RAY SWANSON | Keystoner Time is right to congratulate

The cream of the crop, the top student-athletes during the winter and spring at Westminster College, were honored recently at a banquet held at Russell Hall on campus. Nearly 200 individuals attended.
Included in the Westminster Department of Athletics banquet were the presentation of Most Valuable Player honors and several year-end awards.
Highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2001 David Fawcett Award to senior basketball and baseball standout Henry Klinar, a product of Peters Township High School. The award was established in 1986 by the Fawcett family to honor and acknowledge those individuals who best exemplify the qualities of fairness, sportsmanship, leadership, determination and competitiveness as demonstrated by Dave Fawcett (Class of 1923) as a student, athlete and member of the Board of Trustees at the college.
On the hardwood: Klinar was a four-year starter for both the Titan basketball and baseball teams. On the hardwood he finished his playing career ranked fourth all-time on the career scoring chart with 1,581 points. A second-team ALL-GLIAC selection in 1988-89, he was ranked among the national statistical leaders in field goal percentage in each of his four seasons. He averaged 16.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 2000-01, leading the Titans to a 19-6 record.
On the baseball diamond, Klinar saw time as a pitcher, first baseman, left fielder and center fielder. This year he batted .337 and led the team in homers (seven), RBIs (32), runs scored (27) and triples (four) while leading the Titans to a 17-12-1 mark and a berth in the ECAC Division II playoffs.
The college also presented Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards to men's basketball player J.F. Maszcak (Canfield) and women's cross country runner, Jennifer Bennett (West Mifflin).
Maszcak lettered three years for the Titan basketball team. He holds a 3.760 cumulative grade-point average majoring in biology. Bennett has been the top runner for the women's cross country team the past three years, winning four invitational titles in the past two seasons. She holds a 3.752 cumulative grade-point average majoring in environmental science with a major in biology.
Team leaders: Coaches presented team Most Valuable Player awards for eight winter and spring varsity sports. The lone exception was baseball, which was not completed at the time of the banquet since the Titan team was involved in the playoffs. The baseball MVP will be named at a later date.
Those earning MVP honors were: Women's swimming, freshman Brittany Jardine (Allison Park/North Allegheny); men's swimming, Jim Mann (Indiana/The Kiski School); men's basketball, Chad Phillips (Warren/JFK); women's basketball, Robin Thayer (Salem/South Range); track & amp; field, Mark Scott (Bear Lake/Eisenhower); softball, Bethany Pinkerton (Darlington/Beaver Falls); golf, Jim McGovern (Pittsburgh/Mount Lebanon); and men's tennis, Charles Correll (Clairton/Thomas Jefferson).
Phillips had a tremendous season for the Titans. He led the team in scoring with a 24.3 average and rebounding with an 8.8 average. His scoring average ranked second in the nation in Division II. He also earned Verizon Academic All-American First Team honors with a 3.589 cumulative grade-point average.
Thayer led the women's basketball team in scoring for the third straight year, with a 16.2 average. The team enjoyed its first winning season since 1995-96 and had a school record 12-game winning streak to close the season.