Husson Athletics Announces 2010-2011 Athletes of the Year
Bangor, ME – The Husson University athletics department is thrilled to announce this year’s recipients of the inaugural Male and Female Student Athlete of the Year awards. Under the new direction of Athletic Director Bob Reasso, the athletics department will begin to honor a male and female athlete who exemplify what it means to be a Husson Eagle. This year, two women have each separated themselves from the pack and are each deserving candidates of the inaugural female athlete of the year award. Cross Country runner Angela Stauble and 3 sport athlete – Soccer, Basketball and Softball – Amanda Gifford are each the recipients of the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year Award. Kyle Vanidestine, who plays both Football and Baseball at Husson, has been named the 2011 Male Athlete of the Year.
Angela Stauble is almost single-handedly responsible for creating the women’s cross country team at Husson. An Occupational Therapy student from Amherst, NH, Angela was an avid runner long before she chose to attend Husson University. When she arrived on campus and found that the school was without a cross country team, Stauble set out to change that. She created the Running Club, and petitioned both President Robert Clark and the Athletic Director. Her determination paid off and in 2010 the Eagles opened their first season of Women’s Cross Country. Angela certainly did not waste her opportunity. While still maintaining a 3.97 GPA in the rigorous Occupational Therapy department, she went out and won nearly every meet in which she competed, including the 2010 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championships. Angela was named the 2010 NAC Runner of the Year and the 2010 NAC Rookie of the Year. More important than her impressive finishes is the legacy she left behind, which includes helping the Cross Country team win the NAC Championship in 2011, just two years after she helped start the team.
Amanda Gifford not only competes in three varsity sports at Husson, she excels at them. Gifford has played 3 seasons of soccer, is in her third year of basketball and will compete in her second season of softball this spring. Gifford is an incredibly competitive, driven young woman who has had success on and off the pitch, the court and the diamond. In soccer, Gifford has played in over 50 games, scoring 13 goals and racking up 31 points, including 4 game winners in her career, helping Husson women’s soccer to a pair of conference championships in 2009 and 2010. Gifford is a tenacious defender and is unrivaled in the air – where her grit and determination is at its finest. In basketball, Amanda is a true point guard, running the offense like a quarterback on the hardwood. In two years of play, Gifford has scored over 500 points (nearly 10 per game) and recorded 161 assists and 129 steals, helping the Eagles to back-to-back NAC Championships. Last spring, Amanda took on softball as well, playing in 38 games for the Eagles. Gifford worked in as a utility player before battling herself into a starting role mid-way through the season. She hit .275 while scoring 19 runs and knocking in 18, en route to the softball team’s third consecutive North Atlantic Conference Championship. If there was a fourth season for collegiate athletics, Amanda Gifford would surely take part in another opportunity to compete, and that’s what makes her a stellar student athlete.
Kyle Vanidestine is a leader on both the football and baseball teams at Husson, starting at safety and left field for the past three seasons. Vanidestine is a phenomenal athlete, and is a true leader by example. As a senior, Kyle was named one of the four captains of the 2011 Eagle football team. That came on the heels of a first-team All-Eastern Collegiate Football Conference selection in 2010. In his career at the safety position, Vanidestine has 228 total tackles – 160 solo – as well as 8 interceptions. On the diamond, Kyle’s speed and athleticism shine as he ranges around the outfield at the Winkin complex. At the plate, he is a career .306 hitter going into his senior campaign, scoring 122 runs and driving in 69 more, as well as swiping 49 bases over the past three seasons. With Vanidestine in the lineup, the Eagles won the 2011 NEAC Championship, and appeared in the NCAA New England Regionals twice (2009 and 2011).
The winners of these awards will be honored at the Sports Hall of Fame Banquet that will be held on December 2nd at Penobscott Valley Country Club as well as the men’s and women’s basketball games on December 3rd.
