By Thomas Corhern
Cookeville Herald-Citizen Sports Writer
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- There is a fine balance in being a
student-athlete. There's the amount of time taken on practice,
travel and games. Then there's the amount of time in the classroom,
studying for what is their ultimate goal: their degree.
That is what exemplifies the Tennessee Tech Man and Woman of the
Year awards, someone who has shown that they are the perfect
example of what it means to be a student-athlete at Tech.
This week, it is the Woman of the Year award.
To be eligible for the award, the student-athlete must be a senior
or graduate student who completed their athletic eligibility in
2012-13. Criteria for the award includes athletic and academic
accomplishments, as well as additional areas such as community
involvement and public service.
And just like the other awards this year, it has been a strong
field: Katherine Barker (women's basketball), Madison Borden (track
and field), Melody Christian (softball), Kelsey Gray (volleyball),
Claudia Harke (softball), Andrea Meloff (soccer), Beth Miller
(cross country and track and field), Kerri Reed (soccer) and
Brittney Spalding (softball).
But it was hard to argue against Kellie Cook's resume, giving her
the 2013 award.
"Kellie Cook is the best of the best," said Tech women's
basketball head coach Jim Davis. "I read the article with the 10
finalists, and they're all phenomenal athletes and students. Kellie
just personified what that award is about. She's a fantastic
student, a great player, a leader in every way. She has excelled in
so many areas in her life, even outside of basketball. She's just
so well-rounded."
Cook is the first women's basketball player to win the award since
2004 and 11th overall (Dana Scott, 1991; Cecilia Ramsey, 1992;
Bonnie Zoss, 1993; Taunya Lovelace, 1995; Amber Clark, 1999; Diane
Seng and Collin Carmichael, 2000; Rachel Gobble, 2001; Janet Holt,
2002; and Andrea Brown, 2004).
ŇWhen we (along with sister Kylie) came to Tennessee Tech,
the balance between education and athletics was one of the things
that brought us here," Cook said. "Of course, basketball's winning
tradition did too. The people who met us on our visit were all
about education, getting your degree on one hand and getting a
championship ring on the other. I'm excited that I was able to do
that and feel very blessed about that."
In addition to helping lead the Tennessee Tech women's basketball
team to two Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles under two
different head coaches, Cook has been a very visible presence in
the community.
"I feel like we have been blessed to have the opportunities that
we have," Cook said, "so it's important for us to give back to the
community, to help those people along the way that have supported
us. Giving back is important to me, not just on Tennessee Tech's
campus, but in life as well. I believe I should give back and help
as much as I can."
As a four-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
(SAAC), Cook has also represented all of Tech's student-athletes on
the Ohio Valley Conference's SAAC chapter, and was even the OVC's
representative on the NCAA level.
As president of the Tech chapter, she helped organize
student-athlete participation in a long line of events — the
OVC Hoops for Heroes initiative, the Cookeville Christmas Parade,
the Great Move-In Day on campus, Habitat for Humanity Women's
Build, canned food drives for Helping Hands and the American Cancer
Society's Relay for Life.
Read the entire story in the Herald-Citizen by
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