Missouri Southern junior student-athletes Cam Martin and Elena Bisotto have been named finalists for their respective Winter Student-Athlete of the Year Awards presented by the MIAA.
The award this year is being done in place of the typical Ken B. Jones Award that is given annually to the top male and female student-athlete in the league.
With the Covid-19 pandemic halting play in the spring sports, the MIAA instead is awarding a Male and Female Fall and Winter Student-Athlete of the Year with the same qualifications of the Ken B. Jones Award.
Martin and Bisotto are one of five finalists in their respective genders.
This season, Martin was a Finalist for the Bevo Francis Small College Basketball Player of the Year Award. He was a first-team All-MIAA, All-Region and All-America selection and a member of the MIAA All-Tournament Team.
Martin and Bisotto are one of five finalists in their respective genders.
This season, Martin was a Finalist for the Bevo Francis Small College Basketball Player of the Year Award. He was a first-team All-MIAA, All-Region and All-America selection and a member of the MIAA All-Tournament Team.
He led the MIAA in scoring, rebounds, defensive rebounds, double-double's free throw attempts, free throws made, total field goals made, total points and total rebounds, while ranking second in blocks, field goal percentage, total blocks and total field goal attempts. Martin averaged 24.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game this year, while shooting 58 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free throw line.
He had a team-high 46 blocks and was third on the team with 61 assists and set the MSSU single-game scoring mark with 54 points at Missouri Western (the most points scored by a Division II player in a single-game this season). He is the only player in MSSU history to score 700 or more points twice in a single-season and currently has the top career scoring average at MSSU (23.3) and is third on the active D-II player list for that stat. Martin was named the MIAA Athlete of the Week seven times this year.
Bisotto was an All-MIAA pick in the indoor pole vault this year, finishing third at the 2020 MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She qualified for her fifth NCAA Division II National Championships, but did not get a chance to compete due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Bisotto was ranked 7th nationally going into the National Championships with an NCAA Automatic Qualifying mark of 13 feet, three inches (4.04 meters) which she obtained at the MIAA Indoor Championships. She is a two-time All-MIAA and All-America selection.
Bisotto carries a 3.95 GPA in biology and has been a three-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll selection, while twice being named an MIAA Scholar-Athlete. Martin carries a 3.30 GPA in business and has twice been a member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
He had a team-high 46 blocks and was third on the team with 61 assists and set the MSSU single-game scoring mark with 54 points at Missouri Western (the most points scored by a Division II player in a single-game this season). He is the only player in MSSU history to score 700 or more points twice in a single-season and currently has the top career scoring average at MSSU (23.3) and is third on the active D-II player list for that stat. Martin was named the MIAA Athlete of the Week seven times this year.
Bisotto was an All-MIAA pick in the indoor pole vault this year, finishing third at the 2020 MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She qualified for her fifth NCAA Division II National Championships, but did not get a chance to compete due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Bisotto was ranked 7th nationally going into the National Championships with an NCAA Automatic Qualifying mark of 13 feet, three inches (4.04 meters) which she obtained at the MIAA Indoor Championships. She is a two-time All-MIAA and All-America selection.
Bisotto carries a 3.95 GPA in biology and has been a three-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll selection, while twice being named an MIAA Scholar-Athlete. Martin carries a 3.30 GPA in business and has twice been a member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
Throughout the year, Bisotto and Martin have helped their fellow Southern student-athletes in participating in various community service projects including helping out with the Ronald McDonald House and Big Red Shoe Run, various trash pick-up dates, volunteering with the St. Louis Cardinals Caravan, as well as helping out in the athletic department's annual Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat program - a canned food drive that helped fill the pantry of one of the local food banks for more than six months.
Other finalists on the men's side for the winter award include Brandan Ball of Fort Hays, David Kizan of Lincoln, Matt Malcom of Nebraska-Kearney and Levi Wyrick of Pittsburg State. Finalists in the women's award include Morgan Fleming of Central Missouri, Kacey Kennett of Fort Hays State, Tiara Schmidt of Nebraska-Kearney and Haven Lander of Pittsburg State.
A 15-member committee comprised of one administrator from each MIAA institution and the conference office ranked each candidate based on excellence in three categories: Athletic Achievement in that academic year, Career Academic Achievements, and Community/Campus Service during the Academic Year. A nominee must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade-point average through the previous full semester term through February 1 of the academic year of nomination at the certifying member institution. The winners will be announced on May 22.
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