Former Georgia Tech kicker Harrison Butker was one of four Tech athletes to receive an honor from the ACC this week, the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award. The award is given to ACC athletes who have distinguished themselves academically and athletically while conducting themselves in an exemplary manner in the community.
Andrea Demick (diving), Lauren Pitz (volleyball) and Teegan Van Gunst (volleyball) were Tech’s three other honorees. All three are considering postgraduate studies and will receive $5,000 towards their education. Butker is pursuing an NFL career and will receive an honorary award.
Butker finished his Tech career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 337 points and also holds the school record for point-after tries with 208. An industrial-engineering major, Butker was also the first specialist to be named a team captain since 1994. Butker, a Westminster Schools graduate, will attend the NFL draft combine in Indianapolis that begins next week.
Demick has scored for Tech in each of the past three ACC championships for the Jackets and has qualified three times for the NCAA zone-diving championships. A business-administration major from the Marist School, Demick also is on the leadership team of Tech’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.
Pitz was a captain of the volleyball team this past season and started in 78 matches over the course of her career. Last fall, she was named to Omicron Delta Kappa, a campus leadership honor society. A biology major from Carmel, Ind., Pitz plans to apply to medical school after graduation.
Van Gunst ranks among the more accomplished players in team history, earning first-team All-ACC honors the past two seasons and finishing her career as one of just nine Tech players to reach 1,000 kills and digs in her career. She was also named the ACC’s scholar-athlete of the year for volleyball, a Tech first. Van Gunst, from Whitewater High, is a mechanical-engineering major.
