Cullowhee, N.C. – Two Western Carolina student-athletes were recognized this week as the Southern Conference announced the recipients of its annual postgraduate scholarships. Kirsten Hahn of Catamount women's soccer received the Dorothy Hicks Scholarship and track & field/cross country athlete John Davis earned the Dave Hart Scholarship. The duo will receive $2,000 scholarships to help finance their postgraduate studies.
Hahn is the fifth Catamount to receive the Dorothy Hicks Scholarship all time, while Davis is the first to be named a Dave Hart Scholarship recipient.
Recipients are nominated by their schools and selected by the Southern Conference Graduate Scholar Committee. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes pursuing advanced degrees in graduate or professional school. The student-athletes are evaluated on academics, athletics, and community service.
A three-year captain for the Catamount women's soccer program, Kirsten Hahn helped guide the Catamounts in a record-breaking campaign on the way to the team's second consecutive Southern Conference regular-season championship.
Last season, Hahn became just the fifth player in program history to record a hat trick, finding the back of the cage three times against mountain rival UNC Asheville in the team's 2024 home opener, and collected SoCon Offensive Player of the Week plaudits after that showing. The Burlington, Ontario, Canada native finished the season with career highs with six goals, total points with 15, coming on a career benchmark for shots on goal (16).
A co-president on WCU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) this past year – and a three-year member of the advisory group – Hahn has spent her time off the pitch tutoring in Animal Physiology, reading to school children, and being a volunteer vet assistant. Named to Western Carolina University's Dean's List for four years, Hahn has been published three times, including a 2021 spot in the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Hahn, a biology major, will begin her journey toward a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Ontario Veterinary College in the fall.
John Davis has been a Catamount cornerstone on the cross country and track and field teams since beginning his collegiate career in 2021. He has enjoyed success both on the course and in the classroom. A SoCon champion in the 1,500-meter run during the 2023 season, Davis established a school record in the 1,000-meter event earlier this year with the first sub-2:28 finish in program history. The Columbia, S.C. product additionally helped push the men's cross-country team to a second-place finish at the 2024 Southern Conference championships, claiming WCU's best finish at the conference meet since 1993.
An electrical engineering major, Davis has been on the Chancellor's List and Dean's List each of his years in Cullowhee. Davis received five academic scholarships during college and was named a Chick-fil-A Remarkable Future Scholar for the 2021-22 school year. Most recently, he received the National Science Foundation Award and the Cass Ballenger Endowment Grant. In the fall, Davis will begin work on a master's in biomedical engineering.
Western Carolina's Southern Conference Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients:
2024-25: Kirsten Hahn (Women's Soccer – Dorothy Hicks Scholarship / John Davis (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field) Dave Hart Scholarship
2023-24: Eden Punch (Volleyball) – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship / Savannah Baldwin & Jeralynn Wells (Softball) – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
2022-23: Samantha Reele (Softball) – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
2021-22: Carter Unger (Women's Track & Field) – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
2021-22: Clay Summers (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field) – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
2020-21: Victoria Solheim (Women's Track & Field) – William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith
2019-20: Emily Zipay (Women's Soccer) – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
2018-19: Savanah Taranto (Women's Tennis) – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
2017-18: Kassandra Flores (Softball) – Sports Medicine Institute Scholarship presented by Spartanburg Regional Health System
2015-16: Taylor Sigmon (Softball) – Dorothy Hicks Scholarship
2014-15: Makensey Campbell (Women's Basketball) - William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith
2014-15: Aleshia Reese (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field) – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
2014-15: K.P Hicks (Football) – Mike Wood Scholarship
2013-14: Brittany Gendron (Women's Soccer) – David Knight Scholarship
2013-14: Alex Abraham (Women's Basketball) – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
2012-13: Samantha Hodge (Women's Soccer) – William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith
2009-10: David Gift (Men's Track & Field) – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
2005-06: Emily Pierce (Women's Soccer) – David Knight Scholarship
2004-05: Rans Brempong (Men's Basketball) – Mike Wood Foundation Scholarship
2003-04: Emre Atsur (Men's Basketball) – Mike Wood Foundation Scholarship
2003-04: Yoneko Allen (Women's Basketball) – Mike Wood Foundation Scholarship
1999-2000: Ramsey Herron (Volleyball) – Dorothy Hicks Scholarship
1995-96: Kristin Allen (Volleyball) – Dorothy Hicks Scholarship
1992-93: Susie Gardner (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field) – Dorothy Hicks Scholarship
