Texas A&M Holds third-annual Building Champions Awards

COLLEGE STATION – Karlie Mueller received the President’s Distinguished Letterman’s Award on Monday evening during Texas A&M Athletics’ third-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.

The President’s Distinguished Letterman’s Award is the highest award presented to a student-athlete once a year by the athletics department. This individual is someone who displays extraordinary talents in the areas of athletics, scholarship, leadership and service.

Mueller, a senior member of Aggie soccer from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, served as team captain in 2015. She earned All-South Region and All-SEC second team honors this past fall as well as being named to the Academic All-District team. With a 3.434 GPA and graduating this month with a degree in Allied Health, Mueller has been named to the SEC All-Academic team and SEC Fall Honor Roll three times. She has also been on the Athletics Directors All-Academic List three years.

Mueller was a member of the A&M soccer teams that claimed SEC regular season titles and tournament championships in 2013 and 2014 as well as reaching the semifinals of the NCAA tournament in 2014.

A recipient of the SEC Brad Davis Community Service Postgraduate Scholarship for the 2015-16 academic year, Mueller also received the Margaret Rudder Community Service award for 2016. She served as co-founder and president of the Texas A&M chapter of Love Your Melon, an organization that raises awareness and funds for pediatric cancer patients and research through a buy-one give-one program.

Finalists for the President’s Distinguished Letterman’s Award included Angela Lowak, volleyball; Logan Pluhar, equestrian; and Alex Sezer, football.

Texas A&M’s Athletes of the Year honors were awarded to Alex Caruso and Shamier Little. This award is presented to the top male and female student-athletes based upon athletic excellence and team leadership.

Caruso, a senior member of the basketball team from College Station, capped his four years with the program with a memorable journey the Aggies enjoyed to the Sweet 16 during the NCAA tournament this season following their first regular season league title since 1986 when they shared the 2015-16 SEC title.

 

Named the Defensive Player of the Year by CBS Sports, Caruso is Texas A&M’s all-time assist and steals leader who earned second team All-SEC honors and was named to the SEC All-Defensive team by the conference coaches. He also became the only player in SEC history to compile over 1,000 career points (1,090), 600 assists (649), 500 rebounds (513), 250 steals (276) and 50 blocks (59).

Little, a junior with the track and field team from Chicago, Illinois, earned a silver medal in the 400m hurdles at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China, following a campaign that included multiple titles amid an undefeated collegiate season.

 

An eight time All-American, Little won the SEC Championships, her second NCAA Championship title along with the U.S. Championships in 2015. Her summer of international competition started with a gold medal in the 400m hurdles and 4×400 relay at the Pan American Games in Toronto.

In capturing the NCAA title with a school record time of 53.74 seconds, Little produced the third fastest winning time in the event and fourth best collegiate time ever. Little became the first hurdler to claim SEC and NCAA titles in the same year since 2006 and the first to win NCAA and U.S. titles in the same season since 2004.

Male Athlete of the Year finalists included Nick Banks, baseball; Latario Collie, track and field; and Myles Garrett, football. Finalists for the women’s Athlete of the Year included Sarah Gibson, swimming and diving; Mikaela Harvey, soccer; and Courtney Walker, basketball.

Recipients of the Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete of the Year were Sarah Gibson and Antoine Marc, both members of the swimming and diving teams. The Texas A&M team with the highest cumulative GPA was women’s swimming and diving.

Gibson, who has a 4.0 GPA in biomedical engineering, was an NCAA qualifier in three events as well as SEC champion in the 100 fly and a member of the SEC champion relay squad in the 400 medley relay. Marc, who has a 3.867 GPA with a double major in cellular biology and mathematics, also earned a SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Postgraduate Scholarship. Marc became an individual and relay point scorer during the SEC Championships after initially joining the team via a try-out.

Finalists for the Scholar-Athlete award included Karis Jochen, track and field; Shelby Sullivan, volleyball; Conner McQueen, football; and Shane Vinsant, tennis.

The male Newcomer of the Year went to Christian Kirk from football while the female award was shared between Samantha Show with softball and Sydney Pickrem from swimming and diving. The Newcomer award is presented to a student-athlete who has made significant athletic contributions during their initial year at Texas A&M while exhibiting the core values of integrity, loyalty and respect as they excel at their sports.

Kirk was named SEC Freshman of the Year following a season in which he lead the Aggie football team in receptions (70), receiving yards (925), all-purpose yards (1,659), punt return yards (341), kickoff return yards (348) and total touchdowns (8). Honors for Kirk also included AP SEC Newcomer of the Year and 2015 Freshman All-America Team.

Show has pitched the Aggie softball team to 21 wins so far this season and recorded 150 strikeouts. At the plate she has supplied nine home runs and 21 runs batted in. Pickrem was named SEC Freshman Swimmer of the Year and earned All-American honors in the three events this season after claiming an SEC title in the 400 IM.

Finalists for Newcomer of the Year included Anriel Howard, basketball; Tyler Davis, basketball; and Donavan Brazier, track and field.

Receiving the Lohman Inspiration Awards were Haley Pounds from soccer and Dylan Siebenaler with men’s golf. This award, presented by Mrs. Carolyn Lohman, recognizes the student-athletes at Texas A&M who have demonstrated integrity, and most importantly, perseverance in overcoming incredible challenges in pursuit of their education. They are role models for others who have faced adversity in their own lives and thought about giving up.

Pounds overcame depression and her emotional recovery opened the door for her to return to her team and compete at an even higher level.  She earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the season and led the team in scoring on their way to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.

As Siebenaler received 63 rounds of chemotherapy and suffered through the side effects of his treatment, he remained dedicated to his studies while putting in the hours of practice needed to return to competition. Through a courageous journey Siebenaler had to endure largely on his own, he returned to golf competition a year after his diagnosis.

The Maroon Award, the most distinguished and highest honor given to a supporter of Aggie athletics, was awarded to Dr. Tom Adair, who has served many roles in his illustrious Texas A&M professional career.

In addition to teaching physics to Aggie students for 50 years, Dr. Adair has also been a tireless supporter of Texas A&M sports, serving as the Faculty Athletics Representative through three conference affiliations and 35 years of service as well as on the Athletics Council. Adair has also represented Texas A&M on various NCAA cabinets and committees including the NCAA Division I Academic Cabinet, the NCAA Division I Academics, Eligibility and Compliance Cabinet, the NCAA Core-Course Review Committee, and the NCAA Division I Progress-Toward-Degree Waivers Committee.

The Adair family has also committed a multimillion dollar gift to the Texas A&M Foundation, directing a portion to the Department of Physics and the newly established Texas A&M Coaching Academy as well as the Department of Student Activities.

Sr. Assoc. Dir. of Athletics, Raymond M. Harrison, Jr.

 

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics