Kasper, Moore Named John Taylor Senior Scholar-Athlete Award Winners
Football player Brett Kasper and women’s cross country and track & field runner Cheyenne Moore were selected the 2018 recipients of the UW-Oshkosh John Taylor Senior Scholar-Athlete Award.
The John Taylor Award is presented annually to an outstanding male and female senior student-athlete who has compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher. The award reflects not only individual athletic achievements, but also embodies the ideals of team contribution, scholastic endeavor and community involvement.
Kasper helped lead the UW-Oshkosh football team to its most successful four-year stretch in the program’s 123-year history. The Titans compiled a 41-9 record and made three consecutive deep runs in the NCAA Division III Championship during his four seasons. Kasper, who owns a 3.355 grade point average as a supply chain management major, was recognized nationally for his efforts with Be The Match and also regularly volunteers with Feeding America and Special Olympics.
Moore claimed back-to-back WIAC cross country titles and qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship three times. Moore, the co-winner of the WIAC’s 2017 Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete Award for women’s cross country, earned Division III All-Academic honors on three occasions from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The nursing major boasts a 3.729 grade point average and regularly volunteers with several area organizations and local elementary schools.
Kasper capped his record-breaking career by winning the Gagliardi Trophy and D3football.com Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2017. The Gagliardi Trophy recognizes excellence by an NCAA Division III football player in athletics, academics and community service.
Kasper, who owned a 40-6 record as a starter, helped guide UW-Oshkosh to its first appearance in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl – the Division III championship game – in 2016 while also leading the team to the national semifinals in 2017 and to the quarterfinals in 2015.
A two-time WIAC Offensive Player of the Year, Kasper finished his senior season with a school-record 34 touchdown passes while becoming the third Titan to pass for more than 3,000 yards, completing 186 of 285 passes for 3,025 yards. Kasper tied the program record with six touchdown passes during a 42-21 victory over North Central College (Ill.) in the second round of the 2017 Division III playoffs.
Kasper, a Two Rivers High School graduate, concluded his senior season ranked second in the country with a 189.6 passing efficiency rating while listing third nationally with 10.61 yards per pass attempt, fifth with 16.26 yards per completion and seventh in touchdown passes.
The UW-Oshkosh all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes, Kasper helped lead the Titans to a 26-2 WIAC record during his four seasons, which included 7-0 league marks in 2015 and 2017.
Kasper's program-record totals of 9,786 passing yards and 89 touchdowns rank third and second, respectively, in WIAC history while his career 161.8 passing efficiency rating set a new league record. Kasper also ranks sixth in WIAC history with 693 career completions and 10th with 1,088 pass attempts.
In January 2017, Kasper became the first Division III captain of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his volunteering efforts with Be the Match. Kasper's bone marrow matched a girl in need of a transplant, and he underwent the life-saving procedure in spring 2015.
Moore won the 2016 and 2017 WIAC women’s cross country titles to become the seventh Titan to win the league race more than once. Moore won four consecutive meets during her senior season in 2017, capping off the string of victories by defending her conference title on the way to being named the WIAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
Moore went on to place fourth at the 2017 NCAA Division III Cross Country Midwest Regional for the second year in a row before earning All-America accolades with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship. Moore’s incredible senior campaign featured top-nine finishes at each of her eight races. No WIAC runner crossed the finish line ahead of Moore the entire season.
Moore’s cross country highlights also include All-WIAC honorable mention recognition in 2014 and a 45th-place effort at the national meet in 2016.
In track & field, Moore qualified for the Division III Indoor Championship three times, competing in the 5,000-meter race in both 2017 and 2018, and the 3,000-meter event in 2018. She was named the 2018 Division III Midwest Region Track Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA, becoming just the third Titan to win the award. Moore also received All-Midwest Region honors in the 10,000-meter run from the USTFCCCA in 2017.
Moore won the 5,000-meter run at the WIAC Indoor Championship in 2018 after finishing second in the event in 2017.
For her efforts in the classroom, the USTFCCCA named Moore to its All-Academic teams for cross country in both 2016 and 2017, and for track & field in 2017. The Winnebago (Ill.) High School alumna’s volunteering contributions include helping with chronically ill and hospitalized children, the UW-Oshkosh Titan 5K, and reading with children at Oshkosh-area elementary schools.
The UW-Oshkosh John Taylor Senior Scholar-Athlete Award was first presented in 1976 for men and in 1981 for women. Kasper is the eighth football player to receive the honor while Moore is the 11th member of the women’s cross country and track & field programs to win the award.
UW-Oshkosh’s Phyllis Roney Senior Coaches Award was presented to women’s basketball player Eliza Campbell while men’s basketball player Charlie Noone earned the school's Jim Flood Senior Coaches Award.
The Phyllis Roney Coaches Award for female student-athletes debuted in 2000 while the Jim Flood Award for male student-athletes was presented for the first time. Both awards honor seniors who display outstanding leadership, character, courage and sportsmanship.
The John Taylor, Phyllis Roney and Jim Flood awards were presented as part of the UW-Oshkosh athletic department’s inaugural Oshcars ceremony at the Grand Opera House in Oshkosh on Monday (April 30).