HOUSTON – HBU announced the recipients of its five yearly athletic awards as voted on by the Athletic Department's executive committee and announced by the school at the end of the year convocation Wednesday.
Jan Edds Female Athlete of the Year
Kaitlin Smith – Track & Field
Smith has been named the Jan Edds Female Athlete of the Year for the third-straight year, becoming the first three-time recipient of any HBU Yearly Athletic Award. The Wailuku, Hawai'i, native was named the Southland Conference Women's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year after winning the pentathlon for the third-straight year, then went on to earn second-team All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Smith has already broken her own school record in the heptathlon heading into this week's Southland Conference Outdoor Championships.
Robbie Robertson Male Athlete of the Year
Darius Lee – Men's Basketball
Lee was a second-team All-Southland Conference and All-Defensive Team selection. He finished the season ranked sixth nationally and led the league with 2.4 steals per game. The Harlem, New York, native ranked second in scoring with 22.6 points per game, sixth with 7.8 rebounds, first with 3.1 steals and second with 3.8 assists during conference play. Lee posted six double-doubles and scored in double figures 20 times, including 10 20-plus point games and three 30-plus point performances. He tied the school record with 52 points in a 149-144 quadruple overtime victory over McNeese in the regular-season finale at Sharp Gym.
Galdino Lucero Service Award
Mariel Pena-Sanchez – Student Trainer
Pena-Sanchez has been the women's soccer manager for the last two seasons and was also the student assistant trainer. She is now focusing on athletic training as her career path. She organized two different fundraisers during the fall in an effort to support organizations that were special to her and her family. Women's Soccer Head Coach
Chris Dodd praised Mariel as "one of the most selfless humans I have come across in my time at HBU and she has a positive influence on everyone she interacts with."
Frances Curtis/Mildred Boone Spirit Award
Daylin Metoyer
Metoyer is a freshman from Crosby, Texas. He was a mainstay at HBU athletic events, particularly basketball games, and is now a manager for the men's basketball team. His energy and ability to get the crowd involved was impossible to miss and truly made Sharp Gym a home-court advantage.
Varsity Athlete Academic Award
Kristen Kleymeyer – Beach Volleyball
Kleymeyer is a senior marketing major from Austin, Texas. She earned All-Southland Conference third team honors at the No. 3 pairs position with her teammate
Lindsay Harris.
Danielle Okeke – Beach Volleyball
Okeke is a senior accounting major from Wichita Falls, Texas. She recorded three wins this year and played at the No. 3 pair three times at the Southland Conference Championship.
Zara Richardson – Track & Field
Richardson is a senior elementary education major from Corpus Christi, Texas. She ranks only three seconds behind school-record holder,
Jessica Rabius, and is ranked eighth in the conference in the 800 meters at 2:15.99. She has also clocked 4:58.02 in the 1500 meters during the outdoor season.
Alison Stanfill – Beach Volleyball
Stanfill is a senior history major from Las Vegas, Nevada. She recorded 14 victories this season and teamed with
Abbey Reinard to go 3-0 at the Southland Conference Championship. Last season, Stanfill was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and teamed with
Lauren Huggins as the Pair of the Year in leading the Huskies to the inaugural championship.
Sarah Venker – Softball
Venker is a senior nursing major from Houston. This season, she has made 20 appearances in the circle with a win, a save, a 3.44 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 79.1 innings. At the plate, she has three doubles, a home run, 12 RBIs and has scored eight runs.
