The St. Mary’s College of Maryland Department of Athletics and Recreation inducted 30 of its student-athletes into the Maryland Beta Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma, the national college athlete honor society.  This year’s ceremony was held at Daugherty-Palmer Commons on campus.  The large group equaled the Chi Alpha Sigma Induction Class of 2004 as the biggest group ever honored as 2004 marked the inception of the Maryland Beta Chapter at St. Mary’s.

Scott Devine, the Director of Athletics and Recreation at St. Mary’s, expressed, “The annual Chi Alpha Sigma induction program is always a highlight for me.  Chi Alpha Sigma symbolizes all that is good and right with D-III athletics and we pass along both our thanks and our appreciation to each student-athlete who was inducted.”

The National College Athlete Honor Society was founded at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana on May 17, 1996, by DePauw head football coach and professor of kinesiology, Nick Mourouzis.  Mourouzis recognized that there were many organizations that honored students for outstanding academic or athletic achievements, but none that did both.  Chi Alpha Sigma hopes to bring honor and recognition to deserving student-athletes, their families, teams, athletic departments, and colleges in much the same way as Phi Beta Kappa honors scholastics.

Chi Alpha Sigma is a nonprofit organization established in 1996 to recognize collegiate student-athletes who earned a varsity letter in at least one sport while maintaining a 3.4 or higher cumulative GPA throughout their junior and senior years.

“We are extremely proud of all of our Seahawk student-athletes, and on this night, the light shined most brightly on the elite group of juniors and seniors who have earned their way into our chapter of the National College Athlete Honor Society,” added Devine.

Chi Alpha Sigma Induction Class of 2011 – Jackie Brady (Jr., tennis), Aviva Brown (Jr., tennis), Alli Crawford (Jr., tennis), Chris Edge (Sr., lacrosse), Shannon Fitzpatrick (Jr., volleyball), Lydia Garcia (Sr., field hockey), Katelyn Grue (Jr., swimming), Eric Heisner (Jr., lacrosse), Laura Hewins (Jr., cross country), Thomas Hoesman (Jr., tennis), Katie Lackler (Jr., tennis), Gordy Lamphere (Jr., sailing), Jeff Levy (Sr., tennis), Sam Locke (Jr., field hockey), Bridget McGovern (Jr., soccer), Kelsey McKeon (Jr., field hockey), Brendan Oster (Jr., lacrosse), Kathleen Ramsey (Jr., tennis), Jackie Reymann (Jr., field hockey), Kimmy Routson (Jr., lacrosse), Elliot Russell (Jr., lacrosse), Brad Shepherd (Sr., baseball), Bryson Shibe (Jr., cross country), Colleen Simpson (Jr., lacrosse), Susan Smith (Jr., field hockey), Sofia Sokolove (Sr., swimming), Kasey Stanton (Jr., volleyball), Kathleen Tatem (Jr., cross country), Michael Victory (Jr., baseball), and Peter Windsor (Jr., lacrosse).

The Department also recognized 18 seniors who were inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma last year and maintained a 3.4 GPA in their final academic year.  Those individuals were Elisa Bateman (lacrosse), Will Bell (lacrosse), Sam Burum (basketball), Bobby Corton (baseball), Mark Dattilio (baseball), Christi Ford (cross country), Colin Gload (lacrosse), Nick Ibello (soccer), Kyle Jarczynski (basketball), Johann Jones (basketball), Claire Kodan (volleyball), Franny Kupersmith (sailing), Meredith Powlison (sailing), Dennis Rosson (lacrosse), Adam Shenk (baseball), Rosa Trembour (swimming), Arielle Webster (swimming) and John Windsor (lacrosse).