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Augsburg College names 2005-06 Honor Athletes, athletic award winners Honor Athlete History -- Click here MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College has awarded seven senior student-athletes with its athletic awards for the 2005-06 school year. Three Auggies earned Honor Athlete designation, the highest honor the college gives its senior student-athletes for accomplishment, leadership and character on the playing field and in the classroom -- Darren Ginther (Sr., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS), Millie Suk (Sr., Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) and Ryan Valek (Sr., Belle Plaine, Minn.). Four Auggie student-athletes were named Senior Athletes of the Year -- Tonnisha Bell (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS), Troy Deden (Sr., Northfield, Minn.), Chike Ochiagha (Sr., Savage, Minn./Holy Angels HS) and Brad Tupa (Sr., Dundas, Minn./Faribault HS). Athletic awards are voted on by coaches in Augsburg's men's and women's athletic departments and presented at athletic department year-end banquets. 2005-06 Augsburg Honor Athletes
In his three seasons at Augsburg (108 games), he compiled a .389 batting average (151-of-388), with 100 runs scored, 33 doubles, 16 triples, six home runs, 85 runs batted in, a .603 slugging percentage and a .468 on-base percentage. He also had 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts and an .889 fielding percentage. Ginther hit .413 in his junior season, while hitting .373 his sophomore year and .378 his senior season. As a pitcher, Ginther compiled a 13-14 record in 32 appearances, including 13 complete games and three shutouts. He had a 4.74 earned-run average in his career, with 96 strikeouts against just 54 walks. Academically, Ginther was an economics and education studies major with a 3.78 GPA. He earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors twice (second team in 2006, first team in 2005), and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first team in 2005. He was also a two-time Academic All-MIAC recipient and a Dean's List honoree.
She set Augsburg career records for total points (93) and goals (38), while standing sixth in school history in assists (17). She competed in 67 career games and contributed 16 game-winning goals. She led the team in goals scored each of her four seasons, with four of the top 15 single-season goal-scoring efforts in school history. Augsburg went 40-21-11 in her four seasons, the second-best four-year record in school history, reaching the MIAC postseason playoffs her junior and senior seasons. Academically, Suk graduated with a 3.88 grade-point average, majoring in political science and graduating in three-and-a-half years. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, was an Alpha Chi Honor Society member as one of the top 10 percent of the graduating class, and was a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society. She earned Dean's List honors every semester of her college years, and earned Sabo Scholar honors from the Political Science department. She was a three-time Academic All-MIAC honoree and was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree twice (second team in 2006, first team in 2005).
Academically, Valek was an accounting major with a 3.74 grade-point average. Valek became just the fourth Augsburg student-athlete to earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors twice, as he earned first-team honors in 2006 and third-team honors in 2005. He was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V first team in both 2005 and 2006. He earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Scholar All-America honors in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and was a Dean's List honoree throughout his Auggie seasons. He was a team co-captain his senior season. 2005-06 Augsburg Athletes of the Year
Augsburg Honor Athletes, 1926-2006 1926--Oswald Oudal To return to Augsburg Athletics, click here Augsburg College, a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. This is the official web site for Augsburg
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Darren Ginther -- Ginther excelled at two positions for the Augsburg baseball team -- third base and pitcher. He competed for three seasons as an Auggie, after transferring from Division I Valparaiso (Ind.) following his freshman season. He earned a reputation as one of the top hitters in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and region, earning All-MIAC and All-Midwest Region (second-team) honors his junior season and All-MIAC honorable-mention honors his senior year. He was one of the team leaders for Augsburg squads that went 58-60-1 in his tenure, reaching the MIAC playoffs his junior season. 
Millie Suk -- Suk will be remembered as one of the top women's soccer players in school history, leading a renaissance in the sport during her career at Augsburg. She earned All-MIAC first-team honors all four years of her career, the only women's soccer player in the MIAC during her tenure to be able to make that claim. She earned All-West Region third-team honors her junior and senior years, was named MIAC Player of the Week three times in her career, was voted the team's MVP on offense her freshman year and Auggie Award winner her senior year, and was team captain her junior and senior years.
Ryan Valek -- A three-time All-American wrestler at Augsburg, Valek was an individual national runner-up twice at 165 pounds in his career, finishing 41-4 in 2005-06 and 34-7 in 2004-05. He also finished seventh nationally in 2003-04 with a 38-10 record. He finished his career with a 133-39 record, accumulating 39 pins, four technical falls and 20 major decisions, and was a part of Auggie teams that won a national title in 2004-05, while finishing second twice (2002-03, 2003-04) and third in 2005-06. Valek had a 28-match winning streak during his senior season.
Tonnisha Bell -- Bell finished her career as one of the most decorated track and field athletes in school history. A sprinter, she finished her career with five All-American honors. At NCAA Division III national championships in 2006, Bell finished fourth in the outdoor 100-meter dash and fifth in the outdoor 200-meter dash, while placing second in the indoor 55-meter dash. She also finished sixth nationally in the indoor 55-meter dash twice, in 2005 and 2003. She qualified for every indoor and outdoor NCAA championship meet -- eight -- during her Auggie career. In Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meets, Bell won 11 conference championships (six indoor, five outdoor), earned All-MIAC honors 15 times (nine indoor, six outdoor) in her career, and was named MIAC Athlete of the Week eight times, while setting six individual and two relay school records. Bell earned MIAC Indoor Most Outstanding Performance honors twice, and in her senior season, she was named MIAC Outstanding Female Indoor Track Athlete and U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III Central Region Women's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year. A health and physical education major, she served
on the Augsburg Student Government Executive Board in 2003, attended the TRIO Student Leadership Conference, was a Student-Athlete Mentor, and was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Council and the Pan-Afrikan Student Union. She also served as a student assistant trainer. 
Troy Deden -- Deden
transferred to Augsburg from St. Mary's after his freshman season and became a key component of Augsburg’s baseball team, helping to lead the Auggies to the MIAC playoffs in 2005. As a three-year starter at catcher, he appeared in 108 career games, with a .345 career batting average (118-for-342), 18 doubles, 10 triples, two home runs, 83 runs batted in, and 65 runs scored. He finished with a .474 slugging percentage and .418 on-base percentage. Defensively, he finished with a .987 fielding percentage, with just six errors in 445 chances. He hit .352 his senior year, .364 his junior year and .314 his sophomore season. He earned All-MIAC first-team honors in both his junior and senior seasons, and was named All-Midwest third-team in 2005. He also played two years of football as a quarterback and defensive back, and was a special education major at Augsburg.
Chike Ochiagha --
Ochiagha was one of the key components of Augsburg’s football team during his career. As a defensive tackle, he patrolled the interior of the line and claimed 101 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in his 30-game career, including three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. As a nose guard his senior season, he had 47 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, earning All-MIAC second-team and Football Gazette All-West Region honorable-mention honors. He also earned all-conference honorable mention honors in 2004. A business and marketing major, he earned Academic All-MIAC honors, as well as football academic club honors twice. He was a student-athlete mentor, served as a team co-captain his senior. 
Brad Tupa -- Tupa
was a model of persistence and determination throughout his career. As an upper-weight wrestler, he battled injuries that forced him to medically redshirt one season and miss part of his senior season with knee surgery. But he recovered and battled back his senior season to qualify for the NCAA Division III national tournament for the second time in his career, earning his second straight fourth-place national finish at 184 pounds to earn All-American honors for the second time. He finished his career with a 74-25 record, winning the Great Lakes Regional twice. In 2005-06, he finished 21-5 with seven pins, six technical falls and three major decisions as a team co-captain. He also earned Outstanding Wrestler and Most Falls in Least Time honors at the Sunshine Open his senior season, claiming four pins in eight minutes and 14 seconds. Tupa is a history major.