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GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College senior Alex Plemmons was named the 2014-15 Ruth Peterson Award winner, while Cornell College senior Lawrence Dennis was named the 2014-15 Roy W. LeClere award winner.  The Peterson/LeClere Awards are presented to the Midwest Conference (MWC) female and male student-athletes who posted the highest grade point averages during their junior years, while lettering in at least two league sports. 

Ruth Peterson in the former Commissioner of the Midwest Athletic Conference for Women, who went on to serve as the Co-Commissioner of the MWC.  Peterson, was a Beloit College alum and employee, passed away in October of 2006.  Roy W. LeClere was a collegiate sports enthusiast whose passion for the MWC led friends and co-workers to originally sport the award as a memorial in his honor.  Dennis is the fifth Ram to earn the LeClere Award, while Plemmons is the first Pioneer to win the Peterson Award.

Plemmons, a senior from Grosse Ile, Michigan, competes in golf and basketball.  Plemmons helped the Pioneers earn the 2014 MWC women’s golf championship and a trip to the NCAA Championships earlier this fall with a sixth place finish at the conference championship.  Three games into the 2014-15 season, Plemmons is averaging 12 minutes per game on the hardwood, and averages three points and 3.5 rebounds. 

Dennis, a senior from Portland, Oregon, is a two-time All-Midwest Conference performer in cross country and finished seventh at the 2014 MWC Championships.  Dennis also competed in indoor and outdoor track and field in 2013.  The senior finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run at the 2014 MWC Outdoor Championships and seventh in the 10,000-meter run.