[Complete list of 2008-09 Marquis Spas winners]
MONMOUTH, Ore. - Western Oregon University announced Zeb Udell, Tyler Sutherland and Stacey Bennett as the 2008-09 Marquis Spas Athletes of the Year Saturday, May 16 at the Wolfpack Auction at the Salem Convention Center.
Udell, a senior from Dallas, Ore. (Central High School), was selected as the male athlete of the year after breaking the outdoor school record and earning an NCAA automatic qualifying standard in the pole vault as he cleared 16-6.75 (5.05m). He also helped lead the Western Oregon men's track & field team to its second consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor championship with 19 points at the conference meet. Udell also captured his third straight GNAC decathlon title this season and will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the pole vault May 23.
For the first time in the history of the Marquis Spas award there was a tie in the voting so both Tyler Sutherland and Stacey Bennett were chosen as the co-female athletes of the year.
Bennett earned honorable mention honors on the NCAA Division II All-America team this fall in volleyball becoming Western Oregon's first-ever All-American at the NCAA level. Bennett was also named to the Daktronics West Region second team, also the first WOU player to earn this honor. In conference she was selected first team All-GNAC. The Westview High School alum (Portland) also excelled in the classroom, earning CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine All-District VIII first team recognition. She also earned GNAC Academic All-Star honors for the third straight season.
Sutherland was named the GNAC Player of the Year and to the Daktronics All-West Region first team as a shortstop. The junior from Gold Hill, Ore. (Crater High School), finished the regular season leading NCAA Division II with .48 doubles per game. She set Western Oregon single-season records in runs, doubles, on-base percentage and slugging. Sutherland led the GNAC this season in batting average, runs, doubles, stolen bases, extra base hits, on-base percentage and slugging percentage to go along with a .967 fielding percentage. The leadoff hitter also recorded nine home runs and 30 RBI to go along with a 20:8 walk-to-strikeout ratio. She was also selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's all-west region second team for the second consecutive season.
The Marquis Spas Athletes of the Year were selected from among the fall, winter and spring winners by Western Oregon coaches and administrators.