May 8, 2003

Allison picked for Verizon Academic All-District first team

Jana Allison, the 2003 recipient of the E.O. & Virginia Humphrey Award that goes to Missouri Southern's outstanding student-athlete, has added another honor to her already impressive resume.

Allison was named a first-team selection today on the 2003 Verizon Academic All-District VII Softball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. As a result, Allison, chosen as an outfielder on the first team, will move on to the national Academic All-America ballot.

A native of Lebanon, Mo., Allison is a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Academic All-America. She's a two-time second-team All-MIAA selection, including in 2003 as a utility player, and a three-time honoree on the MIAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

This year, Allison batted .253 with 13 doubles and 20 RBI as the Lady Lions finished the season with a 23-25 overall record. One of seven players on the 2003 squad to play and start every game, she also filled in admirably as a pitcher as Southern began the season short-handed. She finished with a 10-10 record and a 2.54 ERA in 151.2 innings of work.

In the classroom, Allison maintains a 3.938 GPA and will graduate summa cum laude later this month with a degree in biology/pre-medicine. Last week, it was announced that Allison was the female recipient of Missouri Southern State College's Spencer-Bartlett Award, given to the campus' outstanding graduate.

Off the field and out of the classroom, Allison works as an emergency room nurse at Freeman Hospital and as a triage nurse at the Joplin Community Clinic. She has also been a research assistant with the Missouri Southern biology department, a Big Sister in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program and a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House.

Allison is also a graduate of last May's NCAA Leadership Conference.