Cassie Dickerson Earns Big Ten Medal of Honor – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Department of Athletics held the 44th-annual Scholar-Athlete Dinner Monday in the Archie M. Griffin Grand Ballroom at the Ohio Union to honor its student-athletes for their academic and athletic accomplishments. A record 523 OSU Scholar-Athletes – besting the record set in 2009-10 by 20 – were recognized at the event and a number of senior awards were given out.
The winners of the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor were soccer player Cassie Dickerson and Steven Kehoe from volleyball. Each member institution in the conference gives the award annually to the male and female athletes in the graduating class who have attained the greatest proficiency in both academics and athletics. The Big Ten Conference office established the award in 1914 for men and an additional award for the top female was instituted in 1982. This honor includes a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship.
The finalists for the 2011 Big Ten Medal of Honor were Matt Allare (tennis), Chimdi Chekwa (football), Justin Farra (swimming) and Bo Hoag (golf) for the men and Ellen Birmingham (cross country), Samantha Cheverton (swimming) Katie Dull (volleyball) and Letecia Wright (track) for the women.
A three-time co-captain for the Buckeyes, Dickerson was named a 2010 NSCAA first team All-American after garnering Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. Dickerson started all 24 games for the Buckeyes in 2010, anchoring a defense that recorded 12 shutouts after 13 in 2009. After battling back from multiple knee injuries, Dickerson helped lead the Buckeyes to a 31-8-4 record over her last two seasons in games she started, including a 2010 Big Ten title and NCAA College Cup appearance. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection also was named one of 15 semifinalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in intercollegiate soccer. She plans to pursue a career in law.
Kehoe, a three-year starter for the men’s volleyball team, helped the Buckeyes win the 2011 NCAA Championship and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship. This past season, he was a first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American, a first-team selection and player of the year in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the MIVA Tournament in leading the Buckeyes to the regular season and tournament championships. An AVCA Second-Team All-American in 2010, Kehoe was the MIVA Player of the year and a first-team all-conference selection. He was named to the MIVA All Tournament team as the Buckeyes won both the regular season and tournament championships. He is a three-time MIVA Academic All-Conference, Academic All-Big Ten and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete selection. He plans to pursue a career as a professional volleyball player followed by pursuing an MBA at Fisher College of Business.
