Burch, Lurken Receive MAC Medal of Excellence
6/1/2017 4:26:00 PM | Baseball, General, Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference handed out the Medal of Excellence Award to twenty-four student-athletes Wednesday night during its annual honors ceremony, including Kent State's Luke Burch and Larissa Lurken.
The Medal of Excellence is an award presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 Conference member institutions. To be honored with the Medal of Excellence Award, student-athletes had to participate on the varsity level in a conference sponsored sport and shown evidence of academic success with a minimum 3.50 accumulative grade-point average, exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Selection of the recipients was made by each MAC institution.
"The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service," said MAC Commissioner, Jon A. Steinbrecher. "We congratulate all of our Medal of Excellence Award winners."
Burch finished his baseball career as a two-time First Team All-MAC member with an impressive .355 career batting average. He was an integral part of back-to-back regular season championships for the Flashes. Burch graduated last year with a bachelor's degree and currently holds a 3.52 GPA while enrolled in graduate school.
Lurken posted some of the best numbers in women's basketball during her senior year to be named MAC Player of the Year. She broke the Kent State records for single season scoring average and three point shots made while also breaking the NCAA record for made free throws. Lurken was just as impressive in the classroom as she was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American and graduated this spring with a degree in nursing and a 3.73 GPA.
2017 Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron: Bradley Ruhaak (men's soccer); Hannah Plybon (women's basketball)
Ball State: Lucas Andersen (men's tennis); Leah Mattingly (women's soccer)
Bowling Green: Joe Sullivan (men's soccer); Madeline Garda (volleyball)
Buffalo: Garrett Clarke (men's swimming); Corinne Birchard (women's cross country/track & field)
Central Michigan: Dylan Banagis (men's cross country/track & field); Christen Chiesa (women's soccer)
Eastern Michigan: William Fink (men's track & field); Sierra Wagner (women's swimming)
Kent State: Luke Burch (baseball); Larissa Lurken (women's basketball)
Miami: Adam Yacek (baseball); Kelsi White (women's field hockey)
Northern Illinois: Carlos Manzanas (men's tennis); Mary Grace Kelly (volleyball)
Ohio: Peyton White (men's golf); Madison Claytor (softball)
Toledo: Joshua Cales (baseball); Sophie Reecher (women's basketball)
Western Michigan: Matt Hamilton (men's tennis); Tracy Kuhle (women's tennis)
