PRINCETON—Kean University senior guard Melissa Beyruti and William Paterson University senior forward Abdoulaye Ouedraogo were honored as the 2009-10 New Jersey Athletic Conference Female and Male Athletes of the Year respectively at the 11th Annual NJAC Awards Brunch held at the Hyatt Regency on June 6. The NJAC Athlete of the Year awards are selected annually by a vote of the conference’s 20-member Board of Athletic Administrators.
In total, a record 116 conference honorees were present to receive their awards at the event. The 11th Annual NJAC Awards Brunch also featured a record total of 247 total guests in attendance in Princeton.
The 2009-10 NJAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, Beyruti was a NCAA Division III State Farm Coaches’ All-American selection, a D3hoops.com Second-Team All-American, a Women’s DIII News First-Team All-American, the ECAC Metro Region Player of the Year, and a Met Basketball Writers First-Team All-Star.
Kean University head coach Michele Sharp presented Beyruti with her award, as she became the first athlete in the history of the Kean athletic program to be honored with the NJAC’s top honor.
Beyruti is the Kean women’s basketball program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,974 career points. She also holds the NCAA All-Divisions record for career three-point field goals made (397), while tied for the all-time lead in NCAA Division III career games played (128).
Selected as both the 2009-10 NJAC Men’s Basketball Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Ouedraogo became the first William Paterson male athlete to garner the conference’s top honor. He joins former WPU field hockey and softball standout Diane Naugle, who claimed the NJAC Female Athlete of the Year Award in 2000-01, as the only Pioneer athletes to claim the NJAC’s top honor.
William Paterson University head men’s basketball Jose Rebimbas, who also was honored as the NJAC Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year during the event, presented Ouedraogo with his award.
A Second-Team NABC All-American, Ouedraogo also was a member of the NABC All-Atlantic Region First-Team, the D3hoops.com All-Atlantic Region Second-Team, an ECAC Metro Region First-Team selection, and a Met Basketball Writers Association First-Team All-Star. He led the Pioneers with a .527 field-goal percentage (seventh in NJAC), 7.4 rebounds (sixth in conference) and 2.1 blocked shots (second in league, 36th in Division III) per game.
Ouedraogo registered 13 double-digit scoring totals, four double-figure rebounding games, and three double-doubles this season while being selected to play in the first ever NABC Senior All-Star Game at the NCAA Division III Final Four in Salem, VA.