June 14, 2005
Sophomore All-American distance runner Cassie Hunt (Roachdale, Ind./North Putman H.S.) and junior All-American basketball player Deron Williams (The Colony, Texas/The Colony H.S.) have been named winners of the Dike Eddleman Female and Male Athletes of the Year, respectively, at the University of Illinois
Hunt completed a stellar season with a second-place finish in the steeplechase at the NCAA Championships over the weekend. Her success included milestones in both cross country and track. In the fall, she became the first Illini to win the Midwest Regional, breaking the course and regional records while leading Illinois to its first team appearance at the NCAA meet in school history. Over the course of the year, Hunt set school records in both the 5,000 and 6,000-meter distances in cross country. Hunt's 44th-place finish at the NCAA meet helped Illinois place 20th in the nation as a team. She was fifth at the Big Ten meet leading the Illini to a school-best second place overall.
On the track, Hunt earned All-America honors indoors with an eighth-place finish in the 3,000-meter run, becoming the first-ever Illinois All-American in that event. Perhaps even more amazing than her All-America honors was her ability to run several events during the same weekend. At the Big Ten Indoor Championships, for instance, Hunt ran the 3,000 meters, the 5,000 meters and two heats of the mile over a two-day span. At the Big Ten Outdoor Meet, Hunt won both the 5,000 meters and the steeplechase to score 20 points and lead the Illini to its first Big Ten title since 1995. Hunt was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year and the Athlete of the Championships. Hunt qualified for the NCAA meet in the steeple after winning the event at the Midwest Regional. She ran a school-record 9:59.82 at Nationals.
Hunt earned the Midwest Regional's Runner of the Year and garnered four Big Ten Runner/Athlete of the Week honors over the course of the year.
Williams, meanwhile, helped gain the University of Illinois much notoriety with the basketball team's run to runner-up in the nation. A consensus All-American, Williams helped the Illini to a 37-2 mark, tying the NCAA record for most wins in a season, a regular season Big Ten championship, and a Big Ten Tournament title. Illinois was ranked number one in the nation for the final 15 weeks of the season.
Williams was a Consensus Second Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection. He hit one of the biggest shots in school history by nailing a three-pointer to help the Illini overcome a 15-point deficit with four minutes to play and defeat Arizona in the Regional Final. In that game, Williams had 22 points and 10 assists. He ranked 13th nationally in assists and his 264 assists were the most recorded in a single-season in the 100-year history of Illinois basketball. Williams also became the first player ever to lead the Big Ten in assists in his first three seasons.
Other accolades from the 2004-05 season for Williams included the Wooden Award All-America, the NCAA Chicago Regional Most Outstanding Player, Final Four All-Tournament Team, The Las Vegas Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team, Pre-Season Big Ten Player of the Year, Pre-season All-America, and a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year.
The University of Illinois Athlete of the Year was first awarded in 1940. The award was given annually until it was discontinued in 1973. Since 1982, the University of Illinois has recognized a Male and Female Athlete of the Year. In 1993, the awards were renamed the Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year awards in honor of the 11-time UI letterman and former Olympian.
Other University awards were handed out at the annual Scholar-Athlete banquet on May 3. Basketball senior Jack Ingram and tennis standout Cynthya Goulet earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor. As has been done previously, the Eddleman Award winners were not selected until the completion of the spring sports seasons, which wrapped-up last weekend with the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Tennis' Macall Harkins and Kevin Anderson were named Newcomers of the Year, and Erin Virtue (volleyball) and Chris Martin (tennis) were Spirit Award recipients. Williams is the first men's basketball Eddleman winner since Kendall Gill in 1990, while Hunt is the first distance runner recipient since Kelly McNee in 1985.
All-Time Illinois Athletes of the Year
1940 William J. Hapac, basketball & baseball
1941 John Drish, basketball & baseball
1942 Andy Phillip, basketball & baseball
1943 Andy Phillip, basketball & baseball
1944 Buddy Young, football & track#
1945 Walton "Junior" Kirk, basketball
1946 Herbert McKenley, track
1947 Alex Agase, football & wrestling
1948 Dwight "Dike" Eddleman, football, basketball & track
1949 Dwight "Dike" Eddleman, football, basketball & track
1950 Russell Steger, football & baseball#
1951 Don Sunderlage, basketball
1952 Charles Boerio, football#
1953 Clive Follmer, basketball & baseball
1954 J.C. Caroline, football#
1955 Paul Judson, basketball
1956 Em Lindbeck, football & baseball
1957 Abe Woodson, football & track
1958 Bob Mitchell, football & track#
1959 Abe Grossfeld, gymnastics
1960 Bill Burrell, football
1961 Bill Brown, football & track
1962 Doug Mills, football, basketball & baseball
1963 Harold Holmes, gymnastics
1964 Dick Butkus, football
1965 Dick Butkus, football
1966 Jim Grabowski, football
1967 Jim Dawson, basketball
1968 Dave Scholz, basketball
1969 Dave Scholz, basketball
1970 Mike Price, basketball
1971 Lee LaBadie, track/cross country
1972 Rick Gross, track/cross country
1973-81 Award not given
1982 Tony Eason, football
1983 Tony Eason, football
Marianne Dickerson, track/cross country
1984 Don Thorp, football
Karen Brems, gymnastics
1985 Charles Lake, gymnastics
Kelly McNee, track/cross country
1986 David Williams, football
Jonelle Polk, basketball
1987 Darrin Fletcher, baseball
Mary Eggers, volleyball
1988 Tim Simon, track
Mary Eggers, volleyball
1989 David Zeddies, gymnastics
Mary Eggers, volleyball
1990 Kendall Gill, basketball
Laura Bush, volleyball
1991 Jon Llewellyn, wrestling
Sarah Sharp, basketball
Renee Heiken, golf
1992 Tim Simpson, football
Len Sitko, track/cross country
Renee Heiken, golf
Tonja Buford, track
1993 Marko Koers, track
Tonja Buford, track
1994 Anthony Jones, track
Tina Rogers, volleyball
1995 Dana Howard, football
Steve Marianetti, wrestling
Tonya Williams, track
1996 Kevin Hardy, football
Tonya Williams, track
1997 Ernest Benion, wrestling
Ashley Berggren, basketball
1998 Eric Siebert, wrestling
Ashley Bergren, basketball
Yvonne Harrison, track & field
1999 Oliver Freelove, tennis
Cristy Chapman, volleyball
2000 Jason Anderson, baseball
Jessica Aveyard, swimming
2001 Adam Tirapelle, wrestling
Perdita Felicien, track & field
2002 Kurt Kittner, football
Perdita Felicien, track & field
2003 Amer Delic, tennis
Matt Lackey, wrestling
Perdita Felicien, track & field
2004 Justin Spring, gymnastics
Leisha Alcia, soccer
2005 Deron Williams, basketball
Cassie Hunt, track & field, cross country
