April 24, 2006
Seniors Stefanie Maynard (Pflugerville, TX/Pflugerville H.S.) and Westly Keating (Pharr, TX/University of Texas) received the UTPA Department of Intercollegiate Athletics' highest honors at the 2006 Athletic Banquet held at the McAllen Country Club on Sunday (Apr. 23).
Maynard, a senior women's golfer, was chosen as the Female Student-Athlete of the Year while Keating, a senior cross country runner, was selected the Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
Maynard was selected as the UTPA Female Student-Athlete of the Year for the first time in her career and became only the second women's golfer to earn that honors alongside Nancy Verastegui in 1995. The Lady Broncs' golfer became the program's all-time leader in career wins with five after she captured her third consecutive National Minority College Golf Championship in May of 2005.
This past fall season, Maynard posted four top-10 finishes and upping her total to 14 career top-10 finishes. She finished fifth overall at the CenturyTel/Bobcat Classic during the spring season, which was her 10th career top-five finish as a member of the Lady Bronc women's golf team. In her freshman season, Maynard was selected as the UTPA Female Newcomer of the Year award recipient.
This was the second time that Keating was selected as the UTPA Male Student-Athlete of the Year as he earned that distinction in 2003 after becoming the first athlete in program history to earn All-American honors in two different sports - cross country and outdoor track and field.
Keating finished fifth overall out of 253 runners at the 2005 NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships, earning All-American honors for the second time in his cross country career. He was also named the South Central Region Runner of the Year this past season, and became the first UTPA runner to win the NCAA Division I South Central Regional Championship when he broke a course record of 29:30.07 at Baylor University. He was a pre-season Independent Cross Country Runner of the Year selection.
Karla Hernandez (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg H.S), Danielle Holthe (Covina, CA/Bishop Amat Memorial), Deon Marquis (Tortola, Virgin Islands/B.V.I. H.S.), Amy Moses (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.), Devin Reed (Indianapolis, IN/Cowley County C.C.) and Elysia Sloan (Duncanville, TX/Duncanville H.S.) were also nominated for Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Louie Alamia (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.), Craig Berger (Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada/Wetaskiwin Composite H.S.), Will Littleton (Cuero, TX/Angelo State University), Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.), Oliver Steil (Brunssum, The Netherlands/AF North International School) and Isaac Ybarra (Mission, TX/Sharyland H.S.) were also nominated for Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
Littleton and freshman Kellie Phillips (Chandler, AZ/Corona del Sol H.S.) were also honored as the Male and Female Newcomer of the Year award recipients at the UTPA Athletic Banquet.
Littleton became the second-ever member of the UTPA track and field program to earn All-American honors during the indoor season after he finished eighth overall in the high jump at the 2006 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field National Championships. The UTPA junior cleared a school record height of 7-2.50 at nationals. He won three meets - George Mason, University of Florida and LSU - and broke three school records in a span of six days.
In her rookie season, Phillips garnered second team All-Independent honors en route to posting one of the best all-around seasons in program history. She was named the Independent Newcomer of the Week on five occasions and was once named the Independent Offensive Player of the Week. She finished with a team-high 353 kills, which ranked her 10th in the UTPA single-season record books and 10th among all NCAA Division I Independent players.
Luis Nava (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.), Sal Gonzales (Los Fresnos, TX/Los Fresnos H.S.), Osiel Flores (Mission, TX/UT-Brownsville), Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) and Shane Pearce (Carrollton, TX/Hebron H.S.) were nominated for Male Newcomer of the Year.
Amanda Ferris (San Antonio, TX/Dillard McCollum H.S.), Michelle Elizondo (Laredo, TX/Alexander H.S.), Rose Escovedo (Edinburg, TX/Edinburg North H.S.) and Teshay Winfrey (Houston, TX/Eisenhower H.S.) were nominated for Female Newcomer of the Year.
Stacey Gooden (Houston, TX/J. Frank Dobie H.S.), a member of the women's basketball team, was selected as the recipient of the Ann LaMantia Award, which is presented annually to a female student-athlete that has excelled in the classroom. Otis Powers (Brownsville, TX/Simon Rivera H.S.), a member of the baseball team, was presented with the Lou Hassel Award for the senior male student-athlete who has achieved the highest grade point average.
For the second consecutive year, the UTPA women's basketball team was presented with the Image Award, which is given to a program that demonstrates a commitment to community service, athletic integrity and academic excellence. Some of the Lady Broncs' community service projects included holiday caroling at the Comfort House, visiting with the Bridges Nursing Home, visiting nine Winter Texan parks and working with the Rio Grande Valley Jammers in a mentoring capacity.
The UTPA Department of Intercollegiate Athletics also honored the Most Valuable Players for each of its 14 NCAA Division I programs: Louie Alamia (Baseball), Dexter Shankle (Men's Basketball), Westly Keating (Men's Cross Country), Will Littleton (Men's Indoor Track and Field), Isaac Ybarra (Men's Outdoor Track and Field), Craig Berger (Men's Golf), Oliver Steil (Men's Tennis), Devin Reed (Women's Basketball), Karla Hernandez (Women's Cross Country), Amy Moses (Women's Outdoor Track and Field), Deon Marquis (Women's Indoor Track and Field), Danielle Holthe (Women's Volleyball), Stefanie Maynard (Women's Golf) and Elysia Sloan (Women's Tennis).
Tony Forina, host of the Sportsline on ESPN Radio 1240 AM, served as the master of ceremonies.
UTPA Sports Information