RICHARDSON, Texas – Abilene Christian's Cyril Bouniol and Angelo State's Aisha Adams were selected as the 2010 Lone Star Conference Male and Female Athletes of the Year, respectively. The awards were announced Tuesday following a vote of the league's sports information directors.
ACU's Bouniol claimed LSC top male athlete recognition after winning the individual national title in golf. ASU's Adams earned the honor of top female athlete in the conference after helping the Rambelles win the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship.
Bouniol received the most votes followed by Central Oklahoma wrestling standout Dustin Finn and Midwestern State football star Zack Eskridge. Adams grabbed the women's award ahead of MSU softball star Katie Petersen and Tarleton State golf standout Carla Cooper.
Bouniol became the second ACU player to win the individual national championship in men's golf with a six-stroke victory (current PGA Tour veteran Jeev Singh won in 1993). The junior was voted a PING first team all-America and PING first team all-region selection after sharing individual medalist honors at the conference tournament, as ACU won its first team title since 1995. Bouniol then went on to finish second at the regional tournament to earn a berth in the national tournament.
Adams closed out one of the best seasons in NCAA Division II track & field history earning seven all-American certificates at the national meet to lead ASU its first-ever title. She collected her second straight national championship in the heptathlon and added all-America performances in the 400-meter hurdles (2nd), long jump (3rd), triple jump (4th), high jump (5th), 100-meter hurdles (6th) and ran on ASU's 4x100-meter relay squad that placed eighth. Adams was named the South Central Region Female Field Athlete of the Year for the second straight year and also etched her name in the NCAA Division II record book after recording a point total of 5,795 in the heptathlon at the Texas Relays, the best-ever performance in the event. The LSC Female Field Athlete of the Year led all point scorers with 50 points at the conference meet, winning individual titles in the 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, high jump and long jump and placing second in the triple jump as she guided the Rambelles to their second straight LSC crown. This season, the senior set the league records in the 400 hurdles (56.93) and heptathlon.
Here's a closer look at the voting breakdown for each award:
LSC MALE ATHLETE OF YEAR (Name, School, Year, Sport, Points): Cyril Bouniol, Abilene Christian University, Jr., Golf, 22; Dustin Finn, University of Central Oklahoma, Sr., Wrestling, 15; Zack Eskridge, Midwestern State University, Jr., Football, 14; Garrett Lindholm, Tarleton State University, Sr., Football, 10; Heath Wyatt, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Jr., Baseball, 7; Chris Adamson, Angelo State University, Sr., Baseball, 4; Clifton Thomas, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Sr., Baseball, 3; Julius Korir, Cameron University, So., Men's Cross Country, 3; Eldon Grimslid, West Texas A&M University, Sr., Track & Field, 2; Johnathan Haggerty, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Sr., Football, 2; Jason Jones, Northeastern State University, Sr., Men's Basketball, 1; Nathan Uland, Eastern New Mexico University, Jr., Football, 1; Andres Nunez, East Central University, Sr., Men's Tennis, 0; Taylor Fore, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Jr., Football, 0.
LSC FEMALE ATHLETE OF YEAR (Name, School, Year, Sport, Points): Aisha Adams, Angelo State University, Sr., Track & Field, 27; Katie Petersen, Midwestern State University, Sr., Softball, 21; Carla Cooper, Tarleton State University, Jr., Golf , 12; Alli Miller, University of Central Oklahoma, Sr., Soccer, 9; Destiny Brown, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Sr., Women's Basketball, Volleyball, 5; Shawna Hines, Abilene Christian University, Jr., Volleyball, 5; Amanda Moberg, Cameron University, Fr., Women's Tennis, 3; Kimberly LeComte, West Texas A&M University, So., Softball, 3; Holly Hicks, East Central University, Sr., Women's Volleyball, 2; Carly Case, Texas Woman's University, Sr., Softball, 1; Cassie Anderson, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Sr., Softball, 1; Stacey Creger, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Sr., Softball, 1; Jessica White , Northeastern State University, Sr., Women's Basketball, 0; Meagan Lasley, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Sr., Women's Soccer, 0; Samantha Lawrence, Eastern New Mexico University, Sr., Women's Soccer, 0.
