Wildcats to be introduced during Mississippi State game
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Eighteen University of Kentucky student-athletes from 13 different teams will be inducted into the Frank G. Ham Society of Character on Wednesday at a ceremony to be held at UK’s Center for Academic and Tutorial Services.
Following the induction ceremony, the student-athletes will be introduced at Rupp Arena during the men’s basketball game vs. Mississippi State.
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 long-time UK administrator.
This year’s induction class is listed below in alphabetical order.
Khristina Blajkevitch
Blajkevitch is a junior member of the UK women’s tennis team. Her academic counselor describes her as “a self-starter and one who takes initiative.” Her initiative in the classroom will allow her to graduate in May 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a minor in political science after just three years of college. In the community, she has spent time serving at the Hope Lodge and with the Salvation Army and God’s Pantry. On the court, Blajkevitch competed multiple singles positions. In doubles, she paired up with teammate Jessica Stiles to earn a ranking as high as No. 34 according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. After her time at Kentucky, Blajkevitch hopes to pursue a professional career in tennis and eventually attend law school.
Seth Blann
Blann is recent graduate of the University of Kentucky and competed for the men’s golf team for four seasons. After earning his communications degree in December, Blann is now attempting to take his golf game to the professional level. Off the course, Blann is beloved by his head coach Brian Craig, who described Blann as a dependable and reliable person with great integrity. Blann displayed those qualities in the community while spending time with numerous organizations in the area, including God’s Pantry and the Salvation Army. For his work in the classroom, he was named to the SEC Honor Roll four straight years and was a NGCA All-American Scholar in 2010-11.
Kara Dill
Dill is a senior infielder for the UK softball team. She is the most decorated player on the roster and has been named a team captain for the 2013 season. Her leadership qualities on the field translate off of it, as she’s been a model student and citizen in her time in Lexington. She spent several hours of service time on campus during UK Fusion events as well as volunteering with God’s Pantry and the Salvation Army. In her education, Dill is a purposeful worker and learner, which has earned her several academic honors including being named to the 2011-12 ESPN/COSIDA Academic All-District as well as SEC Honor Roll in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. Dill has been an extremely diligent and committed student who will have completed her undergraduate degree in kinesiology and health promotion and her graduate degree in exercise physiology in four years this May.
Megan Eppler
Eppler is a senior member of the UK swimming team. She is one of the top sprinters in the Southeastern Conference, competing in all freestyle events while also swimming in relay events. Eppler qualified to participate in the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in 2012 and finished the 2011-12 season with a team-high 11 individual victories. As a student, Eppler has made the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year while at UK and earned the highest GPA in the fall 2009 and spring 2012 semesters. In the community, she has spent her time volunteering with organizations like UK Fusion, the Markey Race for Women’s Cancer and the Salvation Army. Eppler will receive her degree in accounting this spring and wishes to pursue a graduate degree while earning her CPA certification.
Kastine Evans
Evans is a junior guard for the UK women’s basketball team. She is a key contributor off of Matthew Mitchell’s bench, averaging about 18 minutes and four points per game. She is a versatile guard and a strong defender. In last season’s Elite Eight run, Evans averaged 8.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the NCAA Tournament. While she has led on the court, she has been equally impressive off of it. She has excelled academically while seeking ways to motivate her teammates both on and off the court. She is a business management major with a minor in African-American studies. Evans currently serves on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and last season was given the Stumbo Award at the end-of-the-year banquet for her outstanding and unselfish contributions to the women’s basketball program. Evans is not only active in the community, but she also extended her service internationally on an athletic service trip to Ethiopia. Inspired by her time there, she has created her own nonprofit organization in the Lexington community called Shooting at Success.
John Fox
Fox is a member of the UK diving team. He is currently enjoying a solid junior campaign to follow up his strong sophomore season which saw him earn two top-10 finishes at the SEC Championships. Fox is a student-athlete of the utmost character. He has spent several hours volunteering with organizations like God’s Pantry, UK Fusion, Special Olympics, High Street YMCA and Maxwell Presbyterian Church. Academically, Fox has appeared on the SEC Freshman Honor Roll and the SEC Honor Roll for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons while majoring in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy. He is on target to graduate in May of 2014.
Kayla Hartley
Hartley is a junior member of the UK gymnastics team. The Versailles, Ky., native is one of the top performers on the team, competing in the vault, bars and floor events this season. Hartley is a proactive, well-organized student who takes care of her business in a timely fashion. That work ethic has led to recognition on the SEC Freshman Honor Roll as well as the 2011-12 SEC Honor Roll while appearing on the Dean’s List all three years at UK while majoring in hospitality management. Hartley has been extremely active in her service in the community and more. This past summer, Hartley spent time in Ethiopia on an athletic service trip, but she has also made her mark locally helping with the Special Olympics, visiting local elementary schools and working with God’s Pantry.
Shelby Kennard
Kennard is a senior pole vaulter for the UK track and field team and has been one of the best in program history. As a sophomore, Kennard produced a school-record mark of 12-11.50/3.95m at the SEC Indoor Championships. In the outdoor pole vault, she shares the top mark of 12-08.00/3.86m which she achieved at the SEC Championships in 2011. In 2012, she was named to the SEC Community Service Team after spending time at the Ronald McDonald House and Lake Pointe Church Vacation Bible School. In the classroom, she has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average throughout her college career, earning a spot on the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll each semester while at UK. She has also appeared on the SEC Honor Roll every year during her time as a Wildcat. Kennard, who will graduate after the summer semester in August with a degree in psychology, hopes to attend nursing school.
Brooke Keyes
Keyes is a senior defender for the UK women’s soccer team. She was named a captain for the 2012 season and saw action in six games this year. Her intangibles helped UK win its first-ever NCAA Tournament game. Her impact off the field, however, is immeasurable. Keyes is described by her academic counselor as a responsible, proactive person who is mature in every way. Keyes has dedicated a great deal of her time as a student-athlete making service trips to Africa. In 2011, she traveled with Athletes in Action to South Africa, and in 2012 she traveled with several UK athletes on a mission trip to Ethiopia. Academically, Keyes has maintained a strong GPA over 3.4 which has led to numerous academic honors. She has been named to the SEC Honor Roll each year while at UK and in 2010-11 was named to the NSCAA Academic Team. Keyes was also a participant at the 2012 NCAA Career in Sports Forum. She is expected to earn her degree in Business Management in May 2013.
Heather Lott
Lott is a senior member of the UK women’s golf team. She has been an excellent student during her time at Kentucky, earning SEC Honor Roll honors through her first three years. Lott was also recognized in 2010-11 as a National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar. She was recognized by the SEC when she was named to the 2009-10 SEC Community Service Team in her freshman year. On the course, Lott is tied for eighth in program history for under-par rounds with five. She shot a season-best 72 three times in 2011-12, finishing with a 78.17 scoring average for the season. Lott is a psychology major.
Morgan Newton
Newton is a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky and was a quarterback for the UK football team. Before injury setbacks in the latter stages of his career, Newton found great success in his freshman season when he was named UK’s Most Outstanding First-Year Offensive Player after completing 55.6 percent of his passes for 706 yards and six touchdowns. Newton led the Wildcats to their first win at Auburn since 1961. After performing in a backup capacity as a sophomore, Newton started eight games for UK in 2011 while throwing for 793 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for two. Newton was still recovering from a shoulder injury heading into his senior season, but was a model teammate in tutoring the young quarterbacks while also taking the field in some crucial situations. He also made strong contributions off the field during his time in Lexington, volunteering with many local organizations like Read Across America while also spending time speaking to many elementary students across the city. Newton also spent time as a volunteer worker at the Manning Passing Academy. Academically, Newton has been a model student, earning SEC Honor Roll honors in all four years as a Wildcat. He was all named to the Arthur Ashe Jr. Academic All-American Team for the 2010-11 season. Newton graduated in Dec. 2012 with a degree in management.
Chelsea Oswald
Oswald is senior member of the UK track and field cross country teams. She works as efficiently in the classroom as she runs in competition as she is set to finish her undergraduate degree in biology this spring while working on her psychology degree looking to double major. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her collegiate career while appearing on the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll each semester at UK. She has appeared on the SEC Honor Roll each year as a Wildcat. Oswald has spent several hours serving the community, including time at the NEO Cross Country Camp for high school athletes and with Operation Homes preparing meals for the homeless. In cross country, Oswald was named to the All-SEC Freshman and Second Teams in 2009 and has continued a solid career ever since. In 2011, she earned back-to-back top-two finishes with a second-place finish at the San Francisco Invitational and followed that up with a victory at the Iona College Meet of Champions. In 2012, Oswald earned All-America honors with a 37th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
Steven Perinovic
Perinovic is a redshirt junior defender for the UK men’s soccer team. Perinovic had a huge junior season helping Kentucky reach the fifth NCAA Tournament in program history. He started all 21 games with a team-high 1,892 minutes while scoring one goal and was named to the All-Midwest Region Second Team and the Conference USA All-Tournament team this past season. Though he spent several minutes on the pitch last year, Perinovic has spent much more time trying to earn his degree in finance while also taking pre-medicine classes. He has a strong academic work ethic as shown by a 3.475 GPA that has helped him earn C-USA and SEC Honor Roll through his first three years as a Wildcat. He is a value-oriented person who cares deeply about those around him according to his academic counselor. Perinovic has spent several hours volunteering as a mentor at both Millcreek Elementary and Harrison Elementary schools.
Shiara Robinson
Robinson is a senior member of the UK track and field team. She competes in sprint and hurdle events and brings as much determination on the track as she does to her school work. Robinson was a member of UK’s program-record-setting 4×400-meter relay team as a sophomore at the NCAA East preliminaries with a time of 3:34.12. Her academic counselor believes that success is imminent in Robinson’s future, and she will earn her undergraduate degree this May in management and marketing. After earning SEC Freshman Honor Roll honors, she continued her hard work in the classroom and was named to the SEC Honor Roll each of the next two seasons. She also was named an Arthur Ashe, Jr., Academic All-American for the 2010-11 season and an Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholar in 2011-12. She has amassed over 100 service hours during her time at UK while serving as an international student volunteer and has also spent time mentoring at Booker T. Washington Elementary School.
Maclin Simpson
Simpson is a senior member of the UK swimming team. He is described by his academic counselor as an individual of high character who is committed to excellence in his sport and in the classroom. His leadership in both avenues has led him to be named as a team captain since his sophomore season. His commitment to academics was displayed when he was asked to be notified of any academic issues with his team so that they may meet their team goal of a 3.0 GPA. Simpson is also the team’s representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. He has maintained 3.296 GPA which has helped him earn spots on SEC Freshman Honor Roll and SEC Honor Roll in 2010-11 and 2011-12. He was also named to the 2011-12 SEC Community Service Team for his time spent with the Salvation Army, God’s Pantry, CATS Cultivating Character among other volunteer endeavors. Simpson is on track to graduate in May 2014.
Matt Smith
Smith is a senior offensive lineman for the UK football team. He has started each of the last three seasons at center after coming to UK as a defensive tackle. The change in position was a great benefit to the team as Smith helped anchor the offensive line the last three years. Smith has served his team well and has served others off the field. He had the opportunity to travel to Ethiopia on an educational/service trip and in the local community has volunteered his time with Big Blue U and Read Across America. Smith has been honored for his success in the classroom by appearing on the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll in 2010 while earning SEC Honor Roll honors for the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Smith is expected to graduate in May 2013 with a degree in community communications and leadership development.
Hiruni Wijayaratne
Wijayaratne is a senior runner for the UK track and field and cross country teams. In track last season, Wijayaratne earned the sixth-fastest time at the Kentucky Invitational with a time of 5:09.30 and had the second-fastest time in the 5000-meter (17:45.96) on the team at the SEC Outdoor Championships. She has improved in cross country throughout her career, culminating in a time of 22:15.29 in the 6K at the SEC Championships in 2012. The integrated strategic communication major also minors in Spanish and is on target to graduate in May. She’s excelled in the classroom earning SEC academic honors by making the Freshman Honor Roll and being named to the 2010-11 and 2011-12 SEC Honor Roll while also being named an Arthur Ashe, Jr., Academic All-American in 2010-11. Wijayaratne has spent several hours serving the community, specifically working with the UK Shoe Drive in 2010 and 2011.
Cameron Wilder
Wilder is a senior midfielder for the UK soccer team. Wilder was recently drafted in the third round of the 2013 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft by FC Dallas and is just the fourth player in program history to be drafted into the MLS. He is a player that his new coaches will love to coach as he brings a positive attitude and 100-percent effort into whatever endeavor he’s involved in. Wilder has been involved with school, athletics, the community and a fraternity during his time at UK. In the classroom, those efforts are directed at earning his degree in business management while also minoring in economics. He’s also spent time at Millcreek Elementary School reading to children. He is projected to graduate in Dec. 2013.
