Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Westfield State senior Joe Kreinsen has been named the recipient of the DeOrmond Tuss McLaughry Award presented annually to the outstanding college football scholar-athlete in Western Massachusetts.

The award is given by the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Area colleges eligible for the prestigious scholar-athlete award are AIC, Amherst, Springfield, Williams, UMass Amherst, Western New England, and Westfield State.

Kreinsen is the second Westfield State football player to receive the honor in the 32-year history of the Westfield State football program; former Owl tight end Brett Ralph received the award in 2008. Kreinsen was presented the award at the National Football Foundation's scholar-athlete awards dinner on Sunday evening, April 6, at the UMass Amherst Campus Center.

"We are very proud of Joe," said Westfield State football head coach Pete Kowalski. "Our football program's No. 1 priority is to be successful in the classroom and Joe has been an outstanding representative of our program for the past four years."

Kreinsen was a four-year starter on the offensive line for the Owls and a second-team all-conference selection and team captain during his senior season. The WSU psychology major/communication minor earned conference all-academic team honors for three consecutive years.

The Natick, Mass. native, was a resident assistant in the Westfield State residential life department for two years, supervising and advising students on a daily basis. He also was a four-year student worker for the WSU athletics department.
 
During the summer months, Kreinsen was a volunteer youth and high school football coach in Natick.

"It's been a pleasure having Joe at Westfield State," said Westfield State athletics director Richard Lenfest. "He is a focused and intelligent young man who is going to be a success in whatever he does."