Aug. 17, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Choosing from all of the spectacular performances of the Illinois State athletic teams from 2007-08 is a difficult task. Every team had a stellar year and contributed to ISU winning the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Trophy. The basketball programs were no exception, as both the men's and women's teams boasted 20 wins and advanced to the postseason. For their contributions to their team's success, women's basketball guard Kristi Cirone and men's basketball guard Osiris Eldridge were named the 2008 Illinois State Athletes of the Year at the eighth annual Illinois State Walk of Champions on Sunday, August 17.
Cirone had the best season of her illustrious career as a junior. She was named the Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season, becoming just the fourth player in the history of the conference to achieve that feat, and was named first-team All-Valley, All-Valley Defensive Team and a first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete for the second-straight year. She also became the third player in school history to be named an all-American with honorable mention nods from the Associated Press and Women's Basketball Coaches Association. A three-time MVC Player of the Week, Cirone was named the State Farm MVC Tournament MVP while guiding the Redbirds to the title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. She led the conference in assists and ranked second in scoring and steals. Cirone scored her 1,000th point during the season, moved into the top-10 in career scoring at ISU and became the program's all-time leader in free throws.
"This is a really great honor," Cirone said after the ceremony. "To receive an award from the athletics department, especially one named in the honor of Jill Hutchison, really means a lot."
Eldridge guided the Redbirds to a 20-win season and a berth in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). He followed up his MVC Freshman of the Year award by finishing second in the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year voting as a sophomore. A first-team All-Valley selection, Eldridge led the Redbirds and ranked second in the Valley in scoring. His 17.1 points per game average in Valley play was the best in the conference. A two-time MVC Player of the Week, Eldridge had 28 double-digit scoring efforts in the final 31 games of the season, including a career-high 34 points against Indiana State.
"It is a great honor to receive this award and have my hard work recognized by others in the athletic department," Eldridge said. "An award like this is special because there were a lot of other great student-athletes who were nominated."
Ten student-athletes were nominated for the awards, which are perhaps the most-prestigious bestowed upon Redbird student-athletes. The six female student-athletes were Cirone, Tracy Deyell (swimming and diving), Meaghan Koshman (gymnastics), Erin Lindsey (volleyball), Yvonne Northover (soccer) and Devon Williams (track and field). The four male nominees were Luke Drone (football), Kevin Dubler (baseball), Eldridge and Alex Straughn (track and field).
