June 14, 2006

Champaign, Ill. - Cassie Hunt and the nation's top senior gymnast Justin Spring have been named winners of the Dike Eddleman Female and Male Athletes of the Year, respectively, at the University of Illinois

Both Hunt and Spring earn the award for the second time. Spring, who also won the award in 2004, is just the sixth male athlete to be a repeat winner joining Andy Phillip (basketball & baseball, 1942 &'43), Eddleman (football, basketball, track, 1948 & '49), Dick Butkus (football, 1964 & '65), Dave Scholz (basketball 1968 & '69) and Tony Eason (1982 & '83). Hunt also won the award last year.

Hunt completed the track season by placing second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last week. Her track exploits also included winning the 5,000 meters at the Drake Relays. Hunt made noise in the fall as one of the top cross country runners in the country. She placed 11th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, leading Illinois to its best finish as a team (fifth). Hunt was the medalist at the Big Ten Cross Country meet and was named Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year, becoming the first woman in Illini history to claim that honor. She was also medalist in four other meets and her time of 16:52 at the Notre Dame Invite ranks third on Illinois' all-time list for a cross country 5K.

"I know there were several others who were deserving of the honor, so this is special," Hunt said. "For me, there were a lot of ups and downs. Fortunately, the ones that were good fell on the right days. That says a lot for the job that my coach (Karen Harvey) has done. She gets us prepared, and then it's up to us to go out to the track or the trails and perform."

Spring leaves Illinois, a school rich in tradition in gymnastics, as one of the most decorated performers in the sport to compete at the school. The senior was named the Nissen Emery Award winner as the top senior gymnast in the nation - the "Heisman" of collegiate gymnastics. He won the national title in both the parallel bars and the high bar and finished runner-up in the all-around competition. His performances nearly helped propel the Illini to the national title as a team, but the Illini fell just a fraction of a point shy of Oklahoma for the top spot.

Spring's five All-America honors this year (all-around, floor exercise, vault, parallel bars and high bars) bring his total to 12, the most since Abe Grossfeld, who earned 12 All-America honors from 1957-59. Spring holds the school record in four events, including in the parallel bars, where he scored a 9.825 at the event finals at the NCAA meet to win the national title. Spring has made a name for himself on the national and international scene outside of the collegiate ranks as well. He placed 10th on the high bar and 12th on the parallel bars at the 2005 World Championships as a member of Team USA and won the high bar at the 2005 Visa U.S. Championships.

"This award ranks right up there with winning the Nissen Emery Award for me because it's given out by the University," Spring said. "The NCAA and USAG awards are great, but I have a strong sense of pride for the University of Illinois, so it means a great deal to me to recognized by the University that I love. It's also quite an honor to win this award twice. When you look at the names of the other two-time winners, it's pretty easy to see that there have been some incredible athletes at the U of I, and it's an honor to be a part of that tradition."

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 Dee Brown and soccer All-American Christen Karniski earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor. Julie Crall from gymnastics and Kyle Hudson from football were named Newcomers of the Year, and Rasa Virsilaite (volleyball) and Alex Tirapelle (wrestling) were Spirit Award recipients. 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.

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

2006    Justin Spring, gymnastics

        Cassie Hunt, track & field/cross country