The Department of Athletics honored five student athletes at its annual awards ceremony on May 1.

May 2, 2007

NORTON--The Wheaton College Department of Athletics held its annual awards ceremony at Emerson Dining Hall on Tuesday night. Five major awards were handed out during the evening, as seniors Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater), Nicole Lachance (Rochester, NH/Spaulding), Renata Paglio (Portland, ME/Deering), Payum Payman (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington) and Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) each earned recognition for their contributions to Wheaton athletics.

Pictured left to right: Renata Paglio '07, Jennifer Harlow '07, Barrett Roberts '07, Payum Payman '07, Nicole Lachance '07

Lachance and Payman each received the Senior Athletic Award, an honor presented to a male and female member of the graduating class who has made a significant contribution to the success of the Wheaton athletic program, including participating in intercollegiate athletics or intramural programs, displaying leadership ability, and providing commitment and relevant committee work.

A four-year member of Wheaton's softball team and a two-year captain, Lachance developed into one of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference's (NEWMAC) offensive weapons over her last two years after playing sparingly as a freshman behind an all-region shortstop and seeing her sophomore season cut short due to injuries. After leading the league in home runs during an all-conference junior campaign, Lachance is currently tied for third in the NEWMAC in longballs (10) and is second in runs (43), tied for third in triples (4), fourth in RBI (37), tied for sixth in doubles (10) and 10th in batting (.396). Her .754 slugging percentage this season was the ninth best in Wheaton history, and she is tied for fifth in single-season dingers and tied for sixth in career longballs (15).

Payman, a seven-time all-conference performer and 2007 NEWMAC Player of the Year, led the Lyons to the league tournament championship match each of the past three seasons and notched his 100th career victory between singles and doubles action in March. Through the NEWMAC Tournament, the two-year captain had a 19-5 singles mark, winning his last 11 matches, while posting a 12-8 record in doubles. Since earning 2004 NEWMAC Rookie-of-the-Year honors, he has become one of only two players in program history to earn all-conference singles honors four times while compiling a 119-50 career mark. Payman awaits word on whether he will be selected for his first NCAA Championship.

After completing the most decorated career in Wheaton men's swimming and diving history, Roberts was named the institution's Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year. A three-year captain, Roberts was a six-time All-America finisher during his career and lays claim to eight school records, including four in individual events. By winning the 50-yard freestyle at this year's NEWMAC Championship, Roberts became the only athlete in league history to win the same swimming event at the conference meet four different times. He then went on to earn a pair of All-America honors and draw his third straight NEWMAC Academic All-Conference accolade. As a junior, Roberts was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team and helped the Lyons win a program-record 11 dual meets before earning NEWMAC Swimmer-of-the-Year honors.

For the second straight year, Harlow was honored with the Debi Field Athletic Award, which is received by the school's top female athlete each year. The two-time track and field captain won her second straight indoor national high jump title at the NCAA Championship, becoming the first repeat champ since 1990. Harlow has already automatically qualified for this month's outdoor championship after tying for second last year. Between indoor and outdoor, she is a five-time All-American. Last weekend, the three-time NEWMAC Athlete of the Year helped the Lyons to a second-place finish at the league championship by corralling four all-conference honors, bringing her career total to 13.

Paglio recently completed her fourth year competing with the synchronized swimming team, helping the squad run its top-10 streak at the United States Collegiate Championship to 19 seasons. As a four-year member of the Wheaton Athletic Mentors (WAMs), a leadership group of student-athletes representing each of the college's 21 varsity programs, Paglio served as co-chair during her senior year. Paglio helped plan and organize the third annual Big Event, which is designed to raise alcohol awareness by establishing a dry weekend on campus and sponsoring numerous social events and activities for students.