Fall Distinguished Scholar-Athletes Announced by the ASC

1/21/2016 1:00:00 PM

ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes List

RICHARDSON, Texas - Six student-athletes from four different member universities headline the Fall 2015 American Southwest Conference Distinguished Scholar-Athlete teams, the league office announced on Thursday (Jan. 21).

The Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recipients include Luke Funk of LeTourneau in men's cross country; Samantha Tschirhart of Texas Dallas in women's cross country; Pierce Thedford III of Mary Hardin-Baylor in football; Sam Konstanty of Texas Dallas in men's soccer; Kami Jones of Hardin-Simmons in women's soccer; and Michelle Toro of Texas Dallas in volleyball.

Overall, 61 student-athletes were announced as members of the American Southwest Conference Fall 2015 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete teams.

The Distinguished Scholar-Athlete teams recognize student-athletes who achieve a high level of academic achievement (a 3.20 grade-point average or better) while competing as a starter or important reserve on their team. From that list - limited to one nominee per school in each ASC championship sport - the sports information directors from the 13 ASC member institutions select a Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in each sport.

Texas Dallas had its best fall semester with three Distinguished Scholar-Athlete awards joining Hardin-Simmons (2012) as the only member institutions to earn three fall awards.

Luke Funk is the first LeTourneau runner to be named the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in men's cross country. A two-time ASC All-Academic honoree, Funk is one of five members of the LeTourneau men's cross country team to earn a 4.0 grade point average in the fall. His 20th-place finish at the 2015 ASC Cross Country Championships secured a second-place finish for the YellowJackets, who competed at the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championship for a fifth straight year.

Samantha Tschirhart is the second consecutive Comets' runner to receive the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete award in women's cross country. The fourth-place finisher at the ASC Cross Country Championships (25:06), Tschirhart earned first team All-ASC honors while leading Texas Dallas to its second consecutive runner-up finish. Tschirhart ran in all six meets for the Comets with three top-10 finishes and placed 60th at the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region Championships (24:32).

Pierce Thedford III ard recipient. Thedford led UMHB to a conference tri-championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Championship quarterfinals. He led the Cru defense with 116 total tackles, including 12.5 tackles for loss, and intercepted two passes with one for a touchdown. Thedford was honored with the UMHB President Cup, awarded to the outstanding all-around student at commencement ceremonies in December.

Sam Konstanty is the first Texas Dallas men's soccer player to be chosen as the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete. ASC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2015, Konstanty was named second team All-West Region by the NSCAA. A first team CoSIDA Academic All-American and a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Konstanty led the Comets to their first ASC title since 2007, earning All-Tournament honors in the process. He played and started 20 games and collected four assists as one of UTD's starting outside defensemen. Konstanty helped the team post a school-record 13 shutouts in 2015 and hold four opponents without a shot on goal.

Kami Jones is the fourth consecutive Hardin-Simmons women's soccer player named the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and the sixth overall. Jones was voted the ASC Offensive Player of the Year after leading all conference players in goals (25) and second in assists (16). Named first-team all-ASC and first-team all-region, Jones received CoSIDA academic all-district honors.

Michelle Toro is the first Texas Dallas player to be named the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in volleyball. Named to the AVCA All-America third team and the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team, Toro played in all 34 matches for the Comets and finished the season sixth in NCAA Division III with a school-record .399 hitting percentage. Toro led the Comets to the ASC title and a second-round appearance in the Division III tournament. An All-ASC performer, she was tabbed AVCA National Player of the Week (Oct. 20).

ASC Fall 2015 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams
( * Designates Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in the sport)

Men's Cross Country

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Luke Funk *	LeTourneau	Sr.	Mechanical Engineering	Siloam Springs, Ark.
Marco Morales	Concordia Texas	So.	Business Marketing	Dallas, Texas
Landon Price	East Texas Baptist	Gr.	Religion	Mount Vernon, Texas
Kirk Hodel	McMurry	Jr.	Physics	Kerrville, Texas
Samuel Binns	Ozarks	Jr.	English	Hot Springs, Ark.
Keishi Mii	Texas Dallas	So.	Computer Science	Midlothian, Texas
Matthew Markert	Texas-Tyler	Sr.	Economics	Lucas, Texas

Women's Cross Country

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Samantha Tschirhart*	Texas Dallas	So.	Actuarial Science	Castroville, Texas
Kathryn Lee	Belhaven	Jr.	Dance	Okotoks, Alberta, Canada
Bonnie Warrick	Concordia Texas	Jr.	Business Management	Austin, Texas
Shelby Taylor	East Texas Baptist	Jr.	Kinesiology	Marshall, Texas
Paige Goen	Hardin-Simmons	Sr.	Exercise Science	Patillo, Texas
Whitney Judd	LeTourneau	Jr.	Business Administration	Azle, Texas
Haley Brown	Louisiana College	Jr.	English Education	Deridder, La.
Mary Affleck	McMurry	Sr.	Accounting	Bradford, Ontario, Canada
Nena Evans	Ozarks	Sr.	Environmental Studies	Bergman, Ark.
Alejandra Ruiz	Sul Ross State	Jr.	Psychology	Clint, Texas
Brittany Brunson	Texas-Tyler	Sr.	Health Studies	Austin, Texas

Football

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Pierce Thedford III *	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Exercise Science	Ganado, Texas
Sean Tierney	Belhaven	So.	Sports Broadcasting	Keller, Texas
Ryan Travis	East Texas Baptist	So.	Business	Jacksonville, Texas
Conlan Aguirre	Hardin-Simmons	Jr.	Math	Abilene, Texas
Luis Robles	Howard Payne	Sr.	Criminal Justice	Florence, Texas
Jake Dunbar	Louisiana College	Sr.	Pre-Physical Therapy	Marksville, La.
Blayne Champlin	McMurry	So	Biomedical Science	Arlington, Texas
Stephen Slater	Sul Ross State	So.	History	Montalba, Texas

Men's Soccer

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Sam Konstanty *	Texas Dallas	Jr.	Biomedical Engineering	Missouri City, Texas
Jonathan Dickson	Belhaven	Sr.	Sports Med. / Exercise Science	Tyler, Texas
Nick Martin	Concordia Texas	Sr.	Finance	Silver City, N.M.
Jordan Burke	East Texas Baptist	So.	Biology	League City, Texas
Rowan Meyer	Hardin-Simmons	Jr.	Accounting	Woodway, Texas
Ruben Lemus	Howard Payne	So.	Exercise and Sport Science	Salado, Texas
Jay Huemoeller	LeTourneau	Sr.	Business Administration	San Lorenzo, Calif.
Ben Hammonds	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Business Administration	Flower Mound, Texas
Michael von Ende-Becker	McMurry	Sr.	Mathematics	Lubbock, Texas
Austin Benner	Ozarks	Sr.	Management / Administration	Allen, Texas
Trevor Self	Texas-Tyler	Sr.	Civil Engineering	New Braunfels, Texas

Women's Soccer

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Kami Jones *	Hardin-Simmons	So.	Biochemistry / Molecular Biology	Comfort, Texas
Rachyl Sutton	Belhaven	Jr.	Business Administration	Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Sarah Kirkland	Concordia Texas	Sr.	Environmental Science	Georgetown, Texas
Kristi Freund	East Texas Baptist	So.	Kinesiology	Pearland, Texas
Brittany Davis	Howard Payne	So.	Psychology	Red Oak, Texas
Raylene Gould	LeTourneau	Jr.	Biology	Fremont, Calif.
Jayme Luneau	Louisiana College	Jr.	Physical Therapist Assistant	Pineville, La.
Sarah Rempe	Mary Hardin-Baylor	So.	Cellular Biology	Lewisville, Texas
Holiday Williams	McMurry	Sr.	Exercise Sci. / Human Perf.	Bedford, Texas
Hannah Carter	Ozarks	Sr.	Biology	Tulsa, Okla.
Shelby Stegent	Sul Ross State	Sr.	Interdisciplinary Studies	Eustace, Texas
Megan Mugavero	Texas Dallas	Jr.	Supply Chain Management	Houston, Texas
Laurel Boyd	Texas-Tyler	Sr.	Kinesiology	Austin, Texas

Volleyball

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Michelle Toro *	Texas Dallas	Jr.	Mechanical Engineering	Flower Mound, Texas
Chae Levy	Belhaven	Sr.	Graphic Design	Waveland, Miss.
Skye Truss	Concordia Texas	Sr.	Finance	Gatesville, Texas
Mallory Sanders	East Texas Baptist	Jr.	Kinesiology	Mansfield, Texas
Lauren Wish	Hardin-Simmons	Jr.	Finance / Accounting	Mansfield, Texas
Analisa Anzaldua	Howard Payne	Fr.	Nursing	Hutto, Texas
Kayla Ronda	LeTourneau	Gr.	Marketing / Business Admin.	Chandler, Ariz.
Shelby Prather	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Mathematics	Leander, Texas
Katy Headrick	McMurry	Jr.	Nursing	Lubbock, Texas
Breann Sturges	Sul Ross State	So.	Range Animal Science	Woodlake, Calif.
Amanda Colegrove	Texas-Tyler	Sr.	Social Sciences	The Colony, Texas

Related Headlines