Senior Kristie Kieffer of the women’s cross country team and December 2003 graduate Jason Perry of Oakland’s men’s soccer team were named the 2003-04 recipients of the Hollie Lepley Senior Scholar Athlete Awards, which recognizes the top senior scholar athletes for overall excellence in academic achievement, athletic achievement and service activities.

A four-time letter winner, Kieffer had one of the most successful cross country season’s ever for a Golden Grizzly runner as she dominated the women’s cross country times in the Mid-Continent Conference all season. She capped off her career by becoming the first Oakland runner to ever compete at the USA National Cross Country Championships, where she ran against the top distance runners in the United States, finishing the snowy 8K course in 30th out of 59 runners with a time of 30:06.

Kieffer also set new school records at both 5K (17:03) and 6K (21:10.70) distances and captured the Mid-Con individual title on Nov. 1, the second of her career. She was a two-time Mid-Con Athlete of the Year in cross country and a six-time Mid-Con cross country athlete of the week this past season, finishing first in four races and 13th at the NCAA Great Lakes regional competition with a time of 21:10.7. Her time at the Great Lakes regional enabled her to become the first Oakland cross country runner to compete at the NCAA Division I Championships where she finished 150th on the 6K course in a time of 21:10.7.  

The Women’s Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association recently named Kieffer a 2003 Academic All-American. She is one of just 46 runners honored by earning a minimum of a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and finishing either in the top 10 percent of their regional or earning All-America honors. Kieffer, an accounting major from Sterling Heights, Mich., holds a 3.29 GPA and is the only female runner from the Mid-Continent Conference to earn the honor.

A four-year letter winner for Oakland’s soccer team, Perry was the team’s defensive co-captain and was named the Mid-Con Defensive Player of the Year and a third team All-American this past season. He helped lead the Golden Grizzlies to their second consecutive NCAA Division I Tournament appearance and highest-ever No. 12 national ranking. He was a three-time All-Mid-Con selection while helping Oakland earn three regular-season conference titles and one Mid-Con Tournament championship. Perry guided an Oakland defense that finished first in the conference the past two years in team goals against average. He compiled one goal and 10 assists in four seasons.

Perry, a communications major from Southfield, Mich., was drafted as the third pick in the fifth round to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft in January. He is Oakland’s highest ever draft pick in any professional sport and will continue his soccer career with the Galaxy, which claimed the MLS Cup in 2002.

The Hollie Lepley Senior Scholar Athlete Awards are named in honor of the founder of Oakland University athletics, Hollie Lepley. The awards exemplify Lepleys commitment to education, human service and his quality of leadership and personal character.

For more information on OU’s athletes and varsity teams, visit the OU Athletics Web site.