Track and cross country athlete Christian Goy and softball player Nicole Kurth were honored at halftime of the Illinois State mens basketball game tonight as the 2001 Illinois State Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Also honored at the game were football standout Adam Waugh and track and cross country star Stacia Beste as 2001 Male and Female Illinois State Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
Goy, who ran the fastest time in the nation on Jan. 26 in the 3,000-meter run at Wisconsin, was a 2001 NCAA Indoor Track All-American. He placed fourth in the 2001 NCAA mile race and set a school record of 3:59.61 while also placing ninth in the outdoor 1,500 meter race and holding a school outdoor record of 3:42.19 in the mile at the 2000 NCAA Indoor Championships.
In addition, the Rheinsburg, Germany native was named the 2001 MVC Indoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete, the MVC Cross Country runner up, MVC champion in the outdoor 1,500 meter, 800 meter and indoor distance medley relay. He has twice been named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete track and field team as well as cross country team.
Kurth, a second team Easton All-American and second team All-Great Lakes Region, led the softball team to its second-straight NCAA Regional appearance in 2001. She was a first team All-MVC selection, four-time MVC Pitcher of the Week, runner-up for MVC Pitcher of the Year as well as the most valuable player in the conference tournament.
The Bartonville, Ill., native set the Illinois State strikeout record in a game with 18 versus Southern Illinois on 4/7 and single-season record for wins on a year with 26. Her perfect game against Western Illinois on 5/17 soared the Redbirds to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament hosted by Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. She was 8-0 in the conference tournament in her two collegiate years at ISU and struck out 262 batters in her career.
Waugh, a Bone Scholar, was awarded the scholar-athlete award for the second time in two years. He is a 2000 Verizon Academic All-American and member of Golden Key National Honor Society, Red Tassel Mortarboard and AFNI Athletics Honor Roll. His cumulative GPA is a perfect 4.0.
While excelling academically, Waugh also excelled on the field by helping launch the Illinois State football program into national prominence. After tearing his ACL in 1999, Waugh healed and became a heady player for the Birds, ranking second the team with 83 tackles his senior season and posting 320 for his career, which ranks eighth all-time at Illinois State.
Beste, who was also awarded the highest university academic honor when she was named a Bone Scholar in 2000, was a 2001 Verizon Academic All-American, 2001 MVC Scholar-Athlete track and field team, 2001 Presidents Academic Excellence Award and member of AFNI Athletics Honor Roll every semester of her academic career.
A four-time MVC Champion in track and field, Beste was named MVC Most Valuable Cross Country Female Athlete of the Year in 2001 and qualified for the outdoor track and field NCAA Championships.
Illinois State student-athletes, who were members of the 2001 Spring/Fall AFNI Athletics Honor Roll, were recognized at halftime as well, with mens golf (2.96) and gymnastics (3.5) taking home the team GPA awards for the spring and mens (3.02) and womens cross country (3.54) for the fall.
