PHOTOS

LONGVIEW – Lorien Nightingale was named the LeTourneau University Male Athlete of the Year, while Kianna Crow and Keauna Whitfield shared the Female Athlete of the Year honors, presented at Tuesday's Buzz Awards ceremony.

Bari Schunicht was named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Eric Smith was voted the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Natalie Connelly was selected the R.G. LeTourneau Legacy Award recipient.

Nightingale, a senior from Njoro, Kenya, became LETU's first American Southwest Conference individual men's cross country champion after he clocked a 25:49.5 in the 8K race in Round Rock, Texas. Nightingale won all three cross country races this season, setting a personal best in the ASC Championships. He also won the Concordia Invitational and the Bill Libby Invitational. He was named United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Division III Athlete of the Week and the ASC Runner of the Week twice. He was a First Team All-ASC selection. In track & field, he finished second in the 800 meters in the Belhaven Invitational, clocking a personal best time of 1:56.60. He also clocked a personal best in the 1,500 with a 3:52.47 at Rice University's J. Fred Duckett Twilight to set the school record.

Crow, a junior hitter on the volleyball team, was an All-ASC selection. She was named ASC East Division Most Valuable Player after banging a league-leading 260 kills. She also led the ASC with 34 aces, and had 251 digs, earning First Team All-ASC honors. Crow was fourth in Division III in kills and tied for third in aces. She earned two ASC East Offensive Player of the Week honors, and recorded her 1,000^th career kill at Belhaven on March 26.

Whitfield, a senior shooting guard on the women's basketball team, was a D3hoops.com Second Team All-South Region selection. She earned ASC All-Conference, First Team All-ASC East and ASC East All-Defensive Team honors. Whitfield led the ASC in scoring (17.1 ppg), was third in free throw percentage (.783), sixth in steals per game (2.2) and tied for ninth in three-point field goals per game (1.6). She averaged 6.4 rebounds per game. She was named the ASC East Player of the Week three times, and earned Dallas Christian College Christmas Classic All-Tournament honors.

Schunicht, a senior cross country and track & field runner and hurdler from Spring, Texas, carries a 3.87 grade point average in engineering. She finished fourth in the 400 hurdles at the Belhaven Invitational with a time of 1:24.68. She ran a personal best 6K cross country time of 31:21.5 in the Bill Libby Invitational when she finished 35^th. Schunicht clocked a personal best time of 3:01.30 in the 800 at the D3 Challenge to finish 21^st.

Smith, a senior defender on the men's soccer team, has a 3.99 GPA in civil engineering. He was named the ASC Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year, while also collecting Third Team All-ASC honors. Smith was named ASC East Defensive Player of the Week once. He anchored a YellowJackets defense that recorded four shutouts this season as LeTourneau put together its first winning season since 2010.

Connelly, a junior middle blocker on the volleyball team, was named the ASC East Tri-Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year. She holds a 3.90 GPA in communications integrated media management. Connelly started a Delight Ministries chapter at LeTourneau, focusing on Christ-centered community amongst women. She was a First Team All-ASC East selection after recording 131 kills and 58 blocks, while hitting .288. Her 58 blocks were second in the league and eighth in Division III.
 
LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY BUZZ AWARDS
Male Athlete of the Year – Lorien Nightingale, Sr., Cross Country and Track & Field
co-Female Athletes of the Year – Kianna Crow, Jr., Volleyball; Keauna Whitfield, Sr., Women's Basketball
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Bari Schunicht, Sr., Cross Country and Track & Field
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Eric Smith, Sr., Men's Soccer
R.G. LeTourneau Legacy Award – Natalie Connelly, Jr., Volleyball