AU ATHLETICS: 37 athletes graduate Saturday

By: Special to the News | Opelika Auburn News
Published: May 10, 2009

A total of 37 Auburn student-athletes graduated as part of the Auburn University Spring 2009 graduating class Saturday.

The graduates represent 15 of Auburn’s sport programs, including eight from football, five from baseball and gymnastics, and three from equestrian.

“We’re very proud of the accomplishments of these 37 student-athletes as today is a culmination of their academic careers at Auburn,” Cathie Helmbold, Assistant Athletic Director for Student Athlete Support Services said. “Each has made tremendous sacrifices and worked extremely hard to accomplish their goals both athletically and academically. We look forward to seeing each take their Auburn education and apply it to their careers in the future.”

Among the 37 graduates include two All-Americans, one SEC individual champion, five All-SEC performers, three Academic All-Americans, one SEC Post-Graduate Scholarship recipient, two SEC Athletes of the Year, one Regional Athlete of the Year and 17 SEC Academic Honor Roll recipients.

The graduates collectively hail from 13 states and two countries.

Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, a 1995 Auburn graduate, delivered the commencement address to this year’s Auburn graduates during graduation ceremonies Saturday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Auburn’s spring graduates were:

Baseball: Paul Burnside (Montgomery), Blake Carver (Cleveland, Tenn.); Bruce Edwards (Columbus, Miss.); Bradley Ray (Birmingham); Kris West (Huntsville)

Men’s Basketball: Korvotney Barber (Manchester, Ga.); Drew Smith (Trussville)

Women’s Basketball: DeWanna Bonner (Fairfield)

Equestrian: Jessica Braswell (Richmond, Va.); Sara Netherton (Murfreesboro, Tenn.); Jennifer Reinhart (Brownsburg, Ind.)

Football: Montez Billings (Pelham); Walt McFadden (Pompano Beach, Fla.); Charles Olatunji (Lilburn, Ga.); Ben Tate (Newark, Md.); Josh Thompson (Statesboro, Ga.); Jackson Timmerman (Rehobeth); John Vaughn (Brentwood, Tenn.); Jonathan Vickers (Athens)

Men’s Golf: Keith White (Huntsville)

Women’s Golf: Lauren Hawkins (Gretna, Neb.); Mariana Macias (Madrid, Spain)

Gymnastics: Kayla Gies (Cox’s Creek, Ky.); Alicia Lenkiewicz (Litteton, Colo.); A.J. Mills (Floyds Knobs, Ind.); Lindsey Puckett (Dacula, Ga.); Claire Seiffert (Louisville, Ky.)

Soccer: Jenn Johnson (Loganville, Ga.); Kara Kasten (Marietta, Ga.)

Softball: Myesha Finney (Atlanta);Jessica Martin (Alexander City)

Men’s Swimming & Diving: Jeff Smith (Mandeville, La.)

Women’s Swimming & Diving: Emily Kukors (Auburn, Wash.)

Men’s Track & Field: Jerod Wims (Miami)

Women’s Track & Field: Evin Norman (Fairfield); Jessica Smith (Powder Springs, Ga.)

Volleyball: Jelena Sekulic (Belgrade, Serbia)