Kalamazoo Valley Announces 2019 Dale B. Lake Award Winners

A men’s baseball team two-year starting shortstop and captain with a 3.48 grade point average along with a two-year starter, captain, setter and defensive specialist with a 3.65 grade point average on the volleyball team were recently named Kalamazoo Valley Community College Dale B. Lake Award winners.

Trent Quartermaine, a walk on who graduated from Gull Lake High School and Alana Sundermann, a graduate of Holt High School, received the annual award in honor of the college’s founding president, Dale B. Lake.

“What makes Trent's time at Kalamazoo Valley so extraordinary is that this young man took the chance to come to the school as a walk on, turned that very quickly into an athletic scholarship and hasn't looked back since,” said Men’s Baseball Head Coach Cody Piechocki. “His work ethic and leadership has been off the charts. He has been able to turn himself into one of the best student athletes in the NJCAA and has been an outstanding ambassador for the college. He is a leader on and off the field and sets the gold standard for what we expect of our student athletes.”

Quartermaine, who earned an associate degree in business administration at last month’s Commencement ceremony, will continue both his education and baseball career at Ball State University in Indiana in the fall. He currently leads the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) in homeruns and runs batted in.

Head Volleyball Coach Jennifer Buikema nominated Sundermann to receive the 49-year-old award given annually to one outstanding male and one outstanding female student-athlete.

“Alana is and always has been dependable in stressful situations and has embraced the opportunity to learn and grow with such fierce enthusiasm,” Buikema said. “She has been such a pleasure to coach because she also has pushed the coaches’ philosophies by continually asking questions for her own knowledge and the betterment of the team. She stands up for what she believes in and leads by examples, setting the bar very high for future players and captains to follow. She has been an outstanding leader both on and off the court.”

Sundermann is expected to graduate this summer with an associate degree in communications. She will continue her studies and playing volleyball at the University of Findley, a NCAA Division II school, in the fall.

The Dale B. Lake Award began in 1970 in honor of Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s founding president. It is an effort to give annual recognition to one outstanding male and one outstanding female student-athlete. Special consideration is given to exceptional academic achievement as well as outstanding athletic contribution. Qualities such as leadership, loyalty, enthusiasm, reliability, and initiative are also evaluated. Each coach may nominate one individual to the Athletic Director for consideration for the Dale B. Lake Award. The Athletic Director then selects one male and one female award winner. Each winner receives a plaque and will be added to the Dale B. Lake plaque displayed within the Athletic Office at Kalamazoo Valley.