The Ohio Valley Conference held its annual Honors Brunch on Friday at the Green Hills Hilton in Nashville. It marked the first in-person Honors Brunch since 2019.
The top awards in the conference were handed out at the event, including Male and Female Athletes of the Year and the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award.
In addition former Southeast Missouri volleyball coach and administrator Cindy Gannon was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame. Also the OVC Hall of Fame Classes of 2020 (Tom Akers, Rick Byrd, Rob Schabert) and 2021 (Phil Dane, Connie Keasling, Teresa Phillips) were honored, after previously being honored virtually due to the pandemic.
EIU swept the Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards with distance runners Dustin Hatfield and Lindsey Carlson winning the awards for the Panthers. Hatfield becomes the fifth EIU male winner of the award while Carlson was the third EIU female award winner. Former EIU track and field head coach Tom Akers became the second EIU member inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame joining former football coach Bob Spoo.
Below is a complete list of award winners for 2021-22. Check out a photo gallery of the event at the top of the page as well.
2021-22 Award Winners
Male Athlete of the Year: Dustin Hatfield, Eastern Illinois
Female Athlete of the Year: Lindsey Carlson, Eastern Illinois
Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award: Grace Powderly, Southeast Missouri
Commissioner's Cup: Belmont
Institutional Sportsmanship: SIUE
Thurston Banks Awards: Jaci DeClue, SIUE and Dr. Rob Owens, Tennessee Tech
2022 Hall of Fame: Cindy Gannon, Southeast Missouri
Original source can be found here.
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