Spokane, Wash. -- Four highly accomplished and regionally honored student-athletes have been recognized by the Whitworth University athletics department with its annual year-end awards.

Brittany Gresset of the women's swimming team and Ross Nakamura of the men's basketball team are co-recipients of the Dennis Spurlock Award. Kelly Baker of the women's soccer team is the Senior Female Athlete of the Year. Men's Soccer standout Caleb Barnhill is the Senior Male Athlete of the Year.

Gresset, a two-year team captain on the swimming team, concluded her career as one of the most decorated swimmers in Northwest Conference history. From Seattle, Gresset is a four-time NWC champion in the 50-yard freestyle, and she has won the 100-yard freestyle each of the last three seasons. In addition, she has led Whitworth to first place finishes in both the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays over the last three consecutive seasons. Gresset holds the NWC Championship meet record in the 50 freestyle (23.94), set this past season. The 200 free (1:36.84) and 400 free (3:32.37) relays from this past February also are championship meet records. Gresset is also part of the Whitworth team record in the 400-yard medley relay (3:57.45), set this year. During her junior season Gresset helped lead the Whitworth women to their first Northwest Conference title since 1995 and a 10th place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships. She earned honorable mention All-America honors on both the 200 free and 400 free relays that season.

Nakamura, from Moraga, California, led Whitworth to the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament each of his two seasons with the Pirates. During his senior season, Nakamura averaged 12.1 points per game while making 41% of his three-point attempts. He dished 4.9 assists per game while leading the NWC and finishing third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1 assists per turnover). The number is especially remarkable for a player who also led his league in minutes played per game (37). He played all 45 minutes, scored 24 points and dished six assists to lead the Pirates to a dramatic 90-80 overtime win at Puget Sound in the NWC Tournament Championship game to secure a spot in the 2009 NCAA Division III tournament. He then scored 22 points in the Pirates' 81-63 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the first round of the national tournament. Whitworth finished the 2008-09 season 23-6. As a junior he led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.3) while guiding the Pirates to an NWC Championship and a spot in the Division III round of 16.

The Dennis Spurlock Award is named in memory of the former Pirate All-America quarterback (1958-61). The award was established to honor Whitworth student-athletes who model the characteristics of the award’s namesake, specifically modesty, poise, and leadership in addition to excellence in athletics performance, drawing respect for the school, the team, and the individual.

Kelly Baker (Boise, Idaho) was named to the 2008 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division III All-America Team (third team) after leading the Pirates to a 15-4-1 record last fall. She also earned her second consecutive NSCAA First Team All-Region selection, in addition to two straight years as a First Team All-Northwest Conference honoree. She was named NWC Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 3) while leading the Pirates to four straight shutouts at the end of the season and she was a key reason the Pirates had a team goals-against average of 0.98 and finished second in the NWC in fewest total shots allowed. She also finished with five goals and three assists in 2008. As a junior she helped the Pirates advance to the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in school history and conclude the season with an 18-3 record.

One year after the Whitworth men's soccer team lost seven starters from the 2007 Northwest Conference championship squad, Caleb Barnhill led the Pirates back to the top of the NWC standings in the fall of 2008. Barnhill, from Sultan, Washington, was named the 2008 NWC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Pirates to a 14-2-4 record and not only a second straight conference title, but the school's fourth in the last five years. Barnhill led the conference in total points (28), points per game (1.40), total goals (13) and goals per game (0.65) last fall. He had three game-winning goals, including the only goal in a 1-0 win at Linfield and a late score in a 3-2 win over PLU on September 28th. He was named the conference's Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week on October 20th when he scored the tying goal and assisted on the winning goal in the Pirates' 2-1 comeback victory over Linfield.

All of the above awards are selected based on voting by the coaches and staff of the Whitworth University athletics department. The awards will be formally presented on Saturday evening at the Whitworth Senior Reflections, part of the school's annual graduation ceremonies.

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