BJ Graber Award
2010 NJCAA Betty Jo Graber Award Honored to Kelly Closse of South Plains College
By Gage Axford, NJCAA Student-Assistant
 The 2009-10 recipient of the NJCAA Betty Jo Graber Female Student-Athlete of the Year is Kelly Closse of South Plains College (Texas). The Lady Texan dominated sport of track and field during her two years in the NJCAA, winning multiple national titles. The Betty Jo Graber Award is handed out annually to the top female student-athlete in the NJCAA that best exhibits hard work, discipline, ethics and excellence in competition.
Closse is the second student-athlete from South Plains to receive the Betty Jo Graber Award. Former Lady Texan Sally Kipyego won the honor for the 2005-2006 academic year.
Closse's strength and commitment to her sport resulted into several school and NJCAA accolades. She is a five-time NJCAA champion, winning the indoor weight throw and shot put events in 2009, the Division I outdoor shot put in 2009 and 2010 and the Division outdoor discus throw in 2010. With Closse on the roster, South Plains was able to capture back-to-back NJCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track & Field titles in 2009 and 2010 along with the NJCAA Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship in 2009.
Along with her championship success, the French born talent placed herself as one of the greatest throwers in NJCAA history. Closse holds NJCAA championship records for both the indoor and outdoor shot put. She set both the indoor mark (52' 9.5") and outdoor record (52' 8.25") in 2009. In addition to her records, Closse was named the Female Field Athlete of the Meet at the 2009 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Closse, who also owns SPC school records in the indoor shot put and weight throw and outdoor records for hammer throw, shot put, and discus throw, will continue her education and track & field career at Texas Tech University.
About the Betty Jo Graber Award
Betty Jo Graber spent 35 years advancing opportunities for women in NJCAA athletics. Along with a successful basketball coaching career at Weatherford College, she was also the Region 5 Women's Director, the NJCAA Women's Basketball Committee Chair and a founding member of the NJCAA Women's Division. Graber is a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Tennessee. Graber was the perfect model of hard work, discipline, ethics and excellence in community college athletics. This award is given annually to the NJCAA Student-Athlete that best exhibits these traits.
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NJCAA BETTY JO GRABER AWARD RECIPIENTS
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Year
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Name
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Sport(s)
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College; City, State
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1992-1993
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Carey Burton
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Volleyball
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Barton County Community College; Great Bend, Kan.
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1993-1994
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Nema Corey
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Slow Pitch Softball
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Meridian Community College; Meridian, Miss.
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1994-1995
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Kay Mannebach
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Cross Country & Track
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Colby Community College; Colby, Kan.
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1995-1996
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Tricia Ferrin
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Basketball
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Utah Valley State College; Orem, Utah
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1996-1997
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Nicole Weed,
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Softball
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Daytona Beach Community College; Daytona Beach, Fla.
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1997-1998
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Kaunda Kay Williams
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Basketball
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Gulf Coast Community College; Panama City, Fla.
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1998-1999
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Yalika "Boo" Barnes
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Basketball
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Trinity Valley Community College; Athens, Texas
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1999-2000
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Devra Viekant
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Cross Country & Track
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Utah Valley State College; Orem, Utah
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2000-2001
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Stephanie Martin
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Volleyball
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College of Southern Idaho; Twin Falls, Idaho
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2001-2002
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Yuliana Perez
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Track & Field
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Pima Community College; Tucson, Ariz.
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2002-2003
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Natashia Morehead
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Basketball
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Gulf Coast Community College; Panama City, Fla.
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2003-2004
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Heidi Brooks
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Basketball & Softball
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Corning Community College; Corning, N.Y.
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2004-2005
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Chelsie Mesa
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Softball
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Phoenix College; Phoenix, Ariz.
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2005-2006
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Sally Kipyego
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Track & Field
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South Plains College; Levelland, Texas
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2006-2007
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Kristina Jenkins
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Bowling
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Hudson Valley Community College; Troy, N.Y.
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2007-2008
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Lindsey Palmer
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Softball
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Salt Lake Community College; Salt Lake City, Utah
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2008-2009
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Nicole Race
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Golf
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Redlands Community College; El Reno, Okla.
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2009-2010
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Kelly Closse
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Track & Field
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South Plains College , Texas
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