Athletic Training Students & Faculty Honored

June 24, 2019 

BATON ROUGE--This spring, LSU Athletic Training faculty, alumni and students were honored by Louisiana and Mississippi professional organizations.

During its annual clinical symposium in Biloxi, Ms., the Mississippi Athletic Trainers’ Association presented LSU junior Kellyn Smith of Madison, Ms., with the Andy Bryan Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship. Presented to a Mississippi resident, the award is based on service and academic work.

The Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association recognized several Tigers at its conference in Thibodaux, La.

LSU 2019 graduate Savannah Knighton of Pottstown, Pa., received the Earl “Bubba” Porche College Student Achievement Award. The Pennsylvania native is pursuing a master’s degree at Boise State University, where she will also serve as part of the sports medicine team for Boise State University’s Athletic Department.

Alex Dibbley, MA, LAT, ATC, received the Gordon Reynolds High School Athletic Trainer of the Year Award.  The 1995 LSU kinesiology grad currently is an athletic trainer/teacher with the Calcasieu Parish School System in Lake Charles, La. 

LSU's  Ray Castle, PhD, LAT, ATC was inducted into the LATA Hall of Fame along with Dianne “Scotti” Vermaelen, PTA, LAT, ATC of Baton Rouge. LSU professor of professional practice and the athletic training program director, Castle is only the sixth athletic trainer from LSU to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining Dr. Martin “Marty” Broussard (1982), Herman Lang (1985), Mike Chambers (1994), Tracy Ladd (1999), and Del Flair (2009). Castle is a native of St. Joseph, La., who received his undergraduate degree in kinesiology from LSU then completed his master’s and PhD in human performance and recreation at the University of Southern Mississippi.