DALLAS – American Southwest Conference Director of Athletics selected
Rangel "RJ" Miller from East Texas Baptist and
Lilly Hill from Ozarks as the 2023-24 ASC Community Service Athlete of the Year Recipients.
The ASC Community Service Award is presented for the 14th time this year and honors a male and female student-athlete who best displays leadership and action in fostering community service on their campus and local community. Each ASC member institution can nominate student-athletes to the conference-wide ballot.
Miller, a graduate student on the men's track and field team, has been a model student-athlete during his time at ETBU and has excelled in all his athletic, academic, and service endeavors as a Tiger. He is a servant-leader that is always looking for ways to serve and love others within the ETBU family, as well as in the Marshall community. Miller, a track and field athlete, has spent the past four years at ETBU, where he has been a Resident Assistant, President of the ETBU FCA Chapter, served in his local church, New Beginnings Baptist Church, all while continuing to dominate on the track, at the conference and national levels. Miller has been a six-time ASC Champion on the track as well as being the becoming the first track and field All-American at ETBU, after placing eighth in the 400-meter dash at the 2022 NCAA Division III National Track and Field Championships. RJ has served at FCA Camps in Colorado, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, as well as serving at local FCA chapters throughout East Texas and the Shreveport/Bossier City areas. He has also volunteered at Night to Shine, Fields of Faith, New Student Orientation at ETBU, Operation Christmas Child, served as a high school boys life group leader at NBCC, and at numerous high school and middle school track meets.
Hill, a junior on the women's soccer team, has been involved with numerous community service-oriented projects throughout the year. Hill helped pack shoeboxes full of toys, hygiene kits, clothing and other needed items for impoverished children around the world for Operation Christmas Child. During the week of Valentine's Day, Hill and her teammates went to Making Abilities Count where they decorated the facility, provided a craft table and danced with the clients. She attended a Children's book signing for a person from Making Abilities Count who is autistic. Hill has also worked at Pediatrics Plus, a summer camp working with disabled youth, and will again work there this summer. She is also a tutor for the Jones Learning Center on campus. She is a member of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society and American Southwest Conference Academic All-Conference Team.
2023-24 ASC Community Service Award Nominees
Biographical information provided by each student-athletes' sports information director.
MEN'S NOMINEES
Jordan Oberbillig | Hardin-Simmons | Junior | Tennis
Jordan is actively involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also helped with our Special Olympics Track Meet.
Caedmon Liebengood | LeTourneau | Junior | Basketball
Liebengood volunteers with his One Hope Presbyterian Church as part of the worship team and in other areas. He is part of LeTourneau's worship team for chapel services and has worked with LeTourneau's Passage Institute camp. Majoring in scripture and theology, Liebengood carries a 3.89 GPA.
Sheperd Miller | McMurry | Junior | Track & Field
Shepherd Miller is a great candidate that embodies every aspect of this award. For starters, Shepherd is one of the top athletes in the ASC in the pole vault, javelin, 100, and decathlon. However, more impressively, is how involved he is in spiritual life within the community. Shepherd is heavily involved in the Tri-College FCA and serves in a leadership role within their organization. There is rarely a Monday evening where you don't find him at the FCA weekly huddles. The most impressive thing I have seen from Shep this season is him and a couple others on the team setting up bible studies in the hotels the night before competitions when we are traveling. In addition to that, there is not an athlete on our team that is more committed to servant leadership then Shepherd. He is always the first to volunteer for anything that needs to be done when we are setting up for home track and field events. He is also at every community service project that we set up for our team.
Omar Ibarra | Sul Ross State | Junior | Basketball
Omar is the President of our Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Along with being very involved with community engagement he has completed an undergraduate degree and a graduate degree in 3 years here at SRSU. Omar received the Graduate Student Leader of the Year Award, and the Lobo Service Leader Award. Omar has been seen everywhere through his community service outreach. He helped with Fall Carnival, Museum of the Big Bend Educational Program Tours and Activities 5 times, NCAA Inclusion Week, Trunk-or-Treat, First Generation Student Celebration, Alpine Elementary Welcoming, Alpine ISD Inclusion Field Day and Hall of Honor. Omar did all of this on top of taking 12 Graduate Level hours in the fall and playing basketball along the way. Omar goes the extra mile to make sure his SRSU is well represented and is very deserving of this award.
Rohan Springer | UT Dallas | Junior | Cross Country/Track & Field
Spring is an ASC representative to NCAA DIII SAAC. President of UTD SAAC. Hosted a SAAC service project donating Christmas gifts for Salvation Army Angel Tree. Hosted SAAC service project decorating coloring pages for troops overseas and children in need. Hosted SAAC service project knitting blankets for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or in need. Packed meals at Feed My Starving Children. Packed meals at Minnie's Food Pantry. Laid wreaths on graves at DFW National Cemetery for Wreaths Across America. Colored pages for troops overseas and children in need at Color a Smile.
WOMEN'S NOMINEES
Erin Berry | East Texas Baptist | Senior | Basketball
Erin was involved in a lot of organizations on and off campus. She helped lead FCA on campus, served at Mission Marshall, where she helped stock the food bank and box meals for families in need. She served at the Children's Village of Tyler, organized the Stutters Tyler Rose Parade, Bullard Little Dribblers Basketball Association, Hwy 69 Misson cleanup - Jacksonville, Tiger Camp Projects, and was a member of the Psi Chi International honors society.
Kaylen McNatt | Hardin-Simmons | Senior | Soccer
Kaylen McNatt was awarded the HSU Tri-College FCA Student of the Year. She has led TEAM Bible studies & has been a light to her community.
Haily Bass | LeTourneau | Sophomore | Track & Field
Just a sophomore athletically but a senior academically, Bass made her presence known during her two years as a YellowJacket. Within LeTourneau, Bass served as the Student Athlete Advisory Committee president during 2023-24 and as a student ambassador for the executive cabinet. Active in her local church, Bass has been a youth teacher at Church on Purpose in Longview and led a Monday Morning Prayer session at the church. She also volunteers with Martin House Child Advocacy Center. Bass is a leader on her team. Bass frequently encourages and pushes her teammates and reminds the team, and herself, that God has blessed them all with the ability to compete and to glorify Him through their talents. Bass was this year's R.G. LeTourneau Award recipient at the University for her displays of Christian attitude and leadership in the classroom, on campus, in the community, and in her sport.
Trista Brown | Sophomore | McMurry | Softball
Trista is one of the most self-sacrificing people I have ever met. She constantly puts others before herself. She is our spiritual leader in our program. She is servant leader at heart, and is constantly inviting teammates for study groups. She has an unbelievably high GPA (4.0). Off the field she is involved in many campus and community organizations, such as this year she received the Dr. Sandra Harper leadership award. She is also our SAAC Representative for softball. She is one of the Biology STEM peer mentors, McMurry BioBits narrator, Ward-Bottom Scholarship recipient. And I assume I am missing a few things.
Caitlyn Pena | Sul Ross State | Sophomore | Volleyball and Tennis
Caitlyn was the Vice President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Along with being very involved with community engagement she has completed her undergraduate degree in 2 short years here at SRSU. Caitlyn individually received the Gold President's Volunteer Service Award, Lobo Service Leader Award, and Undergraduate Alpha Lobo Student Leader of the Year awards. She was inducted into the Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society. Pena coached the mini bucks volleyball team, walked dogs at the animal shelter in El Paso, visited hospitals and hosted youth skills camps as a Sun Princess with the Sun Bowl Association. She also had numerous hours dedicated to her campus organizations as well as with her internship for the congressman. Caitlyn is very deserving of this award and has gone above and beyond the asks of any student athlete I have every encountered.
Abby Valdez | UT Dallas | Sophomore | Cross Country/Track and Field
Valdez led the Salvation Army angel tree: As a group SAAC collected gifts to donate to three different kids for Christmas. Helped organize the project and bring the donations to the drop off location. Color a smile: SAAC got together and colored pages to go to senior citizens Circle one: volunteer every Thursday afternoon at an afterschool children's ministry at Dallas Bible Church UTD raising cans: Donated items to the Comet Cupboard and then helped in the can building competition. FSMC: volunteered with Feed My Starving Children twice. Project Linus: volunteered with SAAC to make blankets to send to children in need Children's church: Every other Sunday, volunteer in the children's ministry at Dallas Bible Church.