USD's Mettler, IPFW's Hyde Named Scholar-Athletes of the Year

6/27/2013 12:00:00 AM

Past Scholar-Athlete of the Year Releases

ELMHURST, Ill. − South Dakota men’s cross country and track & field athlete Jeff Mettler (Eureka, S.D.) and Fort Wayne women’s basketball player Amanda Hyde (Findlay, Ohio) have been selected as the 2012-13 Summit League Scholar-Athletes of the Year in a vote by the league’s faculty athletic representatives. The Summit League Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is the most prestigious individual honor given by the league.

Mettler becomes South Dakota’s first honoree of the Scholar-Athlete Award. The junior has a perfect 4.0 grade-point average (GPA) as a kinesiology and sports science major with a minor in Spanish. He was named Capital One Academic All-District by CoSIDA and earned Academic All-League honors in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. A Summit League Academic Honor Roll Distinguished Scholar recipient, Mettler was also named to the league’s Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence. A native of Eureka, S.D., he also serves as Co-President of South Dakota’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and has volunteered with the community engagement group SERVE.

Athletically, Mettler was named the Indoor Track Championship MVP as the Coyotes captured its first league title. He was also named the league’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning individual titles in the mile and 3,000-meter run, including setting a new league record in the 3,000 meters. Mettler took second place at the Cross Country Championships with a time of 25:10.6. After capturing the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the league’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships, he qualified for the NCAA West Regionals in the event. Mettler earned a total of six Summit League Athlete of the Week honors across the three sports this season.

Hyde was named the Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year after recoring a 4.0 GPA as a junior math and math teaching major with a minor in psychology at Fort Wayne. A Capital One Academic All-American as presented by CoSIDA, she becomes the first Scholar-Athlete of the Year award recipient for the Mastodons. She was also named to the women’s basketball Summit League Academic All-League Team, the Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence and was recognized as a league Distinguished Scholar on the Academic Honor Roll. In addition, Hyde has been on the Dean’s List, earned the Chancellor’s Merit Award and was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at Fort Wayne. She is also actively involved in the Mastodon SAAC and community service.

On the court, Hyde was named The Summit League Player of the Year after averaging a league-best 18.6 points per game. Hyde connected on 87 percent of her free throws this season and is the Mastodon’s all-time career leader with an .855 clip. She shot 44 percent from the field, grabbed 4.8 rebounds and dished out 3.1 assists per game this year. Hyde finished the 2012-13 campaign tied for the league-lead with two 30-point games and ranked second with 12 20-point contests. She earned a pair of Player of the Week awards and scored a league-high 43 points at Southern Illinois on Nov. 29, which ranked third in the NCAA this season. The 43 points tied a single-game school record and is also tied for the second-highest single-game point total in league history.

Also nominated for the Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year award: Kyle Ackerman, Fort Wayne (soccer); Mitchell Gauger, IUPUI (swimming & diving); Cosmas Ayabei, Kansas City (cross country/track & field); Casey Orgon, North Dakota State (track & field); John Dreshaj, Oakland (soccer); Cory Buckley, Omaha (baseball); Luke Leischner, South Dakota State (track & field); Ceola Clark III, Western Illinois (basketball).

Also nominated for the Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year award: Kristin Pierce, IUPUI (soccer); Eilise O’Connor, Kansas City (basketball); Amy Anderson, North Dakota State (golf); Alanna Gerber, Oakland (golf); Paige Frauendorfer, Omaha (basketball); Bethany Buell, South Dakota (track & field); Kelli Fiegen, South Dakota State (volleyball); Katie Condon, Western Illinois (soccer).

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