Dec. 5, 2005

DAYTON, OH - The University of Dayton Cross Country program had its annual awards banquet Sunday to finish up an eventful season for the Flyers. The banquet is also where the program handed out team awards to their student-athletes.

The women's side was lead by first year runner Dianne Striebel, who was this year's recipient of the White Allen Most Valuable Performer Award. She finished first for the Flyers twice and ran a season best time of 18:44 at the National Catholic Invitational in South Bend, IN.

Striebel also won the Dayton River Corridor Half Marathon, which is a 13.1 mile event run annually in Dayton. Her coach, Ann Alyanak, won the race the year before.

Winning the Rookie of the Year Award was freshman Amy Kempf. She lead the Flyers in four of seven meets this year, with her highest finish coming in the season opener, the Flyer 5K, where she placed third with a time of 19:05. Her season best time was 18:54, set at the Greater Louisville Classic.

Emily Deet, a sophomore from Gibsonia, PA, won the Coaches Award. Deet was injured for the entire season, but her efforts for the team never stopped. She worked hard on her recovery and did absolutely anything Coach Alyanak asked of her. She went above and beyond the call of duty as far as helping her teammates and trying to recover from her injury and was an inspiration to the entire team.

The men's team was lead by Atlantic 10 Outstanding Rookie of the year and All-Conference Team member Mike Andersen. On top of those conference awards he won in Philadelphia, Andersen was selected the White Allen Most Valuable Runner for the men's side, which is awarded to the Flyer who most vital to the team's success, usually going to the runner who leads the team at most meets.

Andersen, a freshman, finished first for the Flyers in every race he has run in his college career. His best finishes of the season include winning the Falcon Invitational with a time of 25:33 and finishing ninth at the Atlantic 10 Championships and setting the school record for fastest 8K time, running a 25:06.

The High Flyer Award went to junior Eric Contreras. This award recognizes the student-athlete who best demonstrates the traits that UD stands for including team leadership and academic achievement. This award can only be presented to a student-athlete once during their four year career.

On top of the High Flyer, Contreras won the Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year by having an overall GPA of 3.98 and majors in economics, marketing and Spanish. Other academic honors include twice being named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and being on the University of Dayton's Dean's List for the past four semesters. Contreras also holds the 12th spot on the Harrier Heroes list with his personal best time of 26:05 this year at the Greater Louisville Classic.

The Most Improved Runner Award went to sophomore Daniel Sammons. He has been in the top seven runners for the Flyers in five of seven races this season. He set his personal best time of 26:32 at the Atlantic 10 Championships in Philadelphia.

The Flyers return five of the six award winners next year.