May 18, 2007

MILWAUKEE - Senior men¹s track standout Brent Des Roches and women¹s basketball player Christina Quaye were named the 2007 Ralph H. Metcalfe Senior Outstanding Athletes at the Senior Athletics Awards banquet Friday evening on Marquette¹s campus.

Senior track and field standout Brent Des Roches

Quaye helped lead Marquette¹s women¹s basketball team to 88 wins and four post-season appearances, including its best season to date during the 2006-07 season when the Golden Eagles went 26-7 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. She earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors as a senior, and ranked ninth in the league in scoring, third in BIG EAST games. As a junior Quaye was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection and an All-Conference USA Second Team honoree as a sophomore.

A starter in all but four games for her career, Quaye leaves the program with 1,720 points and 754 rebounds, ranking her fourth and seventh, respectively, on the career scoring and rebounding lists. She is one of five players in program history to register over 1,500 points and 700 rebounds for her career.

As a senior member of the Marquette Track & Field Team, Des Roches finished 11th in the 5,000m at the indoor BIG EAST Championships. In his final outdoor season, he recorded a 17th-place finish in the 10,000m at the conference meet. In his junior campaign, DesRoches was named an Academic All-Star in Marquette's first season in the BIG EAST and placed fifth in both the 3,000m and 5,000m at the Indoor Championships.

As a member of Conference USA, he earned all-conference cross country honors three times, outdoor track & field honors twice and indoor track & field honors once. In 2004, Des Roches doubled at the Conference USA Indoor Championships, winning the 3,000m and 5,000m, and at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships, he claimed the 10,000m. In his first year as a Golden Eagle in 2003, he was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year.

Des Roches was also an accomplished cross country runner. In his final stint on the team in 2006, he led the squad with a 20th-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships, and was the team¹s top finisher in four of six meets over the course of the season. As a junior, Des Roches finished third at the Conference USA Championships, one season after a fourth-place individual finish and team title in 2003. In his inaugural season in 2002, he was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year.

In other awards handed out this evening, Damian Anisko of men¹s track and field and Brittney Lewis of women¹s soccer earned the Ralph H. Metcalfe Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, and men¹s soccer player Marc Dettmann and sprinter Christina Flowers were honored with the Ralph H.Metcalfe Senior Leadership and Service Award.

Women¹s soccer player Alison Loughrin was awarded the Dr. Charles R. Eichenberger Inspirational Award. It is only the third time in school history this award has been given out. The Dr. Charles R. Eichenberger Inspirational Award goes to a student-athlete who has had to endure injury that affects his or her career as an athlete, but has kept a positive attitude and supported his or her teammates.

Loughrin, who came to Marquette recovering from ACL injury yet determined to earn a spot on the soccer team, has gone through in five years what would likely end most athletic careers. A fighter in every sense of the word, Loughrin battled and persevered through every obstacle that was placed in front of her.

After recovering from her first knee surgery and proving that she belonged on the team, Loughrin embraced her role as a reserve. Two days after she scored two goals in Marquette¹s 4-1 win over Notre Dame in September of 2005 - arguably the biggest game of her career ­ she tore her ACL . She could have stopped after that season and left Marquette after graduation in the spring, but never a quitter, Loughrin stayed another season and exhausted her eligibility in order to complete what she started.

After another disappointing turn of events where she had problems with her meniscus and cartilage in the same knee she had surgery on in 2005, Loughrin underwent another operation that took place a week and a half prior to the end of the regular season. Yet again, Her optimism shone through as she thought if the team does well and goes deep into the post-season she would be back on the field for the NCAA Tournament. Two and a half weeks after her surgery, Loughrin was back and played in her final two games of her career against Purdue and Florida in the NCAA Tournament.

Taking home the Cura Personalis award was volleyball player Nicole Wallace.

Ralph H. Metcalfe was known as the world¹s fastest human from 1932 through 1934. Was the NCAA champion in the 100- and 200-yard events in 1932-34. He broke or tied every world record from 40 to 220 yards. For five consecutive years (1932-36), he captured the AAU 200-meter title. He also added the Central Collegiate Conference 100 and 220-yard crowns and the Drake Relays 100-yard honors in each of his three varsity seasons at Marquette. At one point in his college career, he had equaled or bettered 13 world¹s records. Served as captain of the Marquette track team in 1934. He placed second in the 100 meters and third in the 200 meters in the 1932 Olympics, and came back in the 1936 Olympics to finish second in the 100 meters and help the U.S. win the 400-meter relay.

After his college career, he joined the armed forces and served in World War II. After he got out of the army, he would go on to a life of public service and was a congressman for the state of Illinois. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the M Club Hall of Fame in 1972.