July 1, 2010
MILWAUKEE -
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee swimmer Jeremy Waldhart has been named the male recipient of the Horizon League's 2009-10 Cecil N. Coleman Medal of Honor, Commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone announced Thursday.
Waldhart becomes the eighth Panther all-time to garner the Coleman Award and the sixth male recipient. In the last six years, UWM male student-athletes have collected four honors, including a string of three straight from 2005-07.
The senior was a two-time captain of the Milwaukee men's swimming and diving program, leading his squad to a Horizon League championship in 2010. He holds six Panther swimming records and two Klotsche Natatorium Pool records.
The Horizon League's highest individual honor, the Coleman Award is presented annually to the League's top male and female student-athletes who best exemplify the dignity and high purpose of the League and its membership. The individuals demonstrate outstanding achievement in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities. Candidates must be seniors who have exhausted their eligibility and were participants on the varsity level in a League-sponsored sport. In addition, nominees must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.00 on a 4.00 scale, or its equivalent.
Waldhart qualified for and competed in the 2009 U.S. Open Championships and the 2009 USA AT&T Short Course National Championships. The West Bend, Wis., native has been honored with the Milwaukee Swimming and Diving Coach's Award all four years of his collegiate career and earned the prestigious Panther Senior Athlete Award at the annual Student-Athlete Awards Reception.
The Pre-Med Biology graduate was recently named a member of the 2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America At-Large Men's Team, the only Horizon League student-athlete to earn that recognition. He is a four-time winner of the UWM Faculty Athletic Representative's Award, given annually to the individual with the highest grade-point average on the swimming and diving team. Waldhart has also been honored with the New Direction Scholarship for UWM Letters and Sciences and the Oscar and Augusta Schlegle Academic/Community Scholarship. The eight-time dean's list honoree plans to attend Medical School at Michigan State this fall, working in Osteopathic Medicine.
Along with being a three-year Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member and a representative on the NCAA Recertification Student Committee, Waldhart has spent numerous hours volunteering his time in the community. He has assisted the Walker's Point Community Clinic as a social worker and a Spanish translator and communicator. Waldhart also volunteers as a UWM Athletic Department tutor and has participated in the organizing of the Panther Prowl in each of the last four years.
"Jeremy is an outstanding individual whom I couldn't be happier for in receiving this honor," UWM swimming and diving coach Erica Janssen said. "He has brought the entire team to a new level over his four-year career at Milwaukee. His leadership as a captain and as a talented swimmer helped the men win their first championship in 10 years. He is going to continue making huge waves in his life as he moves on from college swimming to medical school this fall."
Jackie Kondratko of Valparaiso's women's soccer team was named the league's female honoree.
"We are exceptionally proud of what Jeremy and Jackie have accomplished in their collegiate careers as individuals and as members of successful teams," LeCrone said. "While student-athletes so often get praised for their work on the court or on the field, the Coleman Award also recognizes athletes for their character and tireless efforts in the classroom and community. These two individuals exemplify what our four platforms are all about, and we wish them well in their future endeavors."
