Track and Field Caps Successful Season with Awards Banquet

LOUISVILLE, KY. -- The Louisville track and field team held its annual team awards banquet this week at the PNC Club at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The coaching staff handed out 10 awards, with a special thanks to Dr. Bill and Mary Cheadle for their sponsorship.

The 2014-15 season was highlighted by five ACC outdoor event titles and a seventh place finish by the men at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championship. In all, 20 school records were broken during the year and eight Cardinals earned All-America honors.

Below is a list of the awards that were handed out:

ACADEMICS AWARD
Men: Andrew Stewart
Much like his accomplishments on the track, Stewart has been equally successful in the classroom. While competing in distance races, including as a member of the school record setting distance medley relay, he has been on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and was on the Dean's List. Earlier this year, he received the Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award. It was also announced he was chosen to receive the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. He earned the ACC Top Six for Service Award and also won the CardsCare Award at the second annual Louies. Stewart is also a member of the Louisville SAAC Executive Board.

Women: Alex Bunch/Chelsea Bingham
Both recipients of the Academics award have shown success since stepping on the campus of Louisville.
Bunch was a contributing member on the cross country squad, improving her 5K PR by over 20 seconds this fall, while also earning a spot on the ACC roster. While inside the classroom, she has been named to the All-Academic teams multiple times. She is a 4.0 biology major.

Bingham was contributor to the track squad, specializing in the pole vault. She has placed in the top-10 five different times including her season best mark of 3.72m at the Georgia Tech Invitational. Bingham was also a participant at the ACC Championships and a 4.0 early childhood education major.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Men: Josh Hall
Hall came to Louisville after a highly decorated and successful career at the high school level. He immediately made an impact by picking up his first collegiate victories in the 200m and 400m during his first indoor event, the Music City Invitational. During his freshman campaign, this individual won seven individual events and placed in the top-8 at the indoor and outdoor ACC Championships. He holds both the indoor and outdoor school records in the 400m as well as three relay school records. Hall was also an indoor second team All-ACC selection and NCAA East Regional qualifier.

Women: Linda Mutter
Mutter enjoyed a successful freshman campaign with the Cardinals. She competed in a variety of events in preparation for the heptathlon. Mutter finished second in her first ever collegiate heptathlon event at the Tennessee Relays. She is also the school record holder in the heptathlon with 5,038 points. At the ACC Championships, she finished sixth while earning second team All-ACC Outdoor honors. She also earned 2014-15 All-ACC Academic honors.

OUTSTANDING ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Men: Ben Williams
Williams was the only Cardinal to earn All-American honors in the indoor and outdoor season combined. He wrapped up his junior season with a fourth place finish in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He finished with a personal best and school record jump of 16.74m (54-11¼), earning first team All-America honors with the fourth place finish. He also won the triple jump at the ACC Championships, earning first team All-ACC honors. Williams finished with a jump of 16.53m (54-2.75) to finish third at the NCAA Indoor Championships, earning USTFCCCA first team All-America honors. He was just the second Cardinal to earn All-America honors in the event, behind 2007 national champion Andre Black. Williams holds the indoor and outdoor school record in the triple jump.

Women: Emmonnie Henderson
Henderson had a breakout season last year. She won the discus and the shot put at the ACC Championships to earn All-ACC honors in both events. She was named the ACC Women's Field MVP after winning two events. Last season, she won the discus three times and finished in the top three five times. She set a new school record in the discus with a personal best throw of 58.34m (191-5) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She finished third overall, breaking Chinwe Okoro's record of 58.25m/191-1 set in 2012. Her third place finish tied Kelly Bowman in the high jump and Jere' Summers in the hammer throw with the best outdoor finish for the women's team. She finished 16th in the shot put at the NCAA Championships, helping her secure second team All-America honors. Henderson finished the season ranked 12th in the United States in the discus and 23rd in the shot put.

COACHES AWARD
Men: Ernest Kibet
Kibet helped lead the men's team to their first ever Southeast Regional cross country championship with his sixth place finish in the 10K race. During the cross country season, he placed in the top-15 four different times. Kibet also led the Cardinals to a seventh place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, earning All-America honors for the second straight year. During the track season, he won the 10,000m race at the ACC Championships and earned second team All-America honors in the event. He finished in the top-10 in seven different events during the track season. He was an outdoor first team All-ACC selection and 2015 NCAA Division I Championship participant.

Women: Dolly Nyemah
Nyemah improved every time she competed during the track season. Specializing in throws, she earned Indoor All-America honors in the weight throw. She also captured outdoor second team All-ACC and indoor second team All-ACC honors and participated at NCAA East Regional. She placed in the top-5 15 different times throughout the season. She threw a personal best in the hammer throw with a mark of 56.75m/186-2 at the ACC Championships and a personal best in the weight throw with a mark of 21.08 at the Indiana Relays. Nyemah improved from the 198^th thrower in the nation to the 12^th thrower in the country in 2015.

CROSS COUNTRY AWARD
Men: Edwin Kibichiy
Kibichiy was an instrumental component of Louisville's first ever NCAA Southeast Regional in school history with his third place finish. He also helped lead the men to a seventh place finish, the best in school history, at the 2015 NCAA Championships. This season, he placed in the top-3 in five of the six events he competed. This young man finished third with his fastest time of the season in the 8K at the ACC Championships to lead Louisville to a fifth place finish. Kibichiy earned USTFCCCA All-American honors and all-region during the 2015 cross country season.

Women: Benadate Cheruiyot
While quiet, Cheruiyot's performances speak volumes. She has enjoyed much success in her time as a Cardinal. She has paced the Cardinals in every championship cross country race this season including an 11^th place finish at the challenging Pre-Nationals. She paced the women to an eighth place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional with a 27^th place finish. As a track athlete, she was a member of the indoor distance medley relay school record as well as the outdoor 3,000m steeplechase school record holder. Cheruiyot was an outdoor second team All-ACC and All-ACC academic honor selection.

University of Louisville Athletics

Track and Field Caps Successful Season with Awards Banquet

Related News

Players Mentioned

Chelsea Bingham

Alex Bunch

Benadate Cheruiyot

Josh Hall

Emmonnie Henderson

Ernest Kibet

Edwin Kibichiy

Linda Mutter

Dolly Nyemah

Andrew Stewart

Ben Williams

Related Videos