University of Minnesota Athletics
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA TOP FIVE SCHOLAR-ATHLETES HONORED
4/24/2000 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Junior gymnast Megan Skokut highlights the top five winners. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten award winner from Carmel, Ind., has a cumulative grade point average of 4.00 in the College of Biological Sciences. She is majoring in biology and has been a member of the Dean's List in every term of college. Skokut posted two scores of 9.90 on the uneven bars during the 2000 season and a 9.85 at the NCAA Region 2 meet April 1 at the Sports Pavilion.
The top five winner in men's athletics was Chad Conner. A senior gymnast from Dallas, Texas, he posted a 3.89 GPA in finance at the Carlson School of Management. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a four-time Scholar-Athlete Award winner, he tied the school record with a 9.90 score on the parallel bars in a meet at Michigan this season.
Junior cross country and track runner Corrine Nimtz was the women's runner-up with a cumulative grade point average of 3.92 in the Carlson School of Management. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and two-time Patty Berg Academic Award winner from Eden Prairie, Minn., is majoring in marketing. She was Minnesota's second-best runner at the 1999 NCAA Cross Country Championships on a team that placed 17th. Nimtz broke the school record in the indoor 5,000 meters last month and finished 16th at the 2000 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The men's top five runner-up was Santiago Fernandez. The junior golfer from Bogota, Columbia posted a 3.85 GPA in finance at the Carlson School of Management. A veteran international golfer he has competed in three tournaments, with a low score of 72 in the opening round of the Pepperdine Invitational. His low career round was a 66 in the Northern Intercollegiate last season.
The other top five winners are senior cross country and track runner Minna Haronoja, who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.86 in the College of Liberal Arts. The native of Illo, Finland, is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and three-time Patty Berg Academic Award winner and is majoring in international relations. Haronoja was a tri-captain on the 1999 cross country team that finished 17th at the national championships. In 1999, she finished fifth in the Big Ten in the 3,000 meters indoors and seventh in the 3,000 meters at the Big Ten outdoor meet. She is joined in the winners' circle by sophomore golfer Marilee Dahlman of Marshalltown, Iowa, who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.81 in the College of Liberal Arts. The final women's winner is junior cross country and track runner Hayley Singer of Appleton, Wis., who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.80 in the College of Liberal Arts.
The next top five winner was track and field athlete Glen Lindquist. He has a 3.83 GPA in finance at the Carlson School of Management. The senior decathlete from Aland, Finland is the team captain and has yet to compete this year after back surgery. Last season he finished 13th at the NCAA outdoor championships in the decathlon. He is joined in the top five by junior golfer Andrew Tank. The Des Moines, Iowa native posted a 3.79 GPA in accounting at the Carlson School of Management. Matthew Kieffer a senior gymnast from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., is the final top five winner. He has a 3.73 GPA in finance and insurance in the Carlson School of Management.
