frank G. Ham Society of Character

14 Wildcats to be Inducted into Frank G. Ham Society of Character

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fourteen University of Kentucky student-athletes will be inducted into the Frank G. Ham Society of Character with a ceremony Tuesday (today).
 
The student-athletes will be introduced at Rupp Arena before tonight’s men’s basketball game vs. LSU.
 
The Society of Character annually honors Wildcats who have shown an extraordinary commitment to academic excellence, athletic participation, personal development, career preparation and serving as a role model. The SOC was founded during the 1998-99 school year and is named for Ham, a longtime UK administrator.
 
This year’s induction class is listed below by sport.
 
Abbey Cheek, Softball

  • Just six home runs away from tying the all-time UK record for home runs
  • SEC All-Freshman Team in 2016
  • Two-time SEC Player of the Week
  • Graduating with a degree in Community and Leadership Development

 
C.J. Conrad, Football

  • December 2018 graduate with a degree in Communication; three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member and Dean’s List (Fall 2017)
  • Helped lead UK to three straight bowl appearances for the first time since 2006-09 and in 2018, helped lead UK to a 10-win season for the first time since 1977
  • Compiled 1,015 career receiving yards in his four-year career, becoming the 28th player to join the 1,000-yard club; had 12 career TDs catches, the second-most TD receptions by a tight end in UK history
  • Named the winner of the 2018 Pop Warner National College Football Award which recognizes a college graduating senior who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in his community, and serves as a role model to Pop Warner’s young student-athletes
  • Named to the 2018 SEC Community Service Team

Jonny David, Men’s Basketball

  • Scheduled to graduate in the spring with a degree in Kinesiology
  • Three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member and appeared on the Dean’s List four times, including in each of the last three semesters
  • As a member of UK’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, played a key role in UK’s relationship with the Special Olympics, including help organize fan participation in the Polar Plunge, a fundraiser for the Special Olympics of Kentucky
  • Four-year member of the UK men’s basketball team who has played in 29 career games and been a part of three SEC Tournament championship teams and two SEC regular-season title squads

 
Morgan Duerr, Rifle

  • UK rifle team’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council representative, taking on a leadership role in team’s Special Olympics outreach
  • Member of the 2018 NCAA championship team
  • SEC Honor Roll member with a major in Biology
  • Very active in community service, including academic mentor to children and also helping teach children gun safety and proper technique

 
Marshall Gei, Baseball

  • Four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll
  • Has already earned an undergraduate degree in physics and is working toward his M.S. in Medical Physics, which includes working at the UK Markey Cancer Center
  • Baseball’s Student-Athlete Athletic Council representative and is heavily involved in the baseball program’s community outreach and service projects
  • Was named to the 2018 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Team
  • Arrived at UK as a bullpen catcher and has worked his way into team captain role

 
Sarah Loheide, Swimming

  • A freestyle specialist, recorded four career-best swims last season: 50 free (23.96), 100 free (51.78), 200 free (1:51.18), 500 free (4:58.14)
  • 2017 SEC Academic Honor Roll
  • Will apply for medical school this year, aspires to be a physician; research assistant at the College of Public Health
  • Member of the University of Kentucky Honors Program and a UK Patterson Scholar
  • Several community service activities, including the Hope Center, Tri for Sight, God’s Pantry and the International Book Project

 
Taylor Murray, Women’s Basketball

  • Having a great season for the Wildcats, averaging 12.5 points per game while leading the team with 83 assists and 72 steals.
  • The strong defensive performance by Murray has moved her up the career steal lists, sitting seventh all-time in program history with 256 career takeaways. The senior needs just 16 more steals to enter the program’s top 5 all-time in steals.
  • Became the 34th player in program history to reach 1,000 points earlier this season and currently sits at 1,236 career points and ranks 20th all-time.  She has 410 career assists which ranks seventh all-time at UK.
  • Murray is a career 84.0 percent shooter from the free-throw line, which ranks third best in program history behind Maci Morris (.857) and Jenny Pfeiffer (.861)
  • Is captain of the team this season and has been very active in community service during her time at UK volunteering at elementary schools and nursing homes.

 
Cathryn Papasodora, Rifle

  • One of the leading shooters on the 2018 NCAA champion team
  • CRCA All-America – 2017
  • CRCA Scholastic All-American – 2016
  • GARC All-Conference – 2018
  • Member of the SEC Honor Roll with a major in Integrated Strategic Communication

             
AKVILĖ PARAŽINSKAITĖ, Women’s Tennis   

  • 2018 SEC Community Service Team with numerous volunteer activities
  • 2017 SEC Honor Roll and 2016 ITA Scholar Athlete
  • Currently has a UTR ranking of 11 and is 5-1 in singles competition so far in the current season
  • Her career aspiration is to work for an international organization dealing  with matters of foreign policy and diplomacy, while also serving nonprofit non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

 
Sarah Rainwater, Softball

  • Hit her first-career home run against Illinois on Opening Day of 2019
  • Has bounced back well from an injury that forced her to miss the second half of last season
  • SEC First-Year Honor Roll and SEC Honor Roll member
  • 2019 team captain

 
Jenny Schaper, Softball

  • In her fourth year as UK’s starting catcher
  • Had the second-most RBI in the 2018 season for Kentucky
  • Went to Ethiopia on UK Athletics’ annual educational/service trip in the summer of 2018
  • Will graduate in May with degrees in Communication and Psychology

 
Evangeline Soucie, Women’s Soccer

  • 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team
  • Has taken a medical retirement and remained with the team as a student coach
  • SEC First-Team Honor Roll in 2016
  • Majors in Kinesiology

 
Jason Spaude, Rifle

  • Member of UK’s 2018 NCAA championship team and is captain of the 2019 squad
  • 2017 CRCA All-America
  • 2016 CRCA Scholastic All-American as a freshman
  • 2018 Honorable Mention All-GARC
  • SEC Honor Roll member with a major in Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology

 
McKenzie Watson, Volleyball

  • December 2018 graduate with a degree in Integrated Strategic Communication
  • Four-time All-SEC Academic Team member
  • 2018 SEC Community Service Team
  • Two-time SEC champion and advanced to the NCAA Tournament during all four seasons, including an NCAA Regional Finals appearance in 2017
  • Appeared in more than 120 matches and finished career ranking in the top 10 in the rally-scoring era for sets played (410), aces (65) and digs (749)

 
For the latest on the Kentucky athletics, follow @UKathletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com
 
 

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