By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The countdown continues for Thursday's Golden Wings Awards as the Tennessee Tech Department of Athletics will announce one of its biggest honors – the Male Athlete of the Year Award.
Five student-athletes have been nominated for the award, which was recently voted on by the TTU Awards Committee. This award, as well as the Female Athlete of the Year, Man of the Year and Woman of the Year, will be presented at the annual Golden Wings Awards banquet
The timeframe of the awards period is the current season (2017-18 in this instance) except for baseball, softball and outdoor track & field. With those sports still competing with a large portion of their seasons still left, the previous spring campaigns (2017 in this instance) are recognized. The Man and Woman of the Year awards encompass the 2017-18 period for all sports.
The five finalists, in alphabetical order, are:
<<< Gilbert Boit | Sophomore | Iten, Kenya | Men's Cross Country
Dontez Byrd | Senior | Louisville, Ky. | Football >>>
<<< Ryan Flick | Junior | Bluff City, Tenn. | Baseball
Eduardo Mena | Senior | Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain | Tennis >>>
<<< Trevor Putzig | Junior | Louisville, Ky. | Baseball |
The Outstanding Male Athlete Award was first established in 1994 and 28 winners have been selected in the previous 24 years, including four years with co-winners.
The previous winners include:
1994 – Mike Jones (Football)1995 – Greg Bibb (Basketball)
1996 – Michael Penix (Football)
1997 – Mark Maberry (Baseball)
1998 – Andre Caballero (Football)
1999 – Branon Vaughn (Football)
2000 – Branon Vaughn (Football)
2001 – Chad Evitts (Football)
2002 – Grant Swallows (Football)
2003 – Casey Benjamin (Baseball)
2004 – Willie Jenkins (Basketball)
2005 – Willie Jenkins (Basketball) / Frank Omiyale (Football)
2006 – Scott Stallings (Golf)
2007 – Scott Stallings (Golf)
2008 – Larry Shipp (Football)
2009 – A.J. Kirby-Jones (Baseball)
2010 – A.J. Kirby-Jones (Baseball) / Chad Oberacker (Baseball)
2011 – Zac Swansey (Basketball)
2012 – Tim Benford (Football)
2013 – Syrym Abduhkalikov (Tennis)
2014 – Daniel Miles (Baseball) / Brandon Thomasson (Baseball)
2015 – Alex Arovin (Tennis)
2016 – Eduardo Mena (Tennis) / Kevin Strohschein (Baseball)
2017 – Eudardo Mena (Tennis)