MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas University Department of Athletics held their Third-Annual "Mulespy Awards" on Monday night inside a transformed W.T. Watson Center to honor the accomplishments of its student-athletes during the course of the 2018-19 athletic year.
   
A total of 24 awards were handed out with 16 Outstanding Athlete/Student Awards being presented to all 14 sports at SAU as well as Athletic Training and Cheerleading. Alongside those presentations, all of the senior student-athletes and athletic trainers received a senior gift on behalf of Mulerider Athletics.
 
Other awards were also given out in the categories of Male and Female Newcomer of the Year, Male and Female Comeback Player of the Year, and Murphy USA Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The awards program concluded with the Dr. Margaret Downing Female Athlete of the Year and the Auburn Smith Male Athlete of the Year being presented.
 
Leadership and Character Coach Mike Hansen served as the keynote speaker, and Magen Olive, Murphy USA Director Total Rewards and 2003 SAU Alumna was on hand to share special remarks and help present the Murphy USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards.
 
A comedic video segment featuring coaches and players listening to all types of music was shown and the evening concluded with the traditional Senior Tribute video.
 
The following is a list of the awards winners from the evening with brief additional information provided for the main awards:
 
AUBURN SMITH MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Ka'Ronce Higgins | Football/Men's Track & Field | Searcy, Arkansas
 
A two-sport athlete for both the SAU Football and SAU Men's Track and Field Teams, Higgins has dominated the competition in 2018-19.
 
On the gridiron, the Searcy, Arkansas, native was named a national finalist for Division II Football's Harlon Hill Trophy, while also being tabbed as a Second-Team All-America performer and All-Region First-Teamer by multiple outlets.
 
A unanimous All-GAC First-Team selection at wide receiver, Higgins set career program records in receptions and receiving yards, while leading the Great American Conference in all-purpose yards per game, touchdown receptions, receiving yards, and receiving yards per game.
 
This spring, Higgins has earned a pair of GAC Men's Track Athlete of the Week honors, while competing in five different events for the Muleriders. Most notable among his performances on the track this season are seven individual Top 3 finishes with four event wins and an NCAA Division II Provisional Qualifying time in the 200 meters.
 
Dr. MARGARET DOWNING FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Elisa Favela | Softball | Ewa Beach, Hawaii
 
Favela, a junior transfer from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, is in the midst of a dominant season both at the plate and in the circle for the nationally-prominent Lady Muleriders.
 
A two-time GAC Player of the Week and once named the league's Pitcher of the Week, the right-hander became the first player since 2012 to garner the GAC's Player and Pitcher honors in the same week after claiming both on March 4.
 
As a hitter, Favela ranks in the team's top five of ten offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. In the circle, she owns one of the best earned run averages in the GAC and earlier this season, she set the single season program record for no hitters with three. 
 
Murphy USA MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Jordan White | Football | Benton, Louisiana
 
White, a senior punter from Benton, Louisiana, is a Chemistry: Pre-Health Professional Biochemistry and Biology Pre-Health double major with a 3.99 GPA.
 
A CoSIDA Academic All-America Second-Team selection earlier this year, White was equally productive on the football field as he was in the classroom. As the Muleriders' punter, White averaged 38.9 yards per punt and totaled 15 fair catches with 13 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
 
In a road game at Southeastern Oklahoma, White hammered four punts of 50 or more yards and three punts of at least 60 yards, including a program record 78-yarder.
 
A two-time recipient of GAC All-Academic honors and a six-time member of SAU's President's List, White graduated Summa Cum Laude in December of 2018.
 
Murphy USA FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Carley Hale | Cross Country | Panhandle, Texas
 
Hale, a sophomore distance runner from Panhandle, Texas, is an Art & Design-Media/Marketing major with a 4.00 GPA.
 
A GAC All-Academic honoree in 2018 and a three-time member of the SAU President's List with a fourth inclusion likely this semester, Hale was a member of the SAU Women's Cross Country team that was named an All-Academic Team by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for the second-straight year.
 
This past fall, Hale served as a team captain for an SAU Women's Cross Country team and was named an All-GAC Second-Team performer, while placing as the top finisher for the Lady Muleriders in six of the team's seven races.
 
She set a career-best 5K time at the Chile Pepper Festival, ran four 5Ks under 19:30 and recorded a pair of Top 10 finishes, including a second-place showing to lead SAU to the team title at the 8^th Annual Lois Davis Invitational.
 
MALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Jalen Brooks | Basketball | Shreveport, La.
 
Brooks, a true freshman from Shreveport, Louisiana came off the bench to play in 26 games for a Mulerider Men's Basketball team that recorded a Division II program record for wins in a single season.
 
A lengthy guard that averaged 9.6 points per game and posted the league's 10^th-best rebounding average at 5.7 boards per game, Brooks' rookie campaign saw him claim the Great American Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Year honor.
 
Eleven (11) times this past season, Brooks scored in double figures and on four occasions he corralled ten or more rebounds, while registering a pair of double-doubles at home inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
FEMALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Sydney Wader | Softball | Vilonia, Arkansas
 
Wader, a junior transfer from Vilonia, Arkansas, has been a highly-productive addition to the Lady Mulerider pitching staff this spring. A two-time GAC Pitcher of the Week, Wader has tossed a pair of no-hitters this season and currently leads the league in Wins and Earned Run Average, while also ranking in the top five of seven additional pitching categories.
 
Her current season totals in Wins and Shutouts rank in the Top 10 in Division II.
 
MALE COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Stacy Lawrence | Football | Irving, Texas
 
Lawrence, a native of Irving, Texas, suffered a broken arm on the fourth play of the 2017 season which caused him to miss the rest of year. A veteran presence in the Mulerider secondary, Lawrence returned to start all 12 games in 2018 and recorded 43 tackles, six pass break-ups, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
 
He delivered a season-high seven stops as SAU defeated nationally-ranked Harding on the road; the highest ranked opponent defeated by the Muleriders in the program's NCAA Era.
 
FEMALE COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Niyia Sims | Cross Country | Yuba City, California
 
Sims, a senior distance runner from Yuba City, California, suffered a season-ending stress fracture in the fall of 2017 before SAU's cross country season began. Determined to compete for the Lady Muleriders in her final year, Sims battled back to become a point-scoring finisher for SAU in four of the team's seven races, including the final three, of the 2018 season. 
 
Her never-give-up mentality and courageous spirit helped lead a young Lady Mulerider squad to a fourth-place finish overall among a very competitive field at the Great American Conference Championships.
 
OUTSTANDING ATHLETES
Audrey Young | Athletic Training | Heflin, Louisiana
Austin Baker | Baseball | Amarillo, Texas
Draylan Perkins | Men's Basketball | Jennings, La.
Jerica Bell | Women's Basketball | Pine Bluff, Ark.
Bradyn Gower | Men's Cross Country | Jenks, Okla.
Carley Hale | Women's Cross Country | Panhandle, Texas
Nikki Miller | Cheerleading | Maud, Texas
DaVondrick Lison | Football | Arkansas City, Ark.
Kevin Elder | Men's Golf | Santiago, Chile
Bailey Carr | Women's Golf | Prince Edward Island, Canada
Chelsea Fagan | Softball | Bastrop, La.
Raymond Marin | Men's Tennis | Marbella, Spain
Lena Milosevic | Women's Tennis | Novi Sad, Serbia
Sinclair Pitts | Men's Track and Field | Magnolia, Ark.
Courtney Williams | Women's Track and Field | Crossett, Ark.
Morgan Gross | Volleyball | Bandera, Texas
 
SENIOR STUDENT-ATHLETES
Athletic Training
Audrey Young | Heflin, Louisiana
Erica Erwin | Lockesburg, Arkansas
Douglas Palmer | San Bernardino, California
Lane Alexander | Mountain Home, Arkansas
Aliyah Mixon | McComb, Mississippi
Judd Drake | DeRidder, Louisiana
Sha'Daveya McPherson | Hope, Arkansas
Lindsey Smith | Delight, Arkansas
 
Baseball
Kane Koenigseder | Bentonville, Arkansas
Jansen McCurdy | White Oak, Texas
Nathan Stubber | Hope, Arkansas
Garrett Walker | Ben Wheeler, Texas
JT Watt | Fairway, Kansas
Dakota Wright | Fort Worth, Texas
 
Men's Basketball
Snyder Cenecharles | Miramar, Florida
CJ Elkins | Minden, Louisiana
Wesley Nosakhare | Kansas City, Missouri
Draylan Perkins | Jennings, Louisiana
 
Women's Basketball
Olivia McWilliams | Little Rock, Arkansas
 
Cheerleading
Nikki Miller | Maud, Texas
 
Men's XC/Track and Field
Lane Alexander | Mountain Home, Arkansas
Shonquill Atkins | Houston, Texas
Tyrenzo Banks | Oxford, Mississippi
Richard Barkhimer | Camden, Arkansas
Quincy Flowers | Sherwood, Arkansas
Wesley Franklin | Springhill, Louisiana
Bradyn Gower | Jenks, Oklahoma
Ka'Ronce Higgins |        Searcy, Arkansas
Shu'Cori Hurst | Magnolia, Mississippi
Colby Ivy | Bloomburg, Texas
Aurthur Jeffery | Cedar Hill, Texas
Josue Lopez | Moreno Valley, California
Raymond Miller | El Dorado, Arkansas
Sinclair Pitts | Magnolia, Arkansas
Nathan Poovey | Bossier City, Louisiana
Addison Ross | Fort Worth, Texas
Torrie Whetsell | Cedar Hill, Texas
 
Women's XC/Track and Field
Breanna Byrd | Houston, Texas
T'Keyah Crockett | Magnolia, Arkansas  
Erica Fuller |      Dallas, Texas
Aliyah Mixon | McComb, Mississippi     
Qua'Dajia O'Neal | McComb, Mississippi
Kirby Roy | Lafayette, Louisiana
Niyia Sims | Yuba City, California
 
Football
Lorenzo Alexander | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Darrion Ardoin | Missouri City, Texas
Antonio Bell | Monroe, Louisiana
Ka'Ronce Higgins | Searcy, Arkansas
Jimmie Houston | New Boston, Texas
Stacy Lawrence | Irving, Texas
DaVondrick Lison | Arkansas City, Arkansas
Kendrix McCann | Texarkana, Arkansas
Kile Pletcher | Magnolia, Arkansas
Malachi Pointer | Gould, Arkansas
Barrett Renner | Rowlett, Texas
Kaseem Smith | White Hall, Arkansas
Anthony Washington | Marshall, Texas
Jordan White | Benton, Louisiana
 
Men's Golf
Neriah Brown | Hot Springs, Arkansas
James Drake | Virginia Beach, Virginia
Kevin Elder | Santiago, Chile
 
Women's Golf
Bailey Carr | Prince Edward Island, Canada
 
Softball
Alexis Cuellar | Canyon, Texas
Brooke Ford-Nelson | Denton, Texas
Taylor Stricklin | Houston, Texas
 
Volleyball
Bailey Zoss | Des Moines, Iowa