Nine to be Inducted into ODK
WINCHESTER, Va. - The Shenandoah University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced Wednesday that nine of its student-athletes are set to be inducted into national honor society Omicron Delta Kappa.
The three men and six women represent nine sports: baseball, women's basketball, cross country, field hockey, football, softball, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field and volleyball.
Three of the student-athletes to be inducted: seniors Jake Garcia and Amy Smith and junior Denise Mitchell, are multi-sport athletes.
All three run cross country with Garcia and Smith both participating in indoor and outdoor track.
Mitchell stars for the softball team in the spring.
Of the remaining six, three are seniors.
Maggie Hashemzadeh was a four-year member of the field hockey team, Mandy Johnston plays for the women's basketball team and Jake Pendergraft is preparing for his fourth year with the national power baseball program.
All three served or are serving as captains of their teams this year.
Juniors Sarah DeLuca (field hockey), Nick Erdman (football), Mary Harshman (volleyball) round out the honorees.
The nine are set to be inducted in a ceremony January 29 in Goodson Chapel.
The nine student-athletes, six of which have been nominated for Academic All-District honors in the past two years, are part of a class of 21 students being inducted into ODK. Erdman is a two-time CoSIDA Academic first team All-District honoree.
DeLuca, Erdman, Garcia, Johnston, Mitchell and Smith have all earned at least one All-league honor during their playing careers with Smith being named as the cross country Rookie of the Year in 2007 and winning the individual championship in that sport in 2010.
Fifty-eight students have been inducted into Shenandoah's ODK chapter in the past four years. Twenty-two SU ODK members are student-athletes.
All nine were nominated by either a faculty or staff member and after completing a one-page essay on leadership, were selected for induction by the ODK selection committee.
