SLU’s Stevic, HCU’s Rabius claim Southland Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year awards; All-Academic teams announced
FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern All-American high jumper Slavko Stevic and HCU national qualifier Jessica Rabius have been voted as the the 2023 Southland Conference Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athletes of the Year, the league announced Friday. The announcement comes along with the release of the academic all-conference teams, which reflect the combined indoor and outdoor seasons.
Stevic holds a 3.968 grade point average in computer science and was previously named the SLC’s Student-Athlete of the Year for the indoor season. He won the SLC Championships & First Team All-Conference in high jump in both indoor and outdoor competition going away, qualifying for the NCAA National Championship Finals in both indoor & outdoor competition. He broke the SLU high jump school record in both indoor & outdoor competition this year as well, with his personal best now sitting at 2.22m (7’ 3¼”), set at the 2023 Strawberry Relays. He placed fourth at the outdoor national meet at 2.16 meters (7′ 1″) to earn first team All-America honors.
Rabius is currently working toward her MBA-Healthcare Administration and has already received an MS-Sport Management degree and a bachelor’s in kinesiology with a 4.00 grade point average in both graduate programs and a 3.94 undergraduate grade point average. She was previously named the SLC’s Student-Athlete of the Year for the indoor season. She was the 2023 SLC Outdoor Outstanding Running Performer and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin in the 800 meter run. She was the champion in both the 1500 meters and 5000 meters at the SLC Outdoor Championships and fifth in 4×400 relay.
Based on the number of nominated student-athletes, 25 men were named to the Southland All-Academic team, with 11 earning automatic qualification as First Team All-Conference selections. Northwestern State and Southeastern each had five honorees, with HCU, UIW, and A&M-Corpus Christi each earning three places on the team.
For the women, 29 student-athletes were named to the Southland All-Academic team, with 10 earning automatic qualification as First Team All-Conference selections. Outdoor conference champions Lamar led the conference with five all-academic selections, followed by four each from HCU and McNeese. Northwestern State, Southeastern, and A&M-Commerce each had three picks.
The All-Academic teams are voted on by head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance staff members from each Southland Conference institution. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution to qualify for All-Academic selection, and have competed in at least 50 percent of their team’s meets. Fifty percent of those nominated earn the honor.
MEN’S ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE
| Name | School | Yr. | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| Matheo Bernat | UIW | Gr, | La Crau, France | 3.86 | MS Kinesiology |
| Tyler Challis | McNeese | So. | Pefferlaw, Ontario, Canada | 3.85 | Political Science |
| Delan Edwin * | A&M-Commerce | Sr. | Castries, St. Lucia | 3.77 | Business Administration |
| Alexandre Fetizon | UIW | So. | Ambonnay, France | 4.00 | Engineering |
| Jaden Forester | New Orleans | Sr. | La Mesa, Calif. | 4.00 | Computer Science |
| Garrett Gibson * | HCU | Sr. | Mont Belvieu, Texas | 3.38 | Accounting |
| Diamante Gumbs * | Northwestern State | Jr. | Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands | 3.19 | General Studies |
| Djimon Gumbs * | Northwestern State | Jr. | Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands | 3.08 | General Studies |
| Tarajh Hudson | Northwestern State | So. | Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas | 3.95 | Health & Exercise Science; Pre-Physical Therapy |
| Ke’Tavion Humber | A&M-Corpus Christi | Gr. | Tyler, Texas | 3.86 | MS – Family Nurse Practition |
| Travis Jacobs | HCU | Sr. | Houston, Texas | 3.56 | Marketing |
| Steven Jones | Lamar | Jr. | Beaumont, Texas | 4.00 | Public Health |
| Kelvin Kimaiyo | A&M-Corpus Christi | So. | Eldoret, Kenya | 3.51 | Nursing |
| Dennis Kipngeno * | A&M-Corpus Christi | Jr. | Nakuru, Kenya | 3.48 | Nursing |
| Noah Kiprotich * | Southeastern | So. | Kapsabet, Kenya | 3.10 | Nursing |
| Hunter Longino * | McNeese | Jr. | Oakdale, La. | 3.80 | Criminal Justice |
| Eugene Omalla * | Southeastern | Jr. | Chawolo, Uganda | 3.89 | Business Administration |
| Jaimie Omalla | Southeastern | Jr. | Chawolo, Uganda | 3.86 | Business Administration |
| Jaylon Roberts | Lamar | Jr. | Galena Park, Texas | 3.66 | Communication |
| Destine-Unique Scott | Northwestern State | Sr. | Little Rock, Ark. | 3.20 | General Studies |
| Slavko Stevic *^ | Southeastern | Jr. | Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia | 3.97 | Computer Science |
| Garrett Stokes * | UIW | Sr. | El Paso, Texas | 3.83 | Cyber Security Systems |
| Krzysztof Turski | HCU | So. | Radom, Poland | 4.00 | Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Terrell Webb * | Southeastern | Sr. | Cambridge, Ontario, Canada | 3.41 | Sports Management |
| Simon Wulff | Northwestern State | So. | Radebeul, Germany | 3.57 | Health & Exercise Science |
WOMEN’S ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE
| Name | School | Yr. | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| Yasmin Austridge * | Lamar | Gr. | London, England | 3.88 | Business Administration |
| Irene Barrerio-Lopez | McNeese | So. | Fene, Spain | 4.00 | Computer Engineering |
| Klaire Bentley * | UIW | Sr. | Allen, Texas | 3.08 | Mathematics / Secondary Education |
| Faith Bett | A&M-Corpus Christi | Sr. | Eldoret, Kenya | 3.34 | Nursing |
| Oxana Bonjorn-Giros | New Orleans | So. | Mora d’Ebre, Spain | 3.89 | Civil Engineering |
| Brianna Brand | HCU | So. | Kennedale, Texas | 3.59 | Allied Health |
| Madison Brown * | Northwestern State | Jr. | Natchitoches, La. | 3.93 | Health & Exercise Science |
| Nia Clatworthy | Lamar | So. | Porthcawl, Wales | 3.93 | Economics |
| Ashley Duffus | Northwestern State | Jr. | Greater Portmore, Jamaica | 3.55 | Communications |
| Parl Eelma * | Lamar | Sr. | Tallinn, Estonia | 3.81 | Business Administration |
| Indya Jackson | Southeastern | Sr. | Zachary, La. | 3.24 | Psychology |
| Quin Johnson | A&M-Corpus Christi | Gr. | San Tan Valley, Ariz. | 4.00 | Masters – Public Administration |
| Lanaye Keys | HCU | So. | Katy, Texas | 4.00 | Nursing |
| Sofia Khenfar | A&M-Commerce | Gr. | Lyon, France | 3.90 | Health Kinesiology & Sport Studies |
| Mariah Lee * | McNeese | Jr. | Corsicana, Texas | 4.00 | Criminal Justice |
| Maia Maury | A&M-Commerce | Jr. | Noisy-Le-Grand, France | 3.55 | Liberal Studies |
| Naomi Ndukwe | A&M-Commerce | Gr. | Préserville, France | 3.61 | Health Kinesiology & Sport Studies |
| Alisa Novosad | UIW | Gr. | Victoria, Texas | 4.00 | MS Kinesiology |
| Katrine Olsen | Southeastern | So. | Skive, Denmark | 4.00 | Kinesiology |
| Faith Outing | Lamar | Jr. | Leesville, La. | 3.91 | Exercise Science |
| Rebecca Pecora * | HCU | So. | Milan, Italy | 3.53 | Biochemistry/Molecular Biology |
| Jessica Rabius *^ | HCU | Gr. | East Bernard, Texas | 3.94 | Kinesiology |
| Elsa Rijpstra | Nicholls | Sr. | Oentsjerk, The Netherlands | 4.00 | Health Sciences – Pre-Athletic Training |
| Chloe Rodriguez * | Lamar | So. | Richardson, Texas | 3.14 | Criminal Justice |
| Maygan Shaw * | Northwestern State | So. | Pineville, La. | 3.76 | Nursing |
| Morgan Talley * | McNeese | Sr. | Rockwall, Texas | 3.50 | Curriculum and Instruction |
| Kayla Warner | McNeese | Jr. | Houston, Texas | 3.70 | HHP Sports Medicine |
| Alexandra Weir | New Orleans | Gr. | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 4.00 | Urban Planning |
| Lara Zupanc | Southeastern | Sr, | Krsko, Slovenia | 3.98 | Psychology |
* – Automatic Selection (First Team All-Conference)
^ – Student-Athlete of the Year
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Josh Manck
