November 19, 2007
Student earns flag football officiating honors
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Lennie was one of just two recognized by representatives from universities and colleges all over Illinois for their refereeing expertise during the tourney at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earlier this month. As an All-Tournament Official from the state competition, Lennie earned a bid to the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association National Flag Football Championships Jan. 3-5 at the University of Texas at Dallas.
A senior majoring in athletic training, Lennie has been refereeing for Recreational Sports and Services at SIUC for about three years and also makes the call for high school football match-ups. The son of Scott and Karen Lennie, he was a wide receiver for Marion Catholic High School's football team.
When his high school career ended, his love for the game most certainly didn't. A die-hard Bears fan, Lennie began officiating, initially for intramurals and then for high school as well. He said he thoroughly enjoys it.
"It's the closest thing to playing you can get," Lennie said. "It's a lot of fun."
A Crete native, Lennie plans to attend graduate school after graduation from SIUC and likely work in a clinic as an athletic trainer. For his award as a top Illinois flag football official, he garnered a plaque and paid registration to the national tournament.
"Mike Lennie epitomizes the ideal student employee who maximizes his potential through hard work and a positive attitude," said Charles E. Ferguson Jr., coordinator of intramural sports for Recreational Sports and Services at SIUC. "His work ethic, maturity, rules knowledge and comportment on the field allow him to excel at officiating almost any sport. He is definitely one of the best flag football officials this school has had in the past decade and the first to be selected as an All-tournament official."
Caption:
Top football official — Mike Lennie, a senor from Crete, recently earned honors as one of just two All-Tournament Officials at the State of Illinois Flag Football Championships. Lennie, an athletic training major and intramural sports official at Southern Illinoisan University Carbondale, earned a bid to the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association National Flag Football Championships at the University of Texas at Dallas Jan. 3-5.
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