The winners of the L.F. “Tow” Diehm Inspirational Award for 2005-06 are Chris Carlson and Lars Loeseth, while Maja Kovacek is the recipient of the Leslie Self Inspirational Award. Started in 1997-98, the awards are presented annually to University of New Mexico male and female student-athletes based on leadership, character, determination and commitment to team.
The late Tow Diehm served the University of New Mexico for 40 years, most of that time spent as the head athletics trainer. He was also an athletics administrator and a lobbyist for the department to the New Mexico state legislature. Tow passed away on May 1, 1998.
Leslie Self was the wife of Randy Self, who is the former President of the Lobo Club and owner of Spectator’s Sports Bar and Grille. Leslie also passed away in 1998 after a long battle with cancer.
This year’s recipients will be recognized before the Lobo men’s basketball game on Wednesday, Jan. 24, against BYU. Presenting the awards will be Tow’s wife, Pearl, and Randy Self.
Chris Carlson was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 Major League Draft. The first baseman from Topeka, Kansas, garnered several awards in his two-year career at New Mexico, including ESPN the Magazine All-Academic first team as a junior and second team as a sophomore.
Carlson carried a 3.69 GPA in General Management. Twice he was named first team Louisville Slugger All-America and all-MWC first team. Carlson set a Lobo career record for slugging percentage, tied for the fifth highest career batting average at .380 and is fifth in home runs at UNM with 36.
One of the most prominent athletes to compete at UNM, Lars Loeseth has been a member of the two most successful sports programs in UNM history. He competed for UNM’s NCAA Championship ski team in 2004 and was on the runner-up squad in 2006. Loeseth was also a member of New Mexico’s 2005 men’s soccer team that finished second in the nation.
A native of Oslo, Norway, Loeseth is a three-time All-American in skiing where he was a member of two national slalom team titles in 2004 and 2006. Academically, Loeseth earned a spot on ESPN The Magazine’s At-Large Academic All-American 3rd Team in 2005 and 2006. He has a 3.81 cumulative grade-point-average, majoring in International Management.
A native of Pula, Croatia, Maja Kovacek was a two-time All-American in women’s tennis and one of 30 finalists for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 2006. She was recognized as the Mountain West Conference Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2005-06 and was a finalist for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sportsmanship & Leadership Award.
Kovacek became the first women’s tennis All-American in 2004 and she earned her second honor in 2006. She was invited to the NCAA Individual Championships in both singles and doubles three consecutive years and was named all-Mountain West Conference every year while at UNM.
Kovacek carried a double major in psychology and sociology, and finished her collegiate career with the top grade point average on the women’s tennis team. She volunteered for several community service activities, including the Kids After School Sports Program, Boys and Girls Club Sports Day and Special Olympics. In addition, she served on the university’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Previous Winners...
Tow Diehm Award
1997-98 Pepe Caballero - tennis
1998-99 Marcos White - basketball
1999-00 Daniel Reyes - football
2000-01 Brian Smith - basketball
2001-02 Jarrod Baxter - football
2002-03 Dusty Young - baseball
2003-04 Divan Coetzee - tennis
2004-05 Nick Speegle - football
2005-06 Chris Carlson - baseball; Lars Loeseth - skiing/soccer
Leslie Self Award
1997-98 Tamika Stukes - basketball
1998-99 Aimee Hites - tennis
1999-00 Nikki Heckroth - basketball
2000-01 Quinn Michie - swimming
2001-02 Kristi Larsen - golf
2002-03 Jennier Delich - skiing
2003-04 Amanda Barnes - track and field; Cassie Chavez - softball; Nicole Overeem - swimming
2004-05 Kristen Winters - soccer
2005-06 Maja Kovacek - tennis