Being a good athlete at Illinois State is something that takes hard work, dedication and talent, but being a good student-athlete at Illinois State requires something more. It takes balance and intelligence and at tonights State Farm Student-Athlete Academic Excellence Banquet in Redbird Arena, several Redbird student-athletes were rewarded for possessing these traits.
Members of all 19 Redbird sports were recognized as AFNI Honor Roll student-athletes by members of the Illinois State athletics department and representatives from the six colleges that make up the university.
"We are blessed with some very dedicated and hard working student-athletes at Illinois State University, said Illinois State Director of Athletics Perk Weisenburger. This banquet gives this university an opportunity to salute these young people for their scholastic accomplishments.
We are extremely proud of these men and women and they deserve every bit of this recognition, continued Weisenburger. A special thanks to State Farm for their wonderful support of this event that enables us to recognize our AFNI Athletics Honor Roll student-athletes."
Christian Goy, a track and field/cross country standout at Illinois State, was named the 2002 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the 2002 Male Athlete of the Year. The Rheinsburg, Germany native became the 2002 NCAA indoor mile champion in March and was extremely active both on campus and in the community.
Deborah Birrer, a record-setting swimmer, was named the 2002 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Indianapolis, Ind. native was a Bone Scholar (the highest academic honor awarded at Illinois State), a Verizon Academic All-American, a Presidential Scholar and a recipient of the Clifford Pop Horton Scholarship. She graduated with a cumulative 4.0 grade-point average.
Stacia Beste, a graduate student who finished her outstanding career at Illinois State in track and field/cross country last spring, was named the 2002 Female Athlete of the Year. The Shorewood, Wisc. native qualified and competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the Redbirds last season.
Mark Moellering, a member of the track and field team, was also honored as a 2002 Bone Scholar and a Red Tassel Mortarboard member.
Also highlighting the night was the banquets distinguished speaker, Roy Kramer. Kramer, who retired as commissioner of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) earlier this year, has played an instrumental role in the development of intercollegiate athletics over the past quarter of a century from the Bowl Championships to the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament.
"Roy is one of the premier leaders in intercollegiate athletics and his remarks and insights were outstanding and just what we wanted our student-athletes to hear, said Weisenburger. I hope everyone enjoyed tonight as much as we enjoyed hosting it."
