The Aurora University Athletic Department named its 2008-2009 male and female Athletes of the Year at the annual Spartan Sports Spring Banquet on Tuesday, May 12, 2009. The awards, as voted on by staff members of the AU Athletic Department, were presented to junior men’s track and field and football student-athlete Adrian Kibiersza (Des Plaines, IL/Maine West H.S.) and junior women’s softball pitcher Anna Snyder (Grayslake, IL/Grayslake H.S.).
On hand to honor these two fine student-athletes were Aurora University Vice President for Student Life Dr. Lora Delacey, Director of Athletics Mark Walsh, members of the spring sports teams, their families and friends, as well as Men’s Track and Field Head Coach Ryan Chapman and Softball Head Coach Mike McKenzie.
McKenzie led the festivities by recognizing the Female Athlete of the Year winner, junior women’s softball standout pitcher Anna Snyder. The Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) softball Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season, National Fastpitch Coaches Association First-Team All-Region and NAC All-Conference recipient, Snyder started to rewrite the Spartan record books in all pitching categories. She has established new marks in career strikeouts (555) and wins (52). On the season, Snyder had a 22-4 record with a 1.52 earned run average and 251 strikeouts in 160-1/3 innings pitched. Opponents hit .171 against her, she had 18 complete games with one no-hitter and five shutouts.
AU’s softball team finished the 2009 season with a 31-7 overall record and 22-2 in the NAC and were the NAC regular season champions. The NAC Championship is their sixth consecutive conference championship.
Men’s Track and Field Head Coach Ryan Chapman followed by announcing the Male Athlete of the Year recipient, junior student-athlete Adrian Kibiersza. Kibiersza, a two-sport athlete at AU, won the award for the second straight season. Thus far in 2008-2009, Kibiersza was an All-American at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in the shot put. On the football field, he was named Northern Athletics Conference First-Team All-Conference as an offensive lineman for the Spartans.
As a sophomore (2007-2008), he was named Northern Athletics Conference Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, Field-Athlete of the Meet at both the indoor and outdoor championships. He won the indoor shot put championship and was the outdoor champion in the shot put and discus. He was also named Illini-Badger Football Conference First-Team All-Conference in football as an offensive lineman. In his freshman season, Kibiersza became the first AU track and field student-athlete to compete at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships when he qualified in the shot put and discus.
