Rutherford, Mescher Earn Butch Raymond Scholarships From The NSIC

BURNSVILLE, MN -- Tavia Rutherford of the University of Sioux Falls and Augustana's Kayla Mescher have been awarded the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's Butch Raymond Scholarship.

The $5,000 scholarship is sponsored by Sanford Health and is given to one student-athlete from each of the 16 NSIC institutions.

Rutherford wrapped up another outstanding collegiate campaign at the 2014 NCAA Central Super Regional in Lake Elmo, Minn. The Bakersfield, Calif. native carded a three-round score of 232 (+16) to finish in a tie for 10th place and just one stroke shy of qualifying for the NCAA national championship. A two-time NSIC first team selection, Rutherford was also recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 Women’s At-Large Team.

Rutherford is an exercise science major at USF and has compiled a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Mescher is set to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week, and has compiled a 3.51 grade-point-average as a nursing major at Augustana. The Brighton, Colo. native qualified for the national meet as she won the 400-meter hurdles event at the NSIC Championships with a school record time of 1:00.46. Mescher is a four-time Academic All-NSIC honoree and has won the 400-meter hurdles event in back-to-back seasons at the NSIC Championships.

The scholarship recognizes Butch Raymond, the NSIC's Commissioner from 2004-2014. Over the past decade, Raymond led the NSIC from an eight-team league to a 16-team conference, which has won 13 team national championships, while also achieving a high level of academic success.

To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must be a senior in 2014-15, have a GPA of 3.20 or higher, be participating in intercollegiate athletics and plan to work in a health related field or attend graduate school in a health related field. The student-athletes will be publicly recognized at a home athletic event during the 2014-15 academic year.