The Indiana State University athletics department hosted its fall sports banquet on Tuesday, Dec. 7, on ISU's campus. Members of the soccer, football, men's and women's cross country and volleyball teams were honored for their performances during the fall season.
Led by third-year head coach Trent Miles, the Sycamore football team pulled off one of the biggest one-year turnarounds of the season in any level of football. ISU broke a 2-60 losing skid, by going 6-5 which marks the Trees first winning season since the 1996 campaign. Indiana State set new school records for touchdowns scored and points scored in a season and its four MVFC victories tied for the most in one year during ISU's 25 seasons in the league. ISU was picked to finish ninth in the MVFC Preseason Poll and wound up in a tie for third place with several teams, including North Dakota State who is still alive in the national championship hunt through two rounds of the FCS Playoffs.
The Indiana State women's soccer team finished the 2010 season with an 8-10-1 record, their second-most wins in school history. The Sycamores battled through a tough MVC schedule, earning the sixth seed in the State Farm MVC Tournament where they fell in heartbreaking fashion to Illinois State in double-overtime. Junior Alison Gasparovich set the single-season record for goals this past season, with nine, while junior Emily Lahay set the ISU record for goals against average, at 1.00 per game, while tying the school record with five shutouts between the posts.
The Sycamore men's cross country team claimed their second straight Missouri Valley Conference championship this season and head coach John McNichols was named the MVC Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his 28 years of coaching at Indiana State. It was ISU's fifth MVC title in the last seven years.
The Sycamore women's cross country team was led in 2010 by senior Allison Malone. Malone had her best finish ever at the MVC Championships as she ran a personal best 17:38 to finish second in the 5K event. The time was the fifth best 5K time in school history. She joined a short list of elite Sycamore runners to either win or finish second at the MVC Championships including Debbie Ramseyer, who won the title in 1990 and 1992, Amy Cohee, who was second in 1991 and won in 1993, and Jessica Crowder, who won in 2003.
The Sycamore volleyball team finished the season with an 11-20 record with the 11 victories the most by an Indiana State team since the 2004 team that finished 12-15. ISU also finished their non-conference schedule with a winning record (8-5) for the first time since 2002 when the Sycamores were 6-3 in non-conference play.
Below is a list of award winners selected by the coaching staffs from the respective sports.
Most Valuable Player
Soccer: Alison GasparovichWomen's Cross Country: Allison MaloneMen's Cross Country: Michael DisherVolleyball: Shelbi Fouty / Stacy Qualizza
Team Leadership
Soccer: Casey ClarkWomen's Cross Country: Kacie KlemMen's Cross Country: Michael Disher
Most Improved Player
Soccer: Emily LahayWomen's Cross Country: Andrea PruszMen's Cross Country: Albaro EscaleraVolleyball: Morgan Dall
Coaches Award
Soccer: Seyma ErenliWomen's Cross Country: Jessica ZangmeisterMen's Cross Country: Dustin BetzVolleyball: Molly Murphy
Captains (Football)
Special Teams: Alex BettagDefense: Alex SewallOffense: Ronnie Fouch / Darrius Gates
