COLLEGE STATION – Aggie student-athletes Maggie Malone and Alex Sezer were each presented with the Distinguished Letterman Award on Monday evening during Texas A&M Athletics’ fourth-annual Building Champions Awards gala held in the Hall of Champions at Kyle Field.
Awards were also presented for various academic, service, leadership and athletic endeavors.
Athletes of the Year: Fred Kerley (Track & Field), Sydney Pickrem (Swimming & Diving)
Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete: Sarah Gibson (Swimming & Diving), Alex Sezer (Football)
Newcomer of the Year: Hollann Hans (Volleyball), Mylik Kerley (Track & Field), Robert Williams (Basketball)
Lohman Inspiration Award: Jonathan Tybur (Swimming & Diving)
DISTINGUISHED LETTERMAN AWARD
The Distinguished Letterman Award is the highest award presented to a student-athlete once a year by the athletics department. The individual is someone who displays extraordinary talents in the areas of athletics, scholarship, leadership and service.
Malone, a member of the women’s track and field team in 2015 and 2016, earned SEC and NCAA titles in the javelin during an undefeated senior collegiate campaign. She established a collegiate record of 204 feet in winning the NCAA championship.
Malone is a 2016-17 recipient of an NCAA Women’s Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship. She is a member of the Maroon Coats, a student assistant coach, an Academic All-American and has been named to the SEC honor roll. Community involvement by Malone has included being a member of SAAC and volunteering with Buddy Walk, Reading Night at Navarro Elementary and Aggies Move.
A victory during the U.S. Olympic Trials earned Malone a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she represented the United States in the Olympic Games. Malone became the first female to win NCAA and Olympic Trials javelin titles in the same season. Malone graduates this May with a bachelor’s of education in human resource development with minors in business and communication.
Sezer, a three-year letterman with the Aggie football team, graduated magna cum laude with a degree in engineering-industrial distribution and a minor in business. Sezer served as team captain during the 2016 season and earned football’s Aggie Heart Award.
Sezer has been named to the All-SEC Academic team twice while being on the SEC honor roll and Texas A&M AD honor roll every year. He also received the 2016 FCA College Character of Excellence Award this year. Sezer was a Leadership Class Captain for football, and his community involvement has included serving as a volunteer with Special Olympics, Twin City Missions, the Big Event and Aggies CAN.
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Texas A&M’s Athlete of the Year honors were awarded to Fred Kerley and Sydney Pickrem. This award is presented to the top male and female student-athletes based upon athletic excellence over the past year.
Kerley, a senior on the track and field team, finished the indoor season as the 2017 world leader in the 400m with a time of 44.85 seconds, which won the NCAA Indoor title and makes him the fourth-fastest performer with the fifth-fastest performance on the all-time world list. In winning the SEC Indoor title at 400m, Kerley ran 45.21 after he registered the fastest time ever run on an oversized track with his prelim time of 44.94 seconds.
In addition to breaking the Texas A&M indoor 400m record three times, Kerley was part of a collegiate indoor record in the 4×400 set by the Aggies as well as a collegiate outdoor record in the sprint medley relay.
Pickrem, a sophomore with the swimming and diving team, represented Canada in the Rio Olympics, placing sixth in the final of the 200 IM. She broke the oldest school individual record in the 200 IM and won SEC titles in the 400 IM, 200 breaststroke and as a part of the 800 freestyle relay.
At the NCAA Championships, Pickrem recorded top eight finishes in three events as she placed second in the 400 IM with a school record, finished fourth in the 200 IM as she improved her school record, and placed fourth in the 200 breast. Another achievement for Pickrem was joining an elite group of swimmers who have broken the four-minute barrier in the 400 IM at the short course yards length.
BILL ERWIN SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Recipients of the Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete of the Year were Sarah Gibson and Alex Sezer.
Gibson, who also received this award last year, recently was honored by the SEC as this year’s H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She will graduate in May with a degree in biomedical engineering while carrying a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Gibson earned SEC Swimmer of the Meet as well as high point honors in 2017 as she won three individual events and was on two winning relays. Gibson was also Co-SEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Swimming and Diving. The Aggies won the SEC team title and registered a third place team finish at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish in Texas A&M swimming and diving history.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Newcomer of the Year was awarded to Hollann Hans and shared on the men’s side between Mylik Kerley and Robert Williams.
A freshman member of the volleyball team, Hans earned the second highest number of kills (280) on the team as an outside hitter and led the team in service aces with 24. Honors for Hans included AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year, being named to the SEC All-Freshman team along with AVCA All-South Region honorable mention.
Williams, a freshman member of the basketball team, was chosen as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year while being named to the All-SEC Second team and All-SEC Freshman team. Williams led the SEC in rebounds and led the Aggie team in rebounds (253) and blocked shots (77). He currently has the nation’s longest active streak of block shots (31).
A junior transfer in his first year with the track and field team, Mylik Kerley delivered a signature moment as Texas A&M hosted the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. Running the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay, the final event in the meet, Kerley rallied the Aggies to victory as he overcame a deficit to Florida and claimed the lead with less than 30m remaining in the race.
The relay win, in a meet record, propelled Texas A&M to its first-ever NCAA Indoor team championship by half a point over the Gators. Kerley also supplied points towards the national title by finishing third in the 400m final.
LOHMAN INSPIRATION AWARD
Receiving the Lohman Inspiration Award was Jonathan Tybur with men’s swimming, who qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials and advanced to the finals at the 2017 NCAA Championships after overcoming a severe diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis, which included stomach pain and dramatic weight loss, as a teenager.
One of the premier male swimmers in the nation as a 15-year-old, Tybur began experiencing a number of health issues as he was peaking athletically. After being admitted to Texas Children’s Hospital, he was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, an incurable disease that involves the large intestine and impacts the health of the colon.
As a result Tybur went from having multiple prospective scholarship offers to accepting a spot as a walk-on swimmer at Texas A&M. Eventually, after monitoring his diet, regaining weight and strength, as well as adjusting to a treatment regimen, Tybur began to progress athletically. Among the Aggie swim team he has been voted team captain, received the most improved award, earned a scholarship for his sophomore year, and was selected for the Aggie Heart Award. Tybur has even become an advocate for the disease in hopes of helping find a cure.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics