BILLINGS, Mont. – This past Sunday, April 22, the Montana State Billings athletic department gathered together with the student-athletes at their annual Student-Athlete Award Ceremony to celebrate another successful year on the fields and courts of play and to recognize several student-athletes for their outstanding performances.
 
The night began with slide show of pictures from the year of each sport put together by Associate Athletic Director for Compliance Krista Montague. Director of Athletics Dr. Gary Gray then shared some opening remarks before turning the ceremony over to the coaches.
 
Each sport's coach presented letters and pins to student-athletes who had met their individual sport's criteria and also presented special certificates to deserving student-athletes.
 
The night led up to four final awards being awarded to four student-athletes: the MSUB Male and Female Most Valuable Players and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) AAC Outstanding Student-Athlete Awards.
 
Women's basketball sophomore Bobbi Knudsen and men's basketball senior Jaxon Myaer were announced as the MSUB Female and Male Athletes of the Year.
 
Knudsen, a native of Malta, MT, led the team with 533 points (17.8 per game) this past season. She also led the women's basketball team with a .416 field goal percentage, 112 assists and 58 steals.
 
Knudsen helped lead MSUB's women's basketball team to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament and an 18-12 record. For her efforts, she was a unanimous selection to the GNAC All-Conference First Team, and was also named a Daktronics West Region All-Star First Team selection and a Women's Basketball Coaches Assocation (WBCA) NCAA Division II All-America Honorable Mention.
 
Equally strong in the classroom, Knudsen also earned GNAC All-Academic plaudits and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) named her to the Capital One Academic NCAA Division II All-District Eight First Team.
 
A Salt Lake City, Utah native, Myaer led the men's basketball team with a .435 three-point percentage and 131 assists. He was also second on the squad in five other categories.
 
Myaer finished the 2011-12 season second on the team with 426 points (14.2 per game), 144 made field goals, 36 steals, a .465 field goal percentage and a .825 free throw percentage. As the team's starting point guard, he helped lead the Yellowjackets to their first-ever GNAC championship and to the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time in 10 years.
 
He was named to the GNAC All-Conference team as an honorable mention the last two seasons.
 
This year, MSUB's SAAC members came together to create an award that they wished to be presented to the male and female student-athletes that best exemplify the NCAA Division II ideal of “Life in the Balance” through excellence in athletics, academics and community involvement. Senior women's basketball and golf standout Kalli Stanhope and sophomore Lewis Polkow from the men's track and field team won the new awards for their efforts in their sports, at MSUB and in the Billings community.
 
A senior from Glendive, Mont., Stanhope boasts a 3.58 grade point average as a Psychology major and was able to maintain her grades while splitting time between both the women's golf and women's basketball programs. She is also an active member of Jacket Student Ambassadors and the SAAC.
 
Away from her studies and time practicing and competing, Stanhope volunteers with the Special Olympics and has helped work several MSUB basketball camps.
 
Polkow, a sophomore from Billings and product of Skyview High School, holds a 3.88 GPA, one of the highest on the track and field team as a History major with a teaching option. This winter, he qualified for the GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships and is currently qualified in several events for the outdoor championships and in his short time at MSUB, he has set numerous school records.
 
Away from the track and field team, Polkow serves as a Residence Hall Advisor and is a Summer Orientation Leader for MSUB. He is also a member of the SAAC and has recorded numerous community service hours all around Billings.
 
Also presented at the award ceremony were Athletic Endowed Scholarships as chosen by the Athletics Scholarship Committee. The winners are listed below:
 
Dick Edwards Memorial: Amanda Millard (Women's Tennis)
 
Paul & Patti Gunville Athletic Endowed: Calyley Fish (Golf) and Renae Hepfner (Track & Field)
 
MSU Billings Athletic Endowed: Mary Owen (Track & Field)
 
PPL MT Softball Endowed: Mary Grace Bywater (Softball)
 
Tannehill Athletic Endowed: Robby Trabing (Men's Basketball) and Kristen Kastelic (Women's Soccer)
 
Abby Farmer Endowed: Lisa Dallapiazza (Women's Soccer)
 
Bart Bauer for Men's Basketball:  TBD
 
Frank McCarthy for Women's Basketball:  TBD
 
Men's Basketball Endowed:  TBD
 
Urbaska Baseball Endowed:  TBD