Aug. 20, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
Stafford Davis and Samantha Richdale were commonly overlooked, as the Illinois State football standout and women's golf star were not often recognized because of his unglamorous position at center for the Redbird football team and her golf team often being ignored despite their annual success. But that is no longer the case for the duo as Davis and Richdale have been named the 2005-06 Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
The pair were announced as the Milt Weisbecker Male Athlete of the Year and the Jill Hutchison Female Athlete of the Year, respectively, Sunday, at the sixth annual Walk of Champions on the campus of Illinois State. The announcement was made at the conclusion of the ceremony by Director of Athletics Sheahon Zenger.
Assistant Athletics Director for Academics and Life Skills Jane Fulton, who is in charge of the nomination and voting process, was pleased with the selections.
"I'm very excited for Stafford as he is just such a quality person," said Fulton. "He played a position at center in which it is hard to build a lot of statistics and he didn't get recognized very often. The fact that he has been honored with this award is a tribute to him. Stafford is so deserving of this honor and I'm pleased that the coaches and individuals who vote on these awards really recognized his contribution to Illinois State and the football team.
"Samantha is your model student-athlete," Fulton continued. "She excels in both the classroom, as well as in her athletic venue. Her great attention to detail has helped her win Valley medalist honors three times and helped her to set so many school records. Again, those that voted did a great job of recognizing her work ethic, as she is certainly worthy of this honor and a great role model for all students."
Davis was a four-year letterwinner in football and extended his consecutive start streak to 46 after 11 starts at center in 2005. He anchored the No. 1-ranked passing offense in the Gateway Football Conference.
The Orange Park, Fla., native garnered several All-American honors in 2005, including: the Sports Network First Team, AFCA First Team, Associate Pres First Team, CollegeSportsReport.com I-AA Second Team. Additionally, Davis was a 2005 Draddy Trophy semi-finalist and was a member of the All-Gateway First Team.
Also a success in the classroom, Davis graduated in December 2005 with a bachelor's degree, as he majored in business administration. The offensive lineman earned a 3.03 GPA, while being picked to the 2005 GFC All-Academic Second Team and was also a NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award nominee.
A Missouri Valley All-Conference selection in each of her four years, Richdale was the medalist at the 2003, 2004 and 2006 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship. She was the first Valley player, male or female, to earn medalist honors three times.
In 2006, Richdale qualified for the NCAA Central Regional as one of the region's top three individual golfers. She then tied for 15th at the NCAA Central Regional, as she was just one stroke shy of earning an individual spot at the NCAA Finals. Richdale currently holds the school record for a three-round low score at 214 as she won three tournaments in the spring, while averaging the Valley's best stroke average of 73.9.
Richdale, a native of Kelowna, B.C., was named the MVC Golfer of the Week five times last in 2006 and set a Valley record by being awarded this honor 17 times in her career. The chemistry major was also named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete first team, an accolade she claimed three times while at Illinois State.
Named after deserving members of the Illinois State family, the Milt Weisbecker and Jill Hutchison Athlete of the Year Awards were voted to distinction by Redbird head coaches and athletic administrators.
