OSU Names Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Joey Graham and Valentina Medina were named the 2004-2005 OSU Student-Athletes
of the year at the annual Academic Awards Banquet. The two awards were the final
ones to be announced at the banquet held on April 11th this year.Student-athletes who earn the award must demonstrate significant
success both on the fielA native of San Cristobol, Venezuela,
Valentina Medina runs track and field as well as cross-country for OSU and
has excelled since she arrived on campus in 2001. In her first
year, she was named all Big XII. In 2002, she finished 3rd in the mile competition at the Big XII Indoor Track Championships.
In the same year, she was also an NCAA qualifier for the mile. While Valentina
sat out 2003 with an injury, 2004 proved to be a banner year for her. She
was the 2004 Big XII Outdoor Champion in the 1,500 meter race; earned a 2nd place finish in the NCAA Midwest Regional; and earned four top-7
finishes, including a 1st place at the Tyson Invitational mile and 3rd place at the Texas Relays 1,500. In the classroom, Valentina has
performed at an equal caliber. She is a 9-time Academic Big XII honor roll
(3.00 GPA or greater); 7-time Dean’s honor roll in the Spears College
of Business Administration; 4-time OSU President’s Honor Roll (4.00 semester),
and last year she was named Top 10 OSU College of Business Students. She has
since graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Accounting and is working on an M.S.
in Accounting currently. Having earned his first bachelor’s degree in Aviation
Sciences in July of 2004 and earning his professional pilot’s license,
Joey Graham has been the model of academic and athletic excellence. In 2003-2004,
Joey earned All Big XII – 3rd Team by the Coaches Poll and All Bix XII – Honorable Mention from the
AP Poll. But 2004-2005 proved to be Joey’s breakout year: statistically,
he led his teammates in 3-pt fieldgoal % (.460), free throw % (.889), rebounds
(196), and was 2nd in scoring (17.5 ppg average). Besides these glittering stats, Joey was named
to the 2004-2005 Pre-season All Big XII team; was a Big XII player of the year
candidate; pre-season John R.Wooden award candidate; and national All-American
candidate. Joey earned a place on the All Big XII 1st team, and was Sports Illustrated 2nd Team All-American Candidate.