Four Wildcats honored
5/9/2008 5:00:00 AM | General
ABILENE -- Four ACU student-athletes were recently honored for their prowess on the field and on the court as the ACU athletics department wrapped up its year with its annual sports banquet.
Record-setting wide receiver Jerale Badon and all-region volleyball player Abbie Lowry were named the male and female winner of the Paul Goad Award, signifying the top student-athletes at ACU each year. And a new award called the Horizon Award was created to honor those student-athletes whose performances in a single season are so noteworthy that they belong in a separate category from the Paul Goad Award. ACU director of athletics Jared Mosley presented two awards this year, to track and field standout Nicodemus Naimadu and running back Bernard Scott.
In November, Naimadu became the first athlete in NCAA history ? any division, male or female ? to win four straight individual cross country national championships. Naimadu's individual title helped lead the ACU men to a second straight team national championship, and he was a write-in winner as the NCAA Division II Cross Country Male Athlete of the Year. He didn't compete for most of the season because of a knee injury, but returned from a month of rehab and rest to win the individual national championship. He was featured in stories on CBS Sports, ESPN, CSTV and ESPN-U.
Scott posted the greatest season ever for an ACU offensive player as he set two NCAA Division II single-season records and finished second in the Harlon Hill Award voting as the top player in Division II football. Scott ? who was named to multiple all-America teams ? set two NCAA Division II single-season records in 2007 as he scored 39 total total touchdowns (35 rushing) and scored 234 points. He also set the Lone Star Conference single-season rushing record with 2,165 yards on 251 carries. Scott scored at least three touchdowns in nine games as he led the Wildcats to a 10-3 record and the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2007.
Badon completed his four-year football career last November as the Lone Star Conference's all-time leader in both receptions (235) and receiving yards (3,311). An all-region selection, Badon was a first team all-LSC South Division receiver for the third straight season in 2007. Badon was an integral part of an ACU offense that led the nation in points and points per game and was second in the nation in yards per game. ACU's offense set more than 70 NCAA, LSC and ACU single-season or single-game records in 2007.
A four-time LSC South Division honoree, Lowry is one of only two ACU volleyball players to play in all three ACU appearances in the NCAA tournament. She finished fifth on ACU's career kills list with 1,513 and is one of only five players in ACU volleyball history to accumulate at least 1,500 career kills. She earned all-tournament honors at the LSC and NCAA tournaments, and she also earned academic all-LSC and academic all-district honors in her career.
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