This past Friday, a luncheon was held for Maynard Award winners Zach Schechter-Steinberg ’08, Stephanie O’Brien ’08, and Lucia Pier ’08, in support of National Student-Athlete Day, an annual NCAA event.
The Roger Maynard Memorial Award is described as, “a memorial award given to the senior scholar-athletes who best exemplify the spirit, accomplishments, and humility of Roger Maynard ’37, a former trustee.”
More informally, the award is given annually to the male and female scholar-athletes who excel both in the classroom and on the playing field.
Schechter-Steinberg is a three-time letter-winner for the men’s soccer team. He played in every game but one throughout his final three seasons. Schechter-Steinberg started all 15 games this past fall, helping to lead the Cardinals to a 10-5 season that included a ten game winning streak.
“I’m very honored to be named the recipient,” Schechter-Steinberg said. “I think the award is a great way to recognize that athletes at Wesleyan are not simply focused solely on their sport, but also have to achieve academically.”
He was also a member of the 2005 and 2006 squads that made the NCAA Division III national tournaments. Each year the team won one game before falling in the second round.
O’Brien, a captain of the indoor and outdoor track teams, is a sprinter who runs 400m-1500m events. She is also the anchor of the 4x400m relay. She is a holder of three Wesleyan indoor track records, in the 600m, and as a part of both the 4x400m and distance medley relays.
Recent successes for O’Brien include a first place finish in the individual 800m and the team 4x800m relay this past weekend at the Swanson Invitational here at Wesleyan, and a first place in the 1500m on April 5 at the Coast Guard Invitational.
Pier, the captain of the women’s cross country team this past fall, is a three time cross country letter-winner, along with being a member of the indoor and outdoor track teams for the past three years.
Pier earned All-New England Division III honors by finishing 18th out of 344 runners at the New England Division III Championships in November. This earned Pier an entrance to the NCAA Division III Championships at St. Olaf College the following weekend, in which she finished 120th out of 280 runners. Pier is also a member of the 4x400m relay team with O’Brien, and runs mainly long distances for the track team.
Families and friends of the recipients, along with coaches and administrators, including cross country coach John Crooke, men’s soccer Coach Geoff Wheeler, and track and field Coach Walter Curry, attended the luncheon to show their support for the student-athletes
“It was nice that so many administrators were able to join our friends and families at the ceremony,” Schechter-Steinberg said. “President Roth and Dean Rutherford were able to attend. It was a very nice gesture from them.”
Leave a Reply