ELMHURST, Ill. - The Summit League selected Oral Roberts track and field athlete Jack Whitt (Norman, Okla.) and Southern Utah track and field athlete Cameron Levins (Black Creek, British Columbia) as the Male Athletes of the Month and South Dakota track and field athlete Bethany Buell (St. Louis, Mo.) as the Female Athlete of the Month for May/June.
Whitt collects his third career Male Athlete of the Month award after winning the 2012 NCAA pole vault title and earning his second-straight first team All-America honor and Summit League Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year award. The junior won the national title with a school-record height of 18'6.5" (5.65m), four inches higher than the second place competitor. Whitt won his third consecutive league pole vault title at the league championship meet.
Levins garners his second career Athlete of the Month honor after collecting two national championships and first team All-American (5,000 meters, 10,000 meters) honors at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He also captured his second-straight Summit League Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year honor earlier this month. During the NCAA meet, Levins became the first Summit League student-athlete to win two national titles at one championship. The senior won the 5,000 meters in 13:40.05 and the 10,000 meters in a stadium-record time of 28:07.14. The lone Southern Utah competitor earned his team a league-best finish in a tie for 11th place. He became SUU's first national champion, the first athlete to win the 5k/10k double since 2009 and the third two-time national champion in league history. He was named the USTFCCCA Men's Mountain Region Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and is a semifinalist for the Bowerman Award. The British Columbia native was a three-time champion (1,500 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters) at The Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the Track Championship MVP. Levins finished the season ranked first in the nation in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and was undefeated on the season in both events.
Buell earns her first career Female Athlete of the Month honor after being named the Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year and capturing first team All-America honors. She also recorded a Summit League best third-place finish in the pole vault at the NCAA Championships. Her third-place finish ties for the second-best all-time finish by a female student-athlete in any event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The St. Louis, Mo., native cleared a school record height of 14'5.25" (4.40m) and became the first Coyote to place in the top three at the Division I national meet. Buell won the league pole vault title with a league-record height of 14'0.5" (4.28m) at the outdoor championships.
Also nominated for the Men's Athlete of the Month: Carter DeBoe, IPFW, baseball; Tim Colwell, North Dakota State, baseball; Tim Ryan, Oakland, baseball; Jeff Mettler, South Dakota, track & field; Jared Vlastuin, South Dakota State, track & field; Jamario Taylor, Western Illinois, track & field.
Also nominated for the Women's Athlete of the Month: Miranda Kramer, IPFW, softball; Amy Anderson, North Dakota State, golf; Micah Jones, Oakland, track & field; Camila Pirelli, Oral Roberts, track & field; Kayla Kovar, Southern Utah, track & field.
2011-12 Athletes of the Month
Month Male, School, Sport Female, School, Sport
August/September Max Touloute, IPFW, soccer Bridget Murphy, Western Illinois, volleyball
October Cameron Levins, Southern Utah, cross country Kat Donovan, South Dakota State, soccer
November Reggie Hamilton, Oakland, basketball Jennifer Lopez, North Dakota State, volleyball
December Alex Young, IUPUI, basketball Amber Hegge, South Dakota, basketball
January Dominique Morrison, basketball Amber Hegge, South Dakota, basketball
February Reggie Hamilton, Oakland, basketball Vanessza Balogh, Oakland, swimming & diving
March Reggie Hamilton, Oakland, basketball Chen Ni, IUPUI, swimming & diving
April Michael Davan, IUPUI, golf Amy Anderson, North Dakota State, golf
May/June Jack Whitt, Oral Roberts, track & field Bethany Buell, South Dakota, track & field
Cameron Levins, Southern Utah, track & field
