Austin College Celebrates Student-Athletes at Athletics Convocation

SHERMAN, Texas — The Austin College coaches and team members honored more than 50 student-athletes, including the Austin College male and female athletes of the year, in its annual Athletics Convocation on Thursday night in Sid Richardson Gymnasium on the Austin College campus.

By virtue of head coaches' selections, senior football player Madison Ross of Fort Worth and senior swimmer Lauren Wheeler of Southlake were selected as the Pete Cawthon Male Athlete and Gene Day Female Athlete of the Year, respectively. This is the second consecutive year both student-athletes have earned these awards.

Women's basketball player Bryce Frank of Granbury, and men's soccer player Philip Le of Frisco were named the female and male Tim Jubela Award winners as the most outstanding freshmen student-athletes. Frank was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, while Le was tabbed by his teammates as the men's soccer team's most valuable player.

Ross, a four-year letter winner at Austin College, led the SCAC in rushing yards and was named First Team All-SCAC at running back, as well as honorable mention All-SCAC as a punt returner. Ross was also named First Team Academic All-America for the second straight year, the first time any Austin College student-athlete has earned that honor twice.

Wheeler, a four-year letter winner, earned All-SCAC honors at the conference swimming championship, making it four straight seasons as an All-Conference performer. She also broke two Austin College records at the SCAC meet, and finishes her career as the program record holder in eight of 14 individual events in which the 'Roos compete.

List of Award Winners:

Team Awards (selected by team members)

• Baseball – Cecil Grigg Award (most outstanding baseball player) – Thomas Oberg
• Baseball – Newcomer of the Year – Oscar Gonzalez
• Men's Basketball – Hustle Award – Austin Freet
• Men's Basketball – Pat E. Hooks Award (most outstanding basketball player) – Alan Sullivan
• Women's Basketball – Brittany Simpson Award – Bri Harvey
• Women's Basketball – Pat E. Hooks Award (most outstanding basketball player) – Katie Gowdy
• Men's Cross Country – Ron Munden Award (most outstanding runner) – Trini Balkaran
• Men's Cross Country – Most Improved – Jimmy Ding
• Women's Cross Country – Ron Munden Award (most outstanding runner) – Eden Llamas
• Women's Cross Country – Most Improved – Haleigh Hahn
• Football – William B Traylor Award (for hard work and dedication) – Madison Ross
• Football – Gene "Duke" Babb Award (most outstanding football player) – Brooks Ward
• Men's Soccer – Clayton Hustle Award – Jared Allen
• Men's Soccer – Most Outstanding Player – Philip Le
• Women's Soccer – Carole Lomangino Award – Ashley Webb
• Women's Soccer – Hustle Award – Hannah Poenisch
• Softball – Most Valuable Player – Tori Herrera
• Softball – Spirit Award – Liz Parks
• Men's Swimming – Hannah Award (most outstanding swimmer) – Collin Vu
• Men's Swimming – Most Improved – Tyler Brown
• Women's Swimming – Hannah Award (most outstanding swimmer) – Lauren Wheeler
• Women's Swimming – Most Improved – Katherine Tuttle
• Men's Tennis – Carroll Pickett Award (most outstanding tennis player) – Preston Glasscock
• Men's Tennis – Newcomer of the Year – Josh Granberry
• Women's Tennis – Carroll Pickett Award (most outstanding tennis player) – Katie Barber
• Women's Tennis – Newcomer of the Year – Kirsten Weber
• Volleyball – Most Outstanding Player – Rachel Fusselman
• Volleyball – Team Impact – Katie Ingle
• Athletic Training – Most Improved – Uma Maharaj
• Athletic Training – Most Outstanding – Hailey Clendennen 

Departmental Awards (selected by head coaches)

• Gene Day Award – Most outstanding female athlete – Lauren Wheeler, swimming
• Pete Cawthon – Most outstanding male athlete – Madison Ross, football
• Tim Jubela – Most outstanding female freshman athlete – Bryce Frank, basketball
• Tim Jubela – Most outstanding male freshman athlete – Philip Le, soccer
• Robert T. Mason – Sportsmanship Award – Brian Baehl, basketball
• Robert T. Mason – Sportsmanship Award – Rachel Fusselman, volleyball
• Slats McCord – Senior Perseverance and Improvement – Jeremy Halford, baseball
• Slats McCord – Senior Perseverance and Improvement – Meghan White, tennis
• Bo Miller – Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Athletics – Madison Ross, football
• Bo Miller - Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Athletics – Rachel Fusselman, volleyball
• Sig Lawson – Dedication and Commitment to Austin College Athletics – Mychael Parish, baseball; Josh Dickerman, basketball; Jeff Kubena, cross country; Brett Vaughn, football; Haroon Ismail, soccer; Josh Chanin, swimming and diving; Cedric Ambulo, tennis
• Sig Lawson – Dedication and Commitment to Austin College Athletics – Olivia Cicci, basketball; Alex Quinn, cross country; Cami Mavelian, soccer; Lauren Mara, softball; Jade Ross, swimming and diving; Kate Willis, tennis; Reygan Holloman, volleyball
• T. Ellis Lockhart Spirit – Most Supportive Faculty/Staff Member – Jack Pierce
• Austin College Academic Excellence Team Award – Highest Team GPA – Women's Tennis