4/3/08 The Montana AAU has announded the 10 finalists for the 2008 Little Sullivan Award as the state of Montana's top amateur athlete. Heading the five men's finalists is Montana Grizzly defensive lineman Kroy Biermann of Hardin, winner of the FCS Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in country.
Three of the four others are wrestlers. Bozeman native Tyrel Todd finished third for Michigan in the NCAA Division One Wrestling Championships last month. Malta native Wayne French completed his career at the University of Great Falls 73-9, finishing second at the NAIA National Wrestling Championships. Simms High senior Ryan Leonard capped his prep career as the 16th four-time state champion in Montana History. Montana State sprinter Dan Johnson holds five school records.
Two of the women's finalists play basketball and three went to high school in Billings. Sidney's Danielle Hagen just completed her basketball career at Northern Colorado, and Billings native Sara Tuomi finished her playing days at Weber State. The other women's finalists are Rocky Mountain golfer Rachel Warren from Billings, Montana sprinter Loni Perkins-Judisch from Conrad, and MSU-Billings soccer player Brittney Sandau from Billings.
Below are the biographies of each of the 10 finalists.
LITTLE SULLIVAN FINALISTS - 2008
FEMALE FINALISTS ( 5 )
Danielle Hagen: Basketball, Graduate School at University of Northern Colorado, Sidney
In high school Danielle was a 4-year letter winner in basketball, volleyball and track, achieving most of her honors in basketball. She was also valedictorian of her class with a 4.00 GPA. Her performance in both basketball and academics continued as she attended college. Danielle’s statistics at the University of Northern Colorado include: 3rd in career rebounds, with 775; 5th in career assists, with 263; 10th in blocked shots, with 58; 7th in single-season rebounds with 264; and tied for most points scored in a single game with 37. She also is tied for the UNC school record with 112 consecutive games played, starting in all of them. Last season’s honors include: 2nd Team All-Big Sky; ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Second-Team; and Tri-Player and Co-Player of the Week for the Big Sky Conference. Past honors include: Wingate Classic All-Tournament Team in 2005; Division I Independent All-Tournament Team (2005); Division I All-Independent Honorable Mention (twice); and Division I Independent All-Academic Team twice. She was team captain in 2004-2006 and 2007-2008. Danielle received the Dean’s Citation for Academic Excellence (2003-2007) and the Academic Excellence Award-Outstanding Business Student (2004-2007). Her other college affiliations include Fellowship of Christian Athletes and lifetime membership in Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society (2006-present); a chosen member of Financial Management Association International National Honor Society (2006-07) and acceptance into Student and Foundation Fund -Webpage Manager (2006-07). Danielle’s community service included Bears for Books and Boys and Girls Club basketball coach and volunteer. The UNC basketball team also worked with Habitat for Humanity, Elks Hoop Shoot, A Woman’s Place and served food to the homeless. Danielle graduated with Summa Cum Laude Honors in 2007 with a 3.90 GPA earning a bachelors degree in Business Administration: Finance Emphasis. She is attending the UNC Graduate School with an expected graduation date of May 2008 with a Masters in Sports and Exercise Science: Sports Administration Emphasis, and is currently maintaining a 4.00 GPA.
Brittney Sandau: Soccer, Senior at Montana State University-Billings, Billings West
Brittney ranks in the top four for all offensive records at MSB-Billings. This includes: 4th in career goals with 27; 2nd all-time in career assists with 22; 2nd in all-time total career points with 76, and 1st in assists in one season. She is also ranked second on the all-time list for career starts with 69 and games played with 70. She was selected to the NSCAA/Adidas Far West All-Region First Team, becoming the first player in the history of the program to be named to the first team. She was also named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Second Team, only the second Yellowjacket to ever earn that honor. She served as team captain and was voted team MVP by her teammates. This past season Brittney was tied for the team lead in goals with 7, and led the team with 5 assists and 19 points before being injured. She played in only 13 games this past season, missing most of the last half, due to the injury. During her sophomore and junior years she was named to the First Team All-Heartland Conference. In high school at Billings West, Brittney was First Team All-State during both her junior and senior years. She was the leading scorer for Billings West during both of those years. Brittney has volunteered with Eagle Mount during her collegiate years. She currently has a 3.0 GPA.
Loni Perkins-Judisch: Track, Senior at University of Montana, Conrad
Loni holds three U of M records as a sprinter for the Lady Griz. They are the 400M indoor (54.3), the 400M Outdoor (53.89), and the 4 X 1,600M indoor relay team. Including both indoor and outdoor track, she is an 8-time Big Sky Conference Champion, a 4-time Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week, a 4-time Mid-West Regional Qualifier for the 400M and the 4 X 1,600 M relay and was a provisional national indoor qualifier. She was also team captain. In college, Loni was active in service related events using both her athletic and artist abilities. She helped at an elementary school’s sock hop, read and autographed books for students at another elementary school, helped the Pondera Arts Council for several years by painting faces during Art in the Park in Conrad, helped run events and timed at a Hershey kids’ track meet and helped with games during the dance and carnival for Special Olympics. She also worked at UM Track Day Camps for 4 years instructing high school athletes on running and block work, ran a kids activity day affiliated with the C M Russell Museum in Great Falls and donated works of art to the annual Track and Field auction to raise money for the team. Loni’s majors are Business Administration-Marketing, and Art-Painting/Drawing. She has a cumulative 3.7 GPA and is on the Dean’s List. Loni attended high school in Conrad where she was the first Montana female athlete to win 7 gold medals at State. She was the All-Class record holder in the 400M and the Class-B state record holder in the 200M. In high school Loni was active in service activities and volunteered her time and ability at school and in her community. She was team captain in basketball, volleyball and track. And served on the student council. She also excelled in scholastics in high school finishing with a 3.8 GPA.
Sara Tuomi: Basketball, Senior at Weber State University, Billings Senior
After leaving Billings Senior in 2004, Sara went to Weber State University to play basketball and pursue an education in Secondary Math Education and a minor in Physical Education/Coaching. Over the past four years, she has a cumulative GPA of 3.22. After graduation, she plans on becoming a high school math teacher and coach. Sara has made many achievements in both the Big Sky Conference and at Weber State. During this past season, Sara was 3rd in scoring in the Big Sky at 16.6 points per game, 8th in rebounding at 7.3 rebounds per game and 2nd in free throw percentage at 88.8% (127-143). She scored in double figures 26 out of 27 games and scored at least 20 points on 9 occasions. Sara had a career high of 28 points against Eastern Washington and had 5 double-doubles during the season. She was recently named to the All-Big Sky Conference First Team for the third time, making her just the third Weber State Wildcat to be named to the team three times since the Big Sky began in 1989. During her career at Weber State, Sara has started in 116 of 117 games. In those 117 games she ranked in the top ten of ten different categories. She is the 9th all-time leading scorer, 10th all- time leading rebounder, 5th in free throws made, 8th in free throws attempted, 8th in career three-pointers made and attempted, 8th in career games played and 8th in career field goals attempted. She has been voted Team Captain and Team MVP twice. During the course of the year, Sara and her teammates participate regularly in many community activities. They are very active in the local elementary schools and many community outreach programs such as Girl Scouts, Youth Impact Center, Junior Jazz League and Habitat for Humanity. While in the community they try to present themselves as role models for the youth. They share their basketball knowledge as well as their life lessons. Sara has also helped at a local high school with the girls’ basketball team by giving one-on-one instruction and helping with a pre-season camp. At Billings Senior, Sara was a 3-time All-State performer in basketball, softball, and volleyball. She was named First Team All-State in all three sports.
Rachel Warren: Golf, Senior at Rocky Mountain College, Billings Central
During her 4 years competing for the Lady Bears, Rachel has accumulated many honors. She has made the Frontier All-Conference Team and the Frontier All-Conference Academic Team in each of her first three years. As a freshman, when her team placed 3rd at nationals, Rachel was also named All-American Team Honorable Mention. As a sophomore when she placed 3rd individually at nationals, she was named to the All-Tournament Team at Nationals and also named to the First Team All-American. As a junior her team placed 5th at nationals and Rachel was again named First Team All-American and also received the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete Honor. This past fall, as a senior, Rachel set the Frontier Conference Record with a score of 69. Last summer she won the Montana State Women’s Amateur and the Whitefish Lake Fourth of July Tournament. She received the Rocky Mountain College DeRosier Athlete of the Year Award for 2006-2007; the Rocky Mountain College Helen Mathew Outstanding Underclass Female Athlete Award for 2005-2006 and the Rocky Mountain College Women’s Golf MVP Award for 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. In 2007 she was also chosen to represent the athletes of Rocky Mountain College at the Hall of Fame dinner. Rachel is mathematics major with a 3.6 GPA. In high school at Billings Central, Rachel was named Eastern A All-Conference and All-State in golf all four years. She was the individual State A champion during her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Rachel also played basketball. Her team placed 3rd at state in her junior year and 2nd at state during her senior year when she was named All-State. She was a Billings Athlete of the Year Nominee in 2004 and received the University of Rochester Humanities and Social Sciences Award in 2003. She belonged to the National Honor Society, Kids Connecting Kids, Rotary Club and Breakfast Exchange Club.
MALE FINALISTS ( 5 )
Kroy Biermann: Football, Senior at the University of Montana, Hardin
This past fall, Kroy was Montana’s first-ever recipient of the Buck Buchanan Award, an award given annually by the Sports Network to the top defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Kroy began his football career in Hardin where he earned 3 letters plus 3 more in wrestling and 2 in track. He was team captain, lst Team All-State during both his junior and senior years at linebacker, and was selected to participate in the East-West Shrine game. In wrestling, he placed 2nd in State A as a junior and senior, served as team captain, and was voted the team’s Most Valuable Wrestler. Kroy received a full ride scholarship to play Griz football. As a true freshman, he played on special teams and moved from linebacker to defensive end. He competed in 14 of 15 games and had the 3rd most tackles for loss on the team with seven. As a sophomore, Kroy was the Grizzlies 5th leading tackler and was 3rd on the team with 7 sacks. As a junior, he led his team in sacks with 11, in tackles for loss with 13.5 and was 5th in total tackles with 78. Honors include: UM’s Golden Helmet Award for the team’s hardest hitter, Walter Camp lst Team All-American, 2nd Team All-American by both the Associated Press and the Sports Network, 1st Team All-Big Sky, College Sports Network Weekly All-Star and Big Sky Player of the Week. He was also nominated for the Buck Buchanan Award. He played in all 14 games and was ranked 14th in the country in sacks with .82 per game. As a senior, Kroy led the Big Sky Conference with 15 sacks, 2nd most in the nation, averaging 1.25 sacks per game. He also registered 18 tackles for loss, a league-high five forced fumbles, and had 72 total tackles. He finished his career second in school history with 32 sacks and 45 tackles for loss. In January of 2008, Kroy was selected to play in the 62nd annual Hula Bowl. In February he was invited to compete at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and in March he participated in Pro Day in Missoula for the NFL scouts. He will continue to work out until the NFL draft on April 26th and 27th.
Wayne French: Wrestling, Senior at University of Great Falls, Malta
Wayne achieved All-American status the past two seasons wrestling for the University of Great Falls. During this past season, he was regional champion and then finished 2nd at the NAIA National Tournament at 157 lbs. His record this past season was 30-6 and his career record at Great Falls for two seasons was 73-9. He is 3rd on the most wins list. He currently holds the school record for pins with 31. Other highlights for this past season include: placing 3rd at the Midlands Tournament in Illinois in December (one of 3 UGF to attend); having a 4-0 record at the Cliff Keen National Duals in early December; being named the Co-Outstanding wrestler at the Northwest College Open in November; having a 5-0 record at the Mile High Duals in Arizona in January; and placing 2nd in the Cowboy Open last November. During the 2006-2007 season, Wayne also won Regionals and then finished 3rd at Nationals, at 157 pounds. Wayne attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on a scholarship for his first three years. He redshirted his freshman year and then started at 149 pounds for the next two years. In high school, Wayne was a 3-time Class B State Champion at 112, 130 and 160 pounds. As a senior his record was 36-0. His career record was 143-4 with 100 pins. Wayne was also a 2-time AAU freestyle and folkstyle champion and placed 2nd at Freestyle Nationals in 1999. He was on Team Montana at the National Duals for 3 years. He also wrestled on USAW’s Junior National Team for 3 years. In high school, he was active in FFA serving as treasurer and then president, won the NILE livestock judging competition in Billing and was treasurer of FCCLA his senior year. Wayne is a sociology major with a minor in business. His cumulative GPA is 3.27. After graduation he plans on returning to Malta to ranch with his dad and work on the rigs for several years, eventually becoming a full-time rancher. He plans to remain active in wrestling by helping with the high school program, occasionally volunteering at the University of Great Falls and holding open gym this summer for kids that want to come in and work on technique.
Dan Johnson: Track, Senior at Montana State University, Livingston
This winter, Dan set the Big Sky Conference meet record and the MSU record in the 400-meter indoor dash at 46.68 seconds. He now holds 5 MSU school records. He was the 400-meter dash Big Sky Conference Champion 2 times becoming the first MSU sprinter to win an indoor conference title, let alone 2 in a row. Dan also ran the 200-meter dash where he placed 2nd at the Big Sky Championships setting a new MSU school record in 21.45 seconds. He also has the 2nd fastest time in the 55-meter dash in MSU record books. This spring he became the first sprinter in school history to qualify for the Division 1 Indoor Championships where he finished 12th in the 400 meter dash. He also qualified for the USTAF Indoor National Championships for next year. His honors include: Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week 3 times, Team Captain, 3-time Team MVP, Most Improved, Top Gun of the Team (awarded to the person scoring the most points on the team), and Regional Athlete of the Year nominee. Dan also competes in outdoor track where he placed 5th in the 100 and 3rd in the 200 and ran a leg of the 4 X 100 and 4 X 400 relay teams, both of which set records. He also holds the school record in the outdoor 400. In 2005 he was named MSU’s Outstanding Freshman when he competed in the outdoor (2006) and indoor (2007) NCAA Midwest Regionals. He was also named Co-Outstanding Track Performer in 2006 in outdoor track. On campus, Dan has served as a member of the Coaches Advisory Committee, was appointed as one of 5 campus leaders selected from over 300 school athletes, to the Gender Equity Committee and was appointed to the President’s Advisory Committee to personally meet with the Board of Regents. He is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. He is a volunteer coach of 200-2nd through 5th graders in Little Bobcat Track, volunteers for Little Brothers and Big Sisters, and organized Bowl for Kids Sake. Dan is a Business Marketing Major with a 2.7 GPA.
Ryan Leonard: Wrestling, Senior at Simms High School, Sun River
Last February Ryan, wrestling at 130 pounds this season, became the 16th Montana wrestler and the first Class B wrestler since 1982, to become a 4-time state wrestling champion. His career high school record of 149-l, is ranked third in the record books with his lone loss coming during his sophomore season. During his career, Ryan won many tournament championships. Included are tournaments at Choteau, Cut Bank, Harlem and the CMR Holiday Tournament. He won the AAU State Folkstyle Tournament and the USAW Cyclops Folkstyle Tournament 4 times each. He was a member of Team Montana, which competed at the AAU Disney Duals, and a member of USAW’s Team Montana that competed at Junior Nationals in Fargo. He also placed 4th at the Rocky Mountain Nationals in Denver in 2005, 2nd at the Brute Adidas Nationals in Omaha in 2005, and 2nd and 6th at the Monster Matches in Denver in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, he was ranked 16th in the nation by USA Wrestling Magazine. Awards that Ryan has received for his wrestling accomplishments include: Great Falls Tribune Athlete of the Week twice; KSEN Athlete of the Week 4 times; Outstanding Wrestler Awards from several tournaments; State Class B-C Quick Pin Award; Wolverine Most Inspirational Wrestler (2007) and the Wrestling Coaches Award twice. Ryan also received awards in football as the Simms Tiger Best Defensive Player and the Wolverine Football Award. Scholastically Ryan has been an Academic All-Star for 4 years and has taken 3 advanced placement courses. He currently has a 3.978 GPA. Ryan has been freshman and senior class presidents, student council member and is a member of national Honor Society. He has coached wrestling for the middle school, been a Tiger Cub Wrestling Instructor, a wrestling referee and a member of the Sun River Wrestling Boosters. He has also been involved in Fire Training Service-general maintenance, the fire department Boot Drive for MDA, and the 2005 Montana Special Olympics. Ryan hopes to obtain a degree in Sports Medicine. He recently signed with the wrestling program at the University of Great Falls.
Tyrel Todd: Wrestling, Junior at the University of Michigan, Bozeman
Tyrel achieved All-American status for the second consecutive year this spring when he placed 3rd at 184 pounds in the NCAA wrestling tournament. Tyrell won 6 straight matches after a 2nd round loss. This season he also placed 2nd in the Big Ten Tournament and won the 184-pound championship at the Cliff Keen Invitational, pinning Ohio States Mike Pucillo in the final. As a sophomore Tyrel placed 3rd in the Big 10 Championships and then earned All-American by placing 5th at the NCAA’s. As a redshirt freshman, he placed 5th at the Big 10 Championships, was Academic All-Big 10, and received the University of Michigan Athletic Academic Achievement Award. Other awards and achievements that Tyrel has received include the Steve Fraser Mental Toughness Award in 2007, 5th in depth chart for the Olympics in 2007, Team Captain as a junior, and Outstanding Freshman Wrestler. This April, Tyrel will be wrestling in the U.S. Open. The top five qualify for the Olympic Team Trials scheduled for June. Tyrel was recently picked for the senior service organization Order of Angels. Out of approximately 40,000 students, 10 to 15 are picked each year for this organization. He is also in a leadership position in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. During Tyrel’s prep career at Bozeman High School, he was a 3-time state champion. He was Bozeman’s all-time career wins leader, pins leader and take- down leader, along with holding the single-season takedown record for the team. He was the 171-pound champion at the Senior National Tournament held in Cleveland in 2004. This is a major tournament used by many college coaches for recruiting. Tyrel is a history major with a psychology minor. He is working towards a degree in education administration. This past semester he had a 3.5 GPA.
