General | 06/30/20 | 5:11 PM
HELENA, Mont. -- Six Carroll College Fighting Saints individuals and one team have been nominated by their respective conferences for a bevy of national awards.
The Frontier Conference selected five Fighting Saints and one team as its representatives for several national awards. The conference selected Dylan Kresge as its Dr. LeRoy Walker Character Award nominee; Taelyr Krantz as the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award nominee;
Rachelle Sayers as its Coach of Character nominee; the Carroll Women's Basketball Team as its Conference Commissioner Association Champions of Character Team Award nominee; Gary Turcott as its NAIA Hall of Fame nominee and
Steve Jones as its Charles Morris Administrator of the Year Award nominee.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference selected Taryn Neameyer as its Dr. LeRoy Walker Character Award nominee.
Dylan Kresge, Frontier Conference Dr. LeRoy Walker Character Award Nominee
Kresge graduated in May with a bachelor of science in civil engineering. During his Carroll football career, he earned all-conference and academic all-conference honors. Kresge was
the 2019 recipient of the St. Sebastian Award, the highest recognized award in Carroll Athletics, given to the athlete that exemplifies most what it means to be a Carroll College student-athlete.This is an athlete who demonstrates work ethic, athletic performance, academic integrity, and leadership. On the football field, he led the Saints in tackles and was a team leader.
This award was created to honor Dr. LeRoy Walker, a former president of the NAIA and President emeritus of the United States Olympic Committee. It recognizes a current student-athlete with at least a junior academic status who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, campus and community leadership embracing the five core character values of the NAIA Champions of Character ® initiative, athletic achievement and future ambition.
Taryn Neameyer, Cascade Collegiate Conference Dr. LeRoy Walker Character Award Nominee
Neameyer graduated with a degree in Nursing this past spring after putting together four seasons with All-Cascade Collegiate Conference honors for the women's soccer team. She was recognized for her academic excellence by being honored as a three-time academic all-conference choice, and twice has been named NAIA Scholar Athlete. Neameyer also received the St. Sebastian Halo Award, which is given to the athlete that exemplifies most what it means to be a Carroll College student-athlete.This is an athlete who demonstrates work ethic, athletic performance, academic integrity, and leadership. Neameyer also received the Hunthausen Citizenship Award, which is given to students who make outstanding contributions to the college or community (Helena or other). In addition to her extensive community service, she also served as a Peer Minister.
This award was created to honor Dr. LeRoy Walker, a former president of the NAIA and President emeritus of the United States Olympic Committee. It recognizes a current student-athlete with at least a junior academic status who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, campus and community leadership embracing the five core character values of the NAIA Champions of Character ® initiative, athletic achievement and future ambition.
Taelyr Krantz, Frontier Conference A.O. Duer Scholarship Award Nominee
Krantz is a senior outside hitter for the Carroll volleyball team. She is majoring in
mathematics and maintains a 3.993 GPA. She's overcome a serious knee injury, while maintaining an uplifting, fiery attitude to earn NAIA all-region, all-conference, and academic all-conference honors. She is one of the most reliable student-athletes on the court and in the classroom at Carroll College.
The award is named in honor of the NAIA's former executive secretary for his 26 years of service to the Association. The A.O. Duer Scholarship Award has been presented since 1967 to one male and one female junior student-athlete in any sport who have excelled in scholarship, character, and citizenship.
Rachelle Sayers, Frontier Conference Coach of Character Nominee
Sayers took over the women's program at Carroll in 2011 and built it into a nearly constant Top 25 contender. In her nine seasons, she has compiled an overall record of 178-99 with five national tournament qualifications. She's won two Frontier Conference Championships and one Frontier Conference Tournament. This past season, Carroll won the regular season title and received an at-large bid to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, the third consecutive year qualifying for nationals.
Sayers has been instrumental in not only spearheading her team's community service, but also helping to organize the Carroll College Athletic Department's monthly community service projects. She's actively involved in educating the women's basketball program to be Champions of Character while competing with honor at a high level on the court.
The Coach of Character Award is given annually to an NAIA head coach who has been outstanding in embracing the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character® initiative (integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership), using methods of teaching character through sport, and in community leadership through volunteering or service.
Carroll Women's Basketball Team, Frontier Conference Commissioner Association Champions of Character Team Award Nominee
The Carroll women won the Saints Community Service Award with 675 hours of service during the 2019-20 school year. The Saints coached and trained a local Special Olympic
basketball team called the Helena Dragons. They spoke at 13 different local elementary and middle schools about being Champions of Character ®. They participated in National Walk
to School Day, Walk for Alzheimer's, Dr. Seuss Day, Hoops for a Cause and the fall break basketball clinic.
This award honors one men's and one women's team for their exemplary character and sportsmanship on the field or court, on campus and in the community. This team
demonstrates the core values of Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership.
Gary Turcott, Frontier Conference NAIA Hall of Fame Nominee
Gary Turcott is the winningest coach in Carroll College men's basketball history and one of the most influential assistant coaches in the women's program's history.
Turcott, after 27 years in the coaching ranks, built the men's program into a consistent Top 25 talent, developed players and built teams that still hold school records and also heightened the profile of not only Carroll College but the Frontier Conference as a whole. Then, he assisted the women's team to national heights.
From 1990-2009, Turcott compiled a 376-223 record while coaching the men's program, winning 20 or more games in 10 seasons. He coached the program's first ever first team All-American selection, one of five total to either be first or second team All-Americans. He coached a NAIA all-tournament choice, 32 All-Frontier selections and four Frontier Conference MVPs. Following his time as head coach, he spent eight seasons as an assistant coach on the women's basketball staff at Carroll College where he helped lead those teams to five NAIA National Tournament appearances and an overall record of 157-89.
His men's teams won seven Frontier Conference championships, finishing runner-up four times, and qualified for seven national tournaments. His national tournament teams advanced to the Round of 16 twice, Quarterfinals twice and Semifinals once.
His 2004 team had the first major breakthrough for the Frontier Conference. That collection of talent became the first Frontier team to advance beyond the quarterfinals into the NAIA's Fab Four. Another of his talented teams, the 2005-06 team, still holds the school record for most wins with a 30-4 record.
He was named the Frontier Conference Coach of the Year five times and inducted into the Carroll College Hall of Fame in 2011.
He assisted the women's basketball program from 2011-2019. The Saints advanced to five national tournaments and won a Frontier Conference Championship in 2018, while winning the Frontier Conference Tournament in 2019. He helped develop nine players who have become first, second, third or honorable mention All-Americans with the women's basketball program.
Steve Jones, Frontier Conference Charles Morris Administrator of the Year Award Nominee
Jones has been a part of Carroll's athletic program for over 30 years as an athletic trainer, coach and administrator. He took over the facility operations full time in 1998 and was involved in every step of the construction of Nelson Stadium, from conception through construction to maintenance of the building. Jones now manages the P.E. Center and Nelson Stadium and is truly a master of most facets around Carroll Athletics.
This annual award is in memory and honor of past Associate Executive Director Charles Morris and recognizes an administrator engaged in all phases of NAIA athletics programs who exemplifies the loyalty and enthusiasm Charles Morris had for the NAIA.
