The University of Central Arkansas recently recognized two outstanding athletic training students with its Moonlight Graham Sports Medicine Award.

The 2018 recipients of the award are Alicia Atchley and Hailey McNee. The inaugural Moonlight award winners, recognized in 2017, were Karina Angeles and Mike Taylor. Both presentations were made during a UCA baseball game.

The purpose of the award is to recognize an athletic training student that exhibits leadership to the profession, an exemplary academic record and dependability in the clinical setting while in the UCA Athletic Training Program.

The criteria for this award are as follows:

• Accepted into the UCA Athletic Training Program
• Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
• Active membership in an athletic training student organization at the college, state, district or national level

The award is named for Archibald Wright “Moonlight” Graham (1879-1965), who practiced and researched medicine for 60 years. A successful professional baseball player for eight years, he possessed a special commitment to the health and well-being of student athletes. Commonly viewed as the first healthcare professional to practice sports medicine, he was catapulted to international fame and respect in the movie “Field of Dreams.”