ASC Announces Fall Distinguished Scholar Athletes

1/25/2017 10:00:00 AM

ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes

RICHARDSON, Texas – Seven student-athletes from four different member universities headline the 2016 Fall American Southwest Conference Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams, the league office announced on Wednesday (Jan. 25).

The Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recipients include Taber Miyauchi of LeTourneau in men’s cross country, co-winners in women’s cross country as Shelby Spencer-Taylor of East Texas Baptist and Lindsey Rayborn of UT Dallas received honors. Conlan Aguirre of Hardin-Simmons in football, Sam Konstanty of UT Dallas in men’s soccer, Kami Jones of Hardin-Simmons in women’s soccer and Michelle Toro of UT Dallas in volleyball.

Konstanty, Jones and Toro are all repeat winners for the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the year in their respective sports.

UT Dallas had a repeat of its 2015 fall semester with another three Distinguished Scholar-Athlete awards in 2016. UTD joins Hardin-Simmons (2012) as the only member institutions with three fall awards.

Overall, 60 student-athletes were named to the American Southwest Conference 2016 Fall Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams.

The Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams recognizes 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.

Taber Miyauchi (Grand Lake, Colo. / Middle Park HS) is the second consecutive LeTourneau runner to be named the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in men’s cross country and gives LeTourneau a league-best three awards in men’s cross country. One of the top runners in the ASC, Miyauchi was a five-time ASC Runner of the Week. He took first place at the ASC Preview in Austin and led for a majority of the ASC Championship race before collapsing in the final 1,000 meters. Miyauchi bounced back to run the best race of his career at the NCAA Regional Meet (27:18) and finished as the highest ASC runner at 51st overall.

Shelby Taylor-Spencer and Lindsay Rayborn are the first co-recipients in women’s cross country.

Spencer (Flint, Texas / Home school) is the first East Texas Baptist runner to be named the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in women’s cross country. A three-time All-ASC recipient, Spencer finished seventh in the 2016 ASC Championship meet. She recorded two wins, five top-five finishes overall and was a two-time ASC Runner of the Week. Spencer competed in the NCAA Division III South / Southeast Regional Meet in each of the last four seasons and posted her best finish in 2016 at 57th. A three-time ASC All-Academic team honoree, Spencer was also a member of the Dean's List.

Rayborn (Pocatello, Idaho / Century HS) is the third UT Dallas runner to be named the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in women’s cross country following Samantha Tschirhart (2015) and Sam Hartke (2014). UT Dallas joins Louisiana College for the most awards in women’s cross country with three awards each. Rayborn led UTD to its first ASC championship this past fall, becoming the first UTD runner to claim individual medalist. She paced the Comets in all but one meet this season, winning three individual titles and was a three-time ASC Runner of the Week. After claiming the ASC title with a time of 22:59, she finished 17th at the NCAA Division III South / Southeast Regional Meet, earning All-Region honors.

Conlan Aguirre (Abilene, Texas / Abilene HS) is the third Hardin-Simmons student-athlete to be named the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in football following Travis Sugar (2012) and ZaVious Robbins (2010). Aguirre was a first-team All-ASC selection and was named CoSIDA Academic All-District, All-American and was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy. Aguirre leaves Hardin-Simmons having started 38 games in his career at cornerback.

Sam Konstanty (Missouri City, Texas / Elkins HS) is the first two-time men’s soccer Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in ASC history. Konstanty was named first team Academic All-America for the second straight season after leading the Comets to a second consecutive ASC title this past fall. Named ASC Defensive Player of the Year for a second consecutive season, Konstanty leaves UTD as the career record holder with 72 games started. Additionally, Konstanty was named a Scholar All-American by the NSCAA as a senior, becoming just the third Comet to earn the honor. He started all 20 games at outside back for the Comets as a senior and logged two assists. Konstanty was a three-time Academic All-ASC selection during his career and was the ASC’s Distinguished Scholar-Athlete for men’s soccer as a junior. He is also a member of the UTD Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Kami Jones (Comfort, Texas / Heritage HS) is the fifth consecutive HSU student-athlete to receive the women’s soccer Distinguished Scholar-Athlete award and the seventh overall in the 10-year history of the award. Jones also joins former HSU standout Amy Kuykendall (2008, 2010) as the only two-time recipients. A first-team scholar and athletic All-American by the NSCAA, Jones led the Cowgirls to the ASC title for the 14th straight year and to the NCAA Sweet 16. Jones was named the ASC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the ASC with 23 goals and 16 assists. She became the first student-athlete in ASC history to be named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in women’s soccer and is one of only two ASC recipients to receive that award for a specific sport.

Michelle Toro (Flower Mound, Texas / Marcus HS) receives her second consecutive volleyball Distinguished Scholar-Athlete award and joins former Mary Hardin-Baylor standout Kendall Pye (2013, 2014) as the only two-time recipients. Toro became the first UTD student-athlete to claim first team All-America and first team Academic All-America honors in the same season. After leading UTD to consecutive ASC championships, Toro was named the ASC East Division Most Valuable Player after leading the Comets to a 32-3 record and their first appearance in the NCAA Division III Regional Finals. Ending her career as a two-time All-American, Toro finished her senior season with 3.14 kills and 0.86 blocks per game along with a .333 hitting percentage. She was a five-time ASC East Division Player of the Week in 2016 and closed her career as UTD’s all-time leader in blocks and hitting percentage.

ASC Fall 2016 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams
(Sport's Distinguished Scholar-Athlete*)

Men’s Cross Country

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Taber Miyauchi*	LeTourneau	Sr.	Mechanical Engineering	Grand Lake, Colo.
Beau Billings	East Texas Baptist	So.	Biology	Mansfield, Texas
Michael Benoit	McMurry	So.	Kinesiology	Abilene, Texas
Vince Apodaca	Sul Ross State	Jr.	BBA Business Admin.	Anthony, Texas
Alireza Nourani	UT Dallas	So.	Mechanical Engineering	Plano, Texas
Gerardo Viera	UT Tyler	Sr.	Finance & Mathematics	Mesquite, Texas

Women’s Cross Country

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Shelby Taylor-Spencer*	East Texas Baptist	Sr.	Elementary Education	Flint, Texas
Lindsey Rayborn*	UT Dallas	Jr.	Geosciences	Pocatello, Idaho
Lydia Brandt	Belhaven	Jr.	Classical Education	Matthews, N.C.
Emily Villines	Concordia Texas	So.	Mathematics	Huntsville, Texas
Emily Olguin	Hardin-Simmons	So.	Exercise Science	Arlington, Texas
Elisa Hamm	LeTourneau	Sr.	Kinesiology-Ex. Science	San Diego, Calif.
Julie Henson	Louisiana College	Sr.	Nursing	Baton Rouge, La.
Kirsten DeFrance	McMurry	Sr.	Business	Odessa, Texas
Hannah Smith	Univ. of Ozarks	So.	Accounting	Blue Eye, Mo.
Alejandra Ruiz	Sul Ross State	Sr.	BA Psychology	Clint, Texas
Bethany Cox	UT Tyler	Sr.	Nursing	New Orleans, La.

Football

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Conlan Aguirre*	Hardin-Simmons	Sr.	Math Education	Abilene, Texas
Tanner Rogers	Belhaven	So.	Business	Florala, Ala.
Caleb Taylor	East Texas Baptist	Jr.	Nursing	Alba, Texas
Abner Reyes	Howard Payne	Jr.	Accounting	Irving, Texas
Ryan Morris	Louisiana College	Jr.	Biology	DeRidder, La.
Baylor Mullins	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Exercise Science	Merkel, Texas
Jamir Bowser	McMurry	Jr.	Computer Science	Austin, Texas
Stephen Slater	Sul Ross State	Jr.	BA History	Montalbo, Texas

Men’s Soccer

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Sam Konstanty*	UT Dallas	Sr.	Biomedical Engineering	Missouri City, Texas
Scott Malcolm	Belhaven	Sr.	Psychology	Glasgow, Scotland
Diego Outerial	Concordia Texas	Jr.	Business Administration	Cangas, Spain
Jordan Burke	East Texas Baptist	Jr.	Biology	League City, Texas
Tanner Coffin	Hardin-Simmons	Gr.	Kinesiology, Sport and Rec.	Farmer’s Branch
Andrew Stevenson	Howard Payne	Sr.	Social Studies Composite	Bangs, Texas
Brian Howell	LeTourneau	Jr.	Computer Engineering	Germantown, Md.
Chan Young Jin	Louisiana College	Sr.	Biology & Chemistry	Seoul, South Korea
Javier Zaragoza	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Jr.	Exercise Physiology	San Antonio, Texas
Thomas Ross	Univ. of Ozarks	So.	Mathematics	Heath, Texas
Leandro Cid-Fernandez	UT Tyler	Jr.	Civil Engineering	Cordoba, Argentina

Women’s Soccer

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Kami Jones*	Hardin-Simmons	Jr.	Chemistry/Molecular Biology	Comfort, Texas
Emily Chastain	Belhaven	Sr.	Social Work	Madison, Miss.
Maria Paula Vela	Concordia Texas	So.	Business Administration	Brownsville, Texas
Heather Brady	East Texas Baptist	Jr.	Business Management	Humble, Texas
Kaitlyn Harrison	Howard Payne	So.	Athletic Training	Watauga, Texas
Stephanie Vana	LeTourneau	Sr.	Kinesiology-Sports Ministry	La Verne, Calif.
Shannon French	Louisiana College	So.	Business Admin. /Business	Denham Springs, La.
Charis Brantley	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Sr.	Exercise Science	College Station, Texas
Victoria Chavez	McMurry	So.	Biomedical Science	Lubbock, Texas
Frances Adams	Univ. of Ozarks	Sr.	English/Environmental Studies	Plano, Texas
Mackenzie Attwood	Sul Ross State	Jr.	BS Kinesiology	Houston, Texas
Megan Mugavero	UT Dallas	Sr.	Supply Chain Management	Houston, Texas
Shelby Valdepena	UT Tyler	Sr.	Interdisciplinary Studies	Wylie, Texas

Volleyball

Name	University	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Michelle Toro*	UT Dallas	Sr.	Mechanical Engineering	Flower Mound, Texas
Kelly Aholt	Belhaven	Jr.	Biology	Scottsdale, Ariz.
Carly Custer	Concordia Texas	Jr.	Sports Administration	League City, Texas
Mallory Sanders	East Texas Baptist	Sr.	Kinesiology	Mansfield, Texas
Lauren Wish	Hardin-Simmons	Sr.	Finance/Accounting	Mansfield, Texas
Callie Molloy	Howard Payne	Sr.	Exercise and Sport Science	Memphis, Texas
Kelsie Jeffries	LeTourneau	So.	Mechanical Engineering	Collinsville, Ill.
Natasha Evans	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Jr.	Exercise Physiology	Edna, Texas
Katy Headrick	McMurry	Sr.	Nursing	Lubbock, Texas
Rachel Rivas	Sul Ross State	Sr.	BS Kinesiology	El Paso, Texas
Rebecca Floyd	UT Tyler	Sr.	Kinesiology	Rockwall, Texas

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