Over the course of about 24 hours Sept. 22-23, four
student-athletes from Washington University in St. Louis were
tabbed by national coaches’ organizations as “Athlete
of the Week.”
It’s an unprecedented honor in school history that Josh
Whitman, the John M. Schael Director of Athletics, calls
“inspirational.” To put it into perspective, the
university received only six such honors throughout the entire
academic sports year in 2013-14.
“Even by the admittedly high standards that we have for
our Bear athletic program, this was a remarkable weekend,”
Whitman said. “All of our teams and student-athletes competed
at an exceptionally high level. To have four National Athletes of
the Week in a year, let alone in the same week, is a testament to
the dedication, hard work and talent that our student-athletes
demonstrate, day in and day out, in their athletic pursuits here at
Washington University.
“Perhaps the most inspirational thing about these young
men and women is that in addition to being incredible athletes,
they are also gifted scholars and committed members of our
community,” Whitman said.
The student-athletes achieving the honor
were cross-country athletes Lucy Cheadle, a senior
in majoring in chemical engineering in the School of Engineering
& Applied Science, and Drew Padgett, a senior majoring in
psychology in Arts &
Sciences ; volleyball
player Jackie Nelligan, a junior majoring in mathematics and
philosophy-neuroscience-psychology, both in Arts &
Sciences; and women’s
soccer player Lillie Toaspern, a senior on the global health
and environment track in anthropology in Arts & Sciences.
“It’s a really great honor to represent Washington
University,” said Padgett, who achieved similiar distinctions
last year as a junior, “but it’s not why we train and
it’s not why we go to meets. We go to meets and train so we
can win a national championship.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Toaspern, whose team is
currently ranked No. 1 nationally in Division III soccer.
“This is a more of a testament to my teammates,” she
said. “We’ve been doing well, and I’m just a
small part of it.”
A closer look at the student-athletes:
LUCY CHEADLE
Hometown: Seattle
Honor: Division III Women’s Cross
Country National Athlete of the Week
Selected by: U.S. Track & Field and
Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)
What she did to earn it: Cheadle clocked
a winning time of 21:03 on a 6-kilometer course in Warrenville,
Ill., to win the women’s individual title at the Wheaton Gil
Dodds Invite Sept. 20. She defeated the runner-up in the field of
212 by nearly a minute to lead her team to a tie for first place in
the meet. Cheadle’s winning time was just two seconds off her
career-best 6K time.
Meanwhile, in the classroom that
week: “I filled out graduate school
applications,” she said. “The big deadlines really
aren’t until December but I wanted to stay on top of
it.” Cheadle also led a lab in a chemical engineering class.
“It’s challenging to balance it all,” she said,
“but it’s a lot easier to answer the alarm at 6 a.m.
when you know you’re waking up to run with your best
friends.”
Life after WashU: After her senior year,
Cheadle will have a season of eligibility left in track & field
and will pursue a master’s degree in environmental
engineering. Beyond that, she hopes for a career in environmental
consulting — and will keep running.
DREW PADGETT
Hometown: St. Louis
Honor: Division III Men’s Cross
Country National Athlete of the Week
Selected by: U.S. Track & Field and
Cross Country Coaches Association
What he did to earn it: Padgett crossed
the finish line of the 8-kilometer race in 24:47 to win the
individual title at the Wheaton Gil Dodds Invite Sept. 20 and lead
the men’s team to a runner-up finish. Padgett won the race by
more than 30 seconds over the runner-up in the field of 225
runners. It was Padgett’s third career USTFCCCA athlete of
the week honor.
Meanwhile, in the classroom that
week: “I just stayed on top of my
homework,” he said. “I try to be very regimented in my
daily routine and balance my classwork with running, practices, and
making sure I’m eating right.” For both cross country
teams, the alarm rings early. The teams practice daily at 6:30
a.m.
Life after WashU: Padgett is taking
pre-med classes, too, so possibly medical school or some kind of
graduate school, he said. “I’ll take a gap year and
figure it out,” he said. “I’m definitely going to
keep running though.”
JACKIE NELLIGAN
Hometown: Laytonsville, Md.
Honor: Divison III National Player Of
The Week
Selected by: Sports Imports/American
Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
What she did to earn it: In five
matches, Nelligan averaged 2.78 kills and 1.00 block per set to
lead the volleyball team to a 5-0 record the week of Sept. 15,
including a pair of wins over top-15 teams. She finished the week
with a .453 attack percentage and 18 total blocks, and was one of
six individuals named to the all-tournament team at the 11-team
Elmhurst Invite. Overall, Nelligan hit above .400 in four of the
Bears’ five matches on the week, and through Sept. 26 had
eight matches hitting above .400 this season.
Meanwhile, in the classroom that
week: “I had an exam in my statistics class and
a quiz in psychology,” Nelligan said. “That was enough
to keep me busy.”
Life after Wash U: Nelligan hopes for a
career in computational linguistics. “I tell people my ideal
job would be working for Google,” she said.
LILLIE TOASPERN
Hometown: Denver
Honor: Division III Player Of The
Week
Selected by: Disney Soccer/National
Soccer Coaches Association of America
What she did to earn it: Toaspern helped
the Bears, who were undefeated through Sept. 26, by scoring two
goals and adding two assists in two wins Sept. 16-19. She had two
goals in a 4-0 win at home against Greenville College Sept. 16,
then added two assists in the 2-1 victory at Webster University
Sept. 19. Overall, she has five goals and seven assists for a
team-high 17 points this season for the Bears. Toaspern followed up
that performance by netting her 100th career point in a Sept. 23
game against Principia.
Meanwhile, in the classroom that
week: Toaspern had three tests to prepare for, in
psychology, human evolution and environmental biology. “The
biggest thing you learn quickly about being a student-athlete is
you can’t procrastinate,” she said.
Life after WashU: “Eventually a
graduate program in public health,” she said, “but I
hope to do some kind of bridge program first, like Green Corps or
the Peace Corps.”
