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Wildcats kicker honored for October performance

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ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Central Washington University senior Garrett Rolsma (University Place, Wash./Curtis HS) has been named as one of 12 national recipients of the Fred Mitchell Award for the month of October, as was announced Wednesday.

Rolsma, the Wildcats' kicker, was one of five Division II recipients of the award among the winners for the month. The other seven were Division III student-athletes.

The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes 12 Division II and Division III place-kickers for their excellence on the football field and in the community during the month of October.

Rolsma had a banner month of October as part of an illustrious career as the Wildcats' kicker. He took over the school's career scoring lead, passing senior teammate Johnny Spevak (Edgewood, Wash./Puyallup HS) this past weekend for the record, which currently stands at 317 career points (Spevak has 314). Rolsma made all 17 extra-point attempts and was 12 of 13 on field-goal attempts in October, scoring at least eight points in each of Central's five games for the month. He had at least one field goal of 40 yards or more in every game in October, including a game-winning 44-yard kick with 32 seconds left in the Battle in Seattle at Qwest Field. He has also made 99 consecutive extra-point attempts dating back to November 2007.

In addition to his excellence on the field and in the classroom he is a two-time CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII College Division selection with a 3.50 grade-point average as an exercise science major. Rolsma has also been involved in the local communities in both the Ellensburg and Tacoma communities. He has volunteered, along with his father, for "Paint Tacoma", painting houses for underprivileged families. He has also participated regularly in blood drives, has assisted with the Yakima River Cleanup Project, and volunteered with the CWU Exercise Science Club's 5K Fun Run last spring.

Recipients of the Fred Mitchell Award for October are as follows:
Jay Carpenter, Sr., Mount Union (Ohio); Jackson Damron, So., California Lutheran; Russell Gliadon, Sr., Saint Thomas (Minn.); Zack Harris, Sr., Wittenberg (Ohio); Tyler McNamara, Sr., Bentley (Mass.); Thomas Parrott, Jr., Northern State (S.D.); GARRETT ROLSMA, SR., CENTRAL WASHINGTON; Gareth Rowlands, Jr., Tusculum (Tenn.); Taylor Russolino, Jr., Millsaps (Miss.); Jeff Schebler, Sr., Wisconsin-Whitewater; David Van Voris, Fr., Adams State (Colo.); Ryan Zipf, So., Allegheny (Pa.).