~ The Southeast seniors had the top career GPAs among the school's athletes
Jim Klocke and Molly Davis are perfect examples that academic accomplishments do not have to be sacrificed for athletic excellence.
Klocke and Davis have been among the top players in their respective sports at Southeast Missouri State the past four years. They rank among the elite performers in school history.
Yet they have been just as productive in the classroom, and they were honored Tuesday night at the Show Me Center for their ability to exemplify the student-athlete.
Klocke and Davis took home top honors during Southeast's All Sports Year-End Celebration for being the senior male and female athletes with the highest career grade-point averages.
Klocke, a baseball player carrying a 3.95 GPA in business administration with an emphasis in finance, received the Jewel Award.
"It's a big honor," said Klocke, a St. Louis native who attended Vianney High School. "Any time you're recognized for an award, it's special."
Davis, a volleyball player sporting a perfect 4.0 GPA in sports management, claimed the Trombetta Award.
"It's just an honor to be out here," said Davis, who is from Muncie, Ind. "It's a good way to go out."
Winning a major academic award is nothing new for Klocke. He was named a second-team Academic All-American last year and could ascend to the first team this season. Klocke is the first Southeast baseball player to earn Academic All-American honors since 1987.
Klocke, a catcher, also is an All-American for his prowess at the plate and behind it. He was named to the Louisville Slugger All-American third team and earned honorable mention on the Ping! All-American squad following his junior season.
Klocke, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2007, is just the second baseball player in Southeast history to earn All-American honors in multiple seasons.
Of juggling academics and athletics, Klocke said: "It's hard to balance, but once you figure it out, it comes natural."
Klocke, a four-year starter, began his college athletic career with a bang and has not let up. He was the Ohio Valley Conference rookie of the year in 2007 and first-team all-OVC the last two years, with an almost certain three-peat in store.
Klocke, drafted in the 46th round last year by his hometown Cardinals before electing to return to Southeast, ranks high in many of the program's single-season and career statistical categories.
"Jim will go down as one of the all-time greats here," Southeast baseball coach Mark Hogan said. "He's a tremendous young man, and it's been a pleasure to coach him."
Klocke currently ranks among the OVC leaders in many offensive categories for a team that is in first place heading into the final stages of the regular season despite being picked to finish toward the bottom.
"It's been a lot of fun with the success we're having this year, and I think we'll finish out strong," said Klocke, batting .387 with nine home runs, 20 doubles and 57 RBIs.
Klocke, who will graduate this month, said his future goal is to "own my own company. What that is, I'm not sure."
Those plans likely will have to wait awhile because Klocke almost certainly will get a crack at professional baseball after this season.
"That's my first priority right now, after our season is over," he said.
Davis, like Klocke, also is no stranger to winning a major academic award. She was named first-team Academic All-American following her senior season after a third-team selection as a junior.
Davis was the first Southeast volleyball player to be named first-team Academic All-American since 1988 and just the second Southeast volleyball player to receive multiple Academic All-American honors.
"She's been a joy to coach," Southeast volleyball coach Renata Nowacki said.
Considering she has a perfect GPA, the worst Davis could have done was tie for Tuesday's award. She said she still was taken by surprise.
"I guess I just didn't put it together," she said with a laugh.
Davis has left her stamp on program history, finishing her career as Southeast's all-time leader in digs with 2,223. She was a four-year starter at libero, which is the defensive specialist position.
Davis said it hasn't been easy to balance her academics and athletics.
"It's one of the toughest things, but it's important," she said.
Davis said she never entered Southeast with a goal of attaining a perfect GPA.
"I didn't, but once you start doing it, you want to finish it," she said. "It's a good goal to reach. I thought it would be neat."
Davis, who like Klocke will graduate this month, has no professional sports in her future. But she does want to make a career out of athletics, perhaps on the administrative side. She plans to continue at Southeast next year for graduate school.
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