ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Student Athlete Spotlight January 2010

Kasey Kirchhofer, named NJCAA 2nd Team All-American, has extended the string of East Central College Volleyball NJCAA All-Americans from Hermann High School to two in two years. Kasey Kirchhofer follows Erica LaBoube who received also NJCAA 2nd Team All-American honors last year. Kasey led the Falcons in assists with 1278 on the season and 9.33 per game. She was ranked #8 in NJCAA Division II with the 9.33 assists per game and also ranked #2 in recent ECC history. On the defensive side, Kasey recorded 2.64 digs per game and helped the Falcons to one of their best defensive seasons. Other honors on the year for Kasey included being named 1st All- Conference and 1st Team All-Region. A trip to the NJCAA National Tournament and All-American honors helped culminate a successful freshman season.

Recently named NJCAA 3rd Team All-American, Nickardo Blake becomes the first two-time All-American in school history at East Central College. In 2008, the Falcons finished the men's soccer season MCCAC Champions and Region XVI Champions with Nickardo being one of the team leaders on defense and garnering a NJCAA 2nd Team All-American selection.

After two years serving as the central defender for East Central, Nickardo was honored both his freshman and sophomore year with 1st Team honors in the MCCAC and Region XVI. His athletic career now complete at East Central College, Nickardo is focused on his academics and plans to transfer to a four year university to finish his degree and continue his collegiate playing career. Presently, there are a number of schools recruiting Nickardo for his athletic talents: University of Connecticut, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Cal-State Fullerton, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and University of Alabama-Birmingham.