Clarksville, Ark.-University of the Ozarks student-athletes Sabrina Goddard and David James were named the 2011-2012 Female and Male Athlete of the Year, it was announced Tuesday night at the annual athletic banquet.
The Athlete of the Year award is given to a student-athlete who displays outstanding athletic accomplishments, combined with academic excellence and superior career credentials. The award is voted on by the university’s athletic staff.
Goddard, a basketball player, caps her senior season by earning her second straight Athlete of the Year award. Goddard posted another All-Conference season after ranking third in the American Southwest Conference in scoring (16.0), eighth in rebounding (7.3) and second in blocked shots (2.0). The 6-foot-1 center was named to the All-ASC East Division First Team after helping Ozarks to its second straight conference playoff appearance. In 2011-12, she was the ASC East Division Preseason Player of the Year, ASC Player of the Week and earned the university’s Hurie Award. Goddard posted five double-doubles during the season and led the team in scoring and rebounding 14 times. She scored a career-high 39 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a win against Hardin-Simmons University December 2. She reached double figures in scoring 21 times. She is a three-time All-Conference performer, five-time ASC Player of the Week honoree and was a member of the Capital One Academic All-District Team. A native of Stroud, Oklahoma, she finishes her career ranked sixth at Ozarks in points (1,350), seventh in rebounding (683) and recorded 197 blocked shots.
She has been on the ASC All-Academic Team three times. She is a biology major and is the daughter of James and Martina Goddard.
James, a senior cross country runner, produced one of the best four-year careers in program history. This season, James was again named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region Team after finishing in the top-35 at the NCAA III South/Southeast regional and helping Ozarks to its best finish (top-10) ever at the regional race. The 5-foot-7, 120-pound native of Parthenon, Ark., also helped the team to its second straight second-place finish at the ASC championship while finishing seventh overall. James, who has finished among the top-10 at each ASC championship race, earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team this season. He posted a pair of top-5 finishes during the 2011 season. For his career, he has been a four-time All-Conference performer, a two-time ASC Runner of the Week honoree, three-time All-Region performer, ASC Freshman of the Year and ASC Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year. He owns the second fastest 8K time in school history with a time of 25:57.84.
He has been on the ASC All-Academic Team two times. He is a physical education major and the son of Denton and Tina James.
“They have excelled the last four years and have been great representatives of the University of the Ozarks,” said athletic director Jimmy Clark. “Sabrina is a two-time winner of our Athlete of the Year award, won the school’s Hurie Award and was conference Preseason Player of the Year. David has been as good a cross country runner as we have had here. They have physical talent, but both are always working to get better. They are not satisfied with where they are at in their respective sports or the classroom. They will be successful in their future careers.”
Topics: Athletics