The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recently awarded two Morehead State University student-athletes Justin Johnson and Anitha Smith-Williams with its annual All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year award.

The emcee of the awards banquet was golfer Lee Chaney. Mel Humen, President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), discussed the purpose of SAAC and its work throughout the year. Katelyn Barbour of the volleyball team offered the invocation, Athletic Director Brian Hutchinson had remarks and awards were presented by SAAC and Eagle coaches.

Eagle Awards were presented by SAAC members. The Miss Eagle Award went to senior women's basketball player Tarah Combs, one of the leading three-point shooters in the nation in 2007-08. The Mister Eagle Award was awarded to senior football player Brett Mazzaro, MSU's leading tackler the past three seasons. The Brave Heart Award was give to senior men's basketball player Nikola Stojakovic, who overcame the obstacles of growing up in war-torn Serbia to become one of the assist leaders in college basketball and earn a degree from MSU.

Female Newcomer of the Year went to Elizabeth Lyon of the rifle team. Men's basketball standout Kenneth Faried was the Male Newcomer of the Year.

The Iron Eagle Award for strength and conditioning work was given to Annie Beck of the Women's Cross Country/Track team and to Jamyron Steward of Men's Basketball.

The Team Community Service Award went to the Soccer Team for their efforts on campus and in Morehead and the surrounding area. Soccer and Men's Tennis shared the Academic Team of the Year Award.

Several teams that are still in season will present their awards at a later date. But, several teams took the opportunity to hand out honors on Wednesday. Football recognized two national statistical championships. Defensive captain Mazzaro accepted the plaque for MSU leading the nation in Rushing Defense. Defensive back David Hyland accepted his individual award for leading the nation in Interceptions Per Game.

Lyon was honored for having the highest average in small bore for the women's rifle team. Kevin Mulligan had the highest average in small bore for the men's rifle team. And, Shawn Holley had the highest air rifle average.

Men's basketball handed out awards for Best-Three-Point Shooter to Maze Stallworth, Best Rebounder to Faried, Best Field Goal Percentage to Leon Buchanan, Most Valuable Player to Stojakovic and Best Ball Girl to Taylor Tyndall, daughter of Head Coach Donnie Tyndall.

Women's tennis honored Madelienne Antero for Most Improved, Meredith Lortie for Best Teammate and Alix Lakow for Most Valuable Player. Men's tennis recognized Lovell Medcalf as Most Improved, Greg Johnstone as Best Teammate and Charles Williams as Most Valuable Player.

Volleyball named Kelsey Cronin Most Valuable Player.

Golf presented the Roy Award (Hardest Worker) to Zach Unger, the Leadership Award to Jeff Pierce, the Outstanding Freshman Award to Alex Wright, the Most Improved Golfer Award to Unger and the Most Valuable Golfer to Pierce.

"We're extremely proud of the academic success of our women's basketball program," said MSU Athletic Director Brian Hutchinson. "They are true student-athletes. We are committed to this type of progress with all of our sports. We know there is still work to do, and we must continue to educate all of our student-athletes about the value of academic success as well as success on the courts and on the fields."

The honored teams posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. The teams recognized this year represent 11.4 percent of the 6,272 Division I teams. The list includes 401 women's teams and 311 men's or mixed squads. A total of 192 Division I institutions had at least one team on the top APR list.  High-performing teams receiving awards posted APR scores ranging from 965 to a perfect 1,000 over the data collection period. Three Ohio Valley Conference schools received awards, MSU, Eastern Kentucky and Samford.

"Congratulations to these teams and their student-athletes for success in the classroom," NCAA President Myles Brand said. "They are setting a great example for their peers and future student-athletes, as well."

The effort is part of a public-recognition program the Division I Board of Directors approved in January 2006. Last year, a total of 839 teams were recognized.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. High-performing teams receiving awards posted APR scores ranging from 965 to a perfect 1,000.

Multi-year APR scores for all 6,110 Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving public recognition awards, will be announced May 6. The announcement also will include immediate and historical penalties for low-performing teams.