Arkansas Wrestle
(All images via obutigers.com)
Photo caption: Ouachita’s Athletes and Scholar Athletes of the Year for 2023-24. From left to right: G. Allen, Kendel Givens, Michele Snow, and Abbey Moore. Photo by Dr. Wesley Kluck.
ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University Department of Athletics held its annual awards ceremony on Tuesday night at the Jones Performing Arts Center to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2023-24 season and to name its annual award winners.
The awards portion of the ceremony started with the announcement of the 2023-24 All-Ouachita athletic and academic teams, which include the top athlete and top scholar athlete of each team as selected by the head coaches.
Ouachita softball won the second annual Sharp Cup, presented by the Ouachita Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to the team that won the year-long competition with points awarded based on campus activities involvement, community service, and attendance at other athletic events. The women’s basketball team came in second.
The ceremony ended with the naming of the Ouachita athlete and scholar athlete of the year awards.
The women’s soccer team swept the major female awards with junior defender Abbey Moore selected as the Ouachita Female Scholar Athlete of the Year and senior goalkeeper Michele Snow selected as the Ouachita Female Athlete of the Year. The duo led the Tigers to the 2023 Great American Conference Tournament Championship and the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007.
Moore carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA majoring in biology and kinesiology. The Maumelle native was selected as a GAC Elite Scholar Athlete this past year, an award presented to the student-athletes that have the highest cumulative GPA with at least 70 hours that participate in the league championship event. She was also selected to the CSC Academic All-District Team. For her efforts on the field, Moore was selected to the All-GAC First Team for the second time of her career and was named the league’s defender of the week once.
Snow was the top goalkeeper in the GAC this past season and one of the best in the nation. The North Richland Hills, Texas native was named the GAC Goalkeeper of the Year this past year in addition to earning all-conference honors for the fourth time in her career. She was No. 1 in the GAC and top 20 this year nationally in goals allowed. She recorded 11 shutouts this year, giving her 27 for her career. The GAC selected her as the goalkeeper of the week four times this year to give her a final career total of 11. She finished her career with 342 saves, which ranks third all-time at Ouachita. She graduated in the Fall of 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.
Baseball senior G. Allen was selected as the Ouachita Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year, while football junior Kendel Givens was named the Ouachita Male Athlete of the Year.
Allen has maintained a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA at Ouachita and has an overall GPA of 3.97. The Little Rock native will graduate this month with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Last year, he was named to the CSC Academic All-America team and has the credentials for a repeat selection this year. On the field, Allen is the starting left fielder for the Tigers. This year, he has moved into second place all-time at Ouachita in home runs, just two away from tying the record with at least two games remaining in the 2024 season. The Tigers take on Arkansas Tech this weekend in three-game series in the first round of the GAC tournament.
Givens turned in a record-breaking season during his junior campaign. The Little Rock native was selected to four different All-America teams and was a unanimous selection to the All-GAC First Team as the top running back in the league. He was a three-time GAC offensive player of the week this year and set new school records in career rushing touchdowns (57) and career scoring (378) He finished the 2023 season ranked second in the nation in total touchdowns (25), total points scored (150), and rushing touchdowns (21). He was top 20 in the nation in a total of seven offensive categories. Givens is also an academic standout with two straight selections to the CSC Academic All-America team. He will graduate this month with a bachelor’s degree in communications and sports media and then finish up his playing career in 2024 while pursuing a master’s degree.
2023-24 ALL-OUACHITA ACADEMIC TEAM
2023-24 ALL-OUACHITA ATHLETIC TEAM
