Spokane, Wash. -- Northwest Conference championships, NCAA playoff appearances, or both, tie together the five Whitworth University seniors who were selected to receive the school's year-end athletic awards for the 2007-08 academic year.

Jael Hagerott of the women's soccer team and Jay Tully of the football team are co-recipients of the Dennis Spurlock Award. NCAA Division III record-holder Samantha Kephart of the women's swimming team is the Senior Female Athlete of the Year. Track and field standout Ben Spaun and Ryan Symes of the men's basketball team are the Senior Male Athletes of the Year.

Hagerott, daughter of Whitworth professor Daman Hagerott, grew up in the shadow of Whitworth and was an All-State player at Mead High School before enrolling at the university. This season she led the Pirates to an 18-3 record and the team's first appearance in the NCAA Division III national tournament, where Whitworth advanced to the second round. Hagerott scored two goals and assisted on eight others during the season. She finished her career with 30 assists, a Pirate record, and also ranks third all-time at Whitworth with 30 career goals scored. Over the course of her four seasons Hagerott was named First Team All-Northwest Conference four times. She earned CoSIDA / ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors as both a junior and senior. Hagerott demonstrated courage and tenacity by coming back from a knee injury that ended her 2005 season after one match. Whitworth's cumulative won-loss record in the four seasons she played (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) is 57-18-3.

Tully, the son of Whitworth head football coach John Tully, also grew up near campus and was an all-star at Mead High School. He led the Pirates in tackles this season with 71 and had four interceptions, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. He was a significant part of a Whitworth defense that led NCAA Division III in turnover ratio (+26) and led the conference in points allowed (14.7 per game). The Pirates finished 8-2 and won their second straight Northwest Conference title with a 6-0 record in 2007. For his efforts Tully was named NWC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, as well as First Team All-West Region and Second Team All-America by D3football.com. Tully was selected to participate in the 2007 Aztec Bowl, sponsored by the AFCA, pitting a team of NCAA Division III all-stars against an all-star team from Mexico. He had three tackles, including one for loss of three yards, for Team USA in a 37-19 win. Tully was also a two-time CoSIDA / ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VIII honoree.

The Dennis Spurlock Award is presented to a senior athlete, or athletes, who best exemplifies the qualities of the former Pirate All-America quarterback (1958-61). Those qualities include superior athletic ability, devotion to teammates, courage and natural leadership ability.

Samantha Kephart closed her brilliant swimming career at Whitworth by leading the team to new heights in 2008. The butterfly specialist from Santa Maria, California led Whitworth's women to a Northwest Conference championship - ending a run of 11 straight conference titles by the University of Puget Sound. She then played a major role in the Pirate women finishing 10th at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, the first top-ten finish by Whitworth's women at the NCAA championship meet. As a senior Kephart won NWC titles in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly races, finishing her career unbeaten at the NWC Championships in both events. She finished third in the 200 butterfly and fourth in the 100 butterfly at the NCAA Championships, the eighth and ninth All-America performances of her career. As a sophomore, Kephart won NCAA Division III championships in both the 100 and 200-yard butterfly races, setting an NCAA Division III record (2:00.15) in the 200 that still stands. She holds Northwest Conference records for both the 100 and 200 butterfly distances, and swam the anchor leg on Whitworth's 800-yard freestyle relay that also set a Northwest Conference record this season.

Symes, a forward from Palo Alto, California, led Whitworth to a second straight Northwest Conference men's basketball championship and to the team's deepest run ever in the NCAA Division III tournament (section semifinals). Along the way Symes was named Northwest Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-West Region by both the NABC and D3hoops.com. He averaged 19.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season for a team that finished 21-7 overall and 12-4 in the NWC. He led the NWC in free throw percentage (86.9%) and was named NWC Player of the Week on January 21st and February 18th. The only returning Whitworth starter from 2007, Symes was also one of only two players to repeat as a First Team All-NWC selection. Symes saved some of his best career performances for the post season. Over the course of the NWC tournament championship game and the two NCAA Division III playoff games, Symes averaged 28.7 points per game, made 60.9% of his shots from the field (28-46) and 96.4% of his free throws (27-28). Symes finished his two-year Pirate career with 940 points.

Spaun led Whitworth's men's track and field team to its first Northwest Conference championship since 2001. He won NWC titles in the 110 high hurdles and the 400 hurdles and led off the winning 4x400 relay. Previously he had finished third in the NWC Decathlon with an NCAA automatic qualifying score of 6,641 points. For those accomplishments Spaun was named the 2008 NWC Men's Outstanding Athlete. A team captain, Spaun is participating in the 2008 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Last season he finished ninth in the decathlon at the NCAA Championships. He was also a 2007 CoSIDA / ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VIII honoree, and is a strong candidate for this season's Academic team when it is announced later this month. Spaun has accepted a full scholarship for a six-year doctoral research program at Harvard University.

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

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