Four Howard Payne University student athletes were recently named to American Southwest Conference 2013 fall semester Distinguished Scholar-Athlete teams representing football, volleyball and soccer teams.
HPU’s Hannah Hicks was recognized for volleyball, Joshua Kennedy for football, Rebecca Lamar for women’s soccer and Edgar Villa for men’s soccer.
Hannah Hicks was second on the team in kills with 260. She recorded a team high 123 total blocks, good for third in the American Southwest Conference this season. Hicks was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Eastern Mennonite University Tournament. Hicks became Howard Payne’s all-time total blocks leader this season. In 2012, she was named ASC Player of the Week three times and honored as a Third Team All-Conference selection. Hannah finishes her career as a three-time Academic All-Conference selection and boasts a 3.73 cumulative grade point average.
In 2013, Joshua Kennedy had 12 catches for 162 yards, was second on the team in yards per catch at 13.50. He caught one touchdown at Mississippi College and had a season high 83 yards on three catches. Kennedy finished his career as a three-time Academic All-Conference selection and boasts a 3.41 cumulative grade point average.
Rebecca Lamar started 14 of the 15 games played in for Howard Payne this season. She recorded an assist versus the University of the Ozarks. She has started 44 matches in her career good for 10th all-time at HPU. She was named Honorable Mention All-Conference as a defender in 2011. Rebecca finishes her career as a three-time Academic All-Conference selection and boasts a 3.54 cumulative grade point average.
Edgar Villa started 13 of 14 games played in this season. Villa scored his only goal of the season versus Dallas Christian College. Seven of his 11 shots this season were on goal. He was also named to the Academic All-Conference team boasting a 3.41 cumulative grade point average.
The award, in its seventh academic year, 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. Overall, 51 student-athletes were named to the American Southwest Conference Fall 2013 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams.
All Distinguished Scholar Athletes were also named ASC Fall 2013 Academic All-Conference.
