BOUYER LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS ARE HANSEN AND KRAAI

Two Bulldog Student-Athletes Share FSU Athletics' Most Prestigious Honor

The award, which is regarded as the most prestigious of the FSU Athletics Department's four major annual honors, is named in memory of Ferris State’s first All-America football student-athlete Willie Bouyer, who was tragically killed in his hometown of Detroit in 1977. Candidates for the award are judged on their strong inspirational leadership and dedication to fellow Ferris State student-athletes. The nominees also should be involved outside of athletics in other college and community activities along with participating on a varsity athletics team for at least two years. The Willie Bouyer Leadership Award was reinstated upon the conclusion of the 2002-03 season following a seven-year absence.

The two Bulldog student-athletes helped lead their respective teams to national tournament appearances this spring as the women's golf team placed fourth at the 2008 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships (May 13-16) in Houston, Texas, while the softball team tied for fifth place at the 2008 NCAA-II Softball Championships (May 14-17) in Houston. Both played integral roles in leading their teams to national rankings as the women's golf team finished seventh in the final 2008 Golf World/National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Women's Golf Coaches' Poll while the softball team tied for fifth place in the final 2008 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 Poll.

Hansen, a three-time (2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08) NGCA All-American Scholar, is a co-recipient of Willie Bouyer Leadership Award for the second straight season after receiving the honor following the 2006-07 athletics season. A three-time (2005-08) All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Second-Team selection, Hansen posted an 80.31 stroke average (2,570 total strokes) in 32 rounds for the 2007-08 campaign and recorded the Bulldogs' fourth-best stroke average. She placed among the top 20 individual golfers in nine tournaments, which included four in the top five. A 2007-08 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Women's At-Large Second-Team honoree, Hansen was the Bulldogs' top finisher in four 2007-08 season tournaments.

Hansen was named to the 2007-08 NGCA All-East Region Team as a result of finishing tied for runner-up honors at the 2008 NCAA Division II East Regional (May 5-7) and would earn the team's Bulldog Award for dedication and hard work following the conclusion of the 2007-08 season. In her three-year (2005-08) career, Hansen is currently eighth on the program's all-time stroke leaders list with a 80.36 career average (6,268 total strokes) in 78 rounds. She has racked up 18 career top-20 place finishes with eight being in the top 10. Hansen has landed a spot on the GLIAC's All-Academic Team in consecutive seasons (2006-07 and 2007-08) to date.

Hansen is a FSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member and will begin her third year as the committee's communications director in the 2008-09 athletics season. A Ferris State SAAC GLIAC representative, Hansen is also involved in the school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter.

A 2008 All-GLIAC First-Team pick, Kraai hit for a career single-season best .297 average with 51 base hits in 172 at bats as a starter in all of Ferris' 53 contests. Kraai also recorded a squad-high 17 doubles to go with three home runs, 32 RBIs, 34 runs scored, and a .448 slugging percentage for Ferris State, which finished the 2008 season with a 35-18 overall record and a NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championship title. The three-time (2006-08) GLIAC All-Academic Team member led the Bulldogs with 11 multiple-RBI game performances while her 15 multi-hit contests was the second-highest output among the team's offensive leaders.

Kraai, who was a 2008 spring recipient of the GLIAC Commissioner's Award for Academic and Athletics Excellence, was chosen as the winner of FSU's 22nd annual Helen Bennett Award for being the Bulldogs' most outstanding female student-athlete. The two-time (2005 and 2007) NFCA Scholar-Athlete claimed ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Softball First-Team kudos. She was twice (2005 and 2007) named to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional All-Tournament Team.

Kraai concluded her four-year (2005-08) Bulldog career as the program's all-time leader with 49 career doubles while placing fourth in the record books in RBIs (105), fifth in at bats (634), tied for fifth in home runs (12), sixth in games played (202), and eighth in base hits (169). She closed out her four seasons at Ferris State with a .267 career batting average and a .410 slugging percentage.

The lone senior on the 2008 squad, Kraai was a member of three (2005, 2007, and 2008) Ferris State softball teams to earn a NCAA-II Great Lakes Region Tournament berth. Like Hansen, she also is a member of FSU's Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter.

Willie Bouyer Leadership Award Recipients
2007-08 - Raquel Hansen (Women's Golf) and Katie Kraai (Softball)
2006-07 – Danielle Baucher (Women's Volleyball) and Raquel Hansen (Women's Golf)
2005-06 – Brittny Godlewski (Women's Volleyball) and Jeffrey Shanahan (Men's Basketball)
2004-05 – Brittny Godlewski (Women's Volleyball) and Navreet Gill (Softball)
2003-04 – Melissa Worsley (Softball) and Derrick McIver (Men's Ice Hockey)
2002-03 – Steve Picucci (Mens' Cross Country and Men's Track & Field)
1995-96 – Benny Roe (Football)
1994-95 – Tim Christian (Men’s Ice Hockey)
1993-94 – Jere Getzinger (Wrestling and Football)
1992-93 – Dave Morin (Baseball)
1991-92 – Erica Thomas (Women’s Basketball)
1990-91 – Mark Kamppinen (Baseball)
1989-90 – Doug Mooney (Wrestling) and Jody Johnson (Softball)
1988-89 – Jim Beson (Football and Wrestling)
1987-88 – Sam Sweet (Men’s Track and Field)
1986-87 – Paul Surmont (Cheerleading – Bulldog Mascot)
1985-86 – Kurt Stevens (Men’s Basketball)
1984-85 – Steve Piotraczk (Football), Katy Kelley (Women’s Basketball)
1980-81 – Fred Kirkland (Football and Men's Track & Field)