Monmouth’s Welty is LeClere award winner

Release Date: December 1, 2005

MONMOUTH, Ill. – Monmouth College senior Anthony Welty (Dixon, Ill./Newman Central Catholic) has been named the recipient of the prestigious Midwest Conference Roy W. LeClere Award.

The LeClere Award is presented to the senior MWC men’s student-athlete who posts the highest grade point average during their junior year while lettering in at least two sports. The award, named after collegiate sports enthusiast Roy W. LeClere, was originally sponsored by his friends and co-workers as a memorial tribute to honor those student-athletes who excel in both athletics and academics.

Welty lettered in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field his junior year. The business major earned all-conference honors five times and is a seven-time academic all-conference selection. In 2004 he was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V second team in cross country and track and field.

“It’s a great honor for Anthony to be recognized as the LeClere Award winner among the outstanding student-athletes at Midwest Conference member schools,” said Roger Haynes, Monmouth’s cross country and track coach. “His work ethic and passion for competition have allowed him to improve from a high school runner of very average ability into an excellent collegiate distance runner.

“Anthony represents himself in a manner every day that we hope the athletes in our programs at Monmouth strive to emulate,” Haynes continued. “He is clearly one of the most outstanding young men that I have had the pleasure to work with in my years at Monmouth.”

Haynes was not alone in his assessment of Welty.

“Anthony is an outstanding student and athlete,” said Terry Glasgow, MC’s director of athletics. “He is a terrific representative for Monmouth College and we are very pleased for him to win this prestigious award.”

In addition to being named to the college’s Dean’s List each semester, Welty this fall was named Monmouth’s Lincoln Laureate. He also serves as president of Blue Key, the Newman Club, Alpha Lambda Delta and the Graham Hall Council and is a member of four honor societies – Lambda Pi Eta, Sigma Delta Pi, Sigma Omicron Mu and Mortar Board.

Welty becomes only the second Fighting Scot to win the award. Brent Thurness won the honor during the 1989-90 academic year.