Mount Horeb native Shannon Buttchen, a member of the UW-Milwaukee women's track and field team, and men's soccer player Steve Bode have been named the 2008 winners of the  prestigious UWM Alumni Association Herman Kluge Awards.

The award is given annually to one male and one female student who best embody the spirit of academic excellence, athletic achievement and community involvement. Kluge graduated UWM in 1928 and was on the staff at UWM from 1931 through 1974, serving as a teacher, the school's first football coach and a longtime athletic director.

Buttchen is a two-time Horizon League champion in the indoor 1,600-meter relay who also earned a runner-up finish in the indoor 800 this season. Her efforts have helped the Panthers win two indoor team league titles and an outdoor crown, plus four runner-up finishes.

Buttchen, a political science major, also earned academic all-league honors this year and has a 3.952 cumulative grade-point average after earning a 4.0 GPA this past fall. She earned a Faculty Athletic Representative Award for having the highest GPA on her team as did former Madison Memorial athlete Jodi Klagos (women's soccer) and former Portage athlete Erin Magargee (women's cross country).

Klagos was also recognized with the athletic director's award for having the highest cumulative grade-point average among all UWM student-athletes. She has a 4.0 GPA.