April 18, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The John Purdue Club honored senior student-athletes from the various varsity sports with a banquet held at the Trails on Monday evening.
The Big Ten Medal of Honor, which was endowed by the conference in 1914, is awarded annually at each university to the student athlete demonstrating the greatest proficiency in scholarship and athletics. Beginning in 1982, the award went coed, allowing each school to name a male and female athlete. Brian Cardinal of the men's basketball team, and Carri Long of the women's track and field team were this year's recipients. Cardinal, a native of Tolono, Ill., led the men's basketball team to the Elite Eight, pacing the team with 13.9 points per game, 142 defensive rebounds and 65 steals. A native of Brazil, Ind., Long finished an impressive second at the NCAA Indoor National Championships by jumping a career best 6'1.50" in the high jump.
Long, along with Danielle Bird and Danica Maher, was also named to the Honor Society. Bird was a guard on the women's basketball team, while Maher serves as a catcher on the softball team. The three received their awards from faculty advisor Phil Nelson.
Kristen Batzer (women's swimming), Taryn Catlin (volleyball), Evan Hays (men's tennis), Chad Kerkhof (men's basketball), Christine Mueller (women's track and field), Stacy Orschell (women's golf), Connie Paul (volleyball) and Robert Tolbert, III (football) were all named scholar athletes for academic excellence, in addition to their participation in inter-collegiate athletics.