Draymond Green named Alderton Male Athlete of the Year; Laura Heyboer and Caroline Powers named Alderton Female Co-Athletes of the Year.
EAST LANSING, MI -- Five Michigan State University student-athletes have been recognized for excellence both on the playing field and in the classroom as they have earned the school’s highest athletic awards for 2011-12.
The awards include the George Alderton Male and Female Athletes of the Year, the Big Ten Conference Medals of Honor, the Chester Brewer Leadership Award and Dr. James Feurig Achievement and Service Award. A panel of administrators and head coaches selected the winners.
Senior men’s basketball forward Draymond Green was named the George Alderton Male Athlete of the Year, while senior women’s soccer forward Laura Heyboer (Hudsonville, Mich.) and junior women’s golfer Caroline Powers (Bowling Green, Ohio) earned George Alderton Female Co-Athlete of the Year honors. It marks the third time that two female athletes have won the Alderton in the same year (2003-Michelle Carson and Jamie Krzyminski; 2011-Emily MacLeod and Powers).
Green became the third Spartan to ever earn National Player of the Year honors as he was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I Player of the Year. The Saginaw, Mich., native led the Spartans in scoring (16.2 ppg), rebounding (10.6 rpg), steals (54), and 3-point field goals (52) while helping the Spartans to Big Ten regular season and tournament titles and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Green was also named a consensus First-Team All-American, the Big Ten Player of the Year, and the Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament.
Heyboer finished her career as the leading scorer in Michigan State history with 139 points and is one of five athletes all-time in the sport to earn First-Team All-Big Ten honors four times in her career. A First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Heyboer scored 18 goals as a senior, the eighth-highest mark in NCAA Division I, and her 18 goals and nine assists is the 10th highest total in points (45) for a single-season in the Big Ten record book.
Powers becomes only the fourth women’s athlete to earn the Alderton Award in back-to-back seasons; she’s also the third women’s golfer to win the award twice (Emily Bastel, 2000 and 2002; Sara Brown, 2007-08). A First-Team All-Big Ten and National Golf Coaches Association honorable mention All-America selection for the second straight year, Powers finished in the Top 10 at six tournaments, including a victory at the Mary Fossum Invitational. Her 73.78 scoring average was second best in school history, only behind her record of 73.58 she set last season.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins (Holland, Mich.) received the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor along with volleyball outside hitter/middle blocker Jenilee Rathje(Mount Pleasant, Mich.). The Medal of Honor is presented to a male and female senior student-athlete at each conference institution for outstanding athletic and academic achievement.
Cousins was also named the recipient of the Chester Brewer Leadership Award, while Rathje received the Dr. James Feurig Service and Achievement Award for the second consecutive season.
In addition, Cousins and Rathje were named the recipients of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Michigan State. One member of each varsity sports team on every campus was chosen by the institution as a Sportsmanship Award honoree and from each university’s list, two outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners were then selected.
AWARD-WINNER
George Alderton Male Athlete of the Year - Draymond Green (Basketball)
George Alderton Female Co-Athletes of the Year - Laura Heyboer (Soccer) and Caroline Powers (Golf)
Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor (Male) - Kirk Cousins (Football)
Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor (Female) - Jenilee Rathje (Volleyball)
Chester Brewer Leadership Award - Kirk Cousins (Football)
Dr. James Feurig Achievement and Service Award - Jenilee Rathje (Volleyball)
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (Male) - Kirk Cousins (Football)
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (Female) - Jenilee Rathje (Volleyball)
