Published: April 28, 2009 09:06 am      

Barnes, Buelow named top Saints

CLINTON — Seniors Franklin Barnes (track and field) and Jenny Buelow (volleyball) received Ashford’s male and female Athlete of the Year honors Monday evening in a ceremony at the Best Western Frontier Inn.

Seniors Brian Cummings (baseball) and Aubree Rhoades (volleyball) were presented with Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors for the third year in a row.

Voting was determined through a ballot by the Saints’ head coaches.

“We are extremely proud of what these student-athletes have accomplished in their careers at Ashford,” athletics director Meg Schebler said. “We will miss them, and we wish them the best of luck as they move on to the next step in their lives.”

Barnes is gearing up for one final appearance at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Track and Field Championships this week in Dubuque. He is the reigning conference 55-meter hurdles champion from the indoor season and was honored as the MCC Track Athlete of the Week in March.

The senior tandem of Buelow and Rhoades leaves the volleyball program with their names permanently etched in the school’s record books as leaders in many statistical categories.

Buelow, from Center Point, departs as the school’s all-time leader in total kills, service aces, digs and total points. She was selected to six all-tournament teams and was a three-time MCC Player of the Week.

Rhoades ranks second in school history in kills and points while finishing fifth in blocks and fourth in digs. She was a first-team All-MCC honoree her senior year and collected honorable mention league honors as a junior.

Cummings is enjoying a banner senior year, currently riding a 23-game hitting streak with just one date left on the regular-season schedule.