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Richardson, Texas – Volleyball player Kevyn Jackson and women's soccer standout Lauren Browning were each named the American Southwest Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year in their respective sports, as announced by the league office on Thursday, Jan. 26.

Jackson and Browning are the second and third CTX athletes in any sport to earn the award. Volleyball's Michelle Heckmann also received the honor in 2007. Both players were also placed on the ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Team in their sport along with Jacob Stern of the men's soccer team and cross country runners Mark Giardinelli and Haley Phillips.

Browning, who is majoring in communication with a 3.80 grade point average, was a four-year starting defender who graduates as the program's record holder for matches played as a member of the winningest class in school history. She is also the first soccer player in school history – male or female – to be named NSCAA All-Region. The Georgetown native was also one of the first two players in program history to be named to the All-ASC First Team as well as the ASC All-Tournament team this past fall for her role in the Tornados' first-ever postseason win. She anchored a back line that set a single-season school record for shutouts (11) this past fall, breaking the old mark of 10 set in 2010. The senior has made the ASC Academic Honor Roll three times and has garnered All-ASC honors three times in her career, which includes making the first team in 2011. Browning also had a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2011 fall semester while the team was in season. She came into a program that had never won more than four matches and helped Concordia set a single-season school record for wins in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, which included winning 10 matches in 2010 and 14 in 2011.

Jackson, a nursing major with a 3.94 grade point average, was Concordia's first player to make the Capital One Academic All-District First Team by CoSIDA in 2011 and had a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2011 fall semester while the team was in season. She was a three-year captain and four-year starter who transitioned to playing the libero position after being an outside hitter for her first three seasons. She ranked second second in the league in digs per set (5.07) to garner All-ASC Third Team recognition this past fall as a libero after being honorably mentioned for All-ASC accolades in 2010 as an outside hitter. She helped CTX become the only ASC school to be named an AVCA All-Academic Team last summer and will graduate third in digs (1,263), fourth in service aces and seventh in kills (562) during the program's ASC and NCAA Division III era, which began in 1999. This is the third straight year that Jackson has made the ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Team.

Phillips, a pre-med major, is Concordia's only student-athlete in any sport to record a perfect 4.0 GPA through seven semesters at the institution and ran cross country for the first time since high school this past fall after playing on the school's volleyball team for three years. She was the Tornados' number five runner and helped Concordia win its first ASC title. The squad had never finished higher than fifth. Phillips scored at the ASC Championships by placing 16th overall and fifth on the team in 25:21.31 before placing 84th overall and fifth on the squad at the NCAA Regional, guiding Concordia to the highest finish by any ASC school ever at the meet (ninth). Her personal-best times were 20:52.44 on a 5,000-meter course and 25:21.31 on a 6,000-meter circuit.

Stern, an education major in graduate school with a 3.50 GPA, was one of the first two players and first goalkeeper in CTX history to be named to the All-ASC First Team in 2011 after being honorably mentioned for postseason accolades in 2010. He helped the Tornados break school records for overall wins (6) and conference wins (6) this past fall, breaking the old marks of five overall victories and three conference victories. Stern set a single-season school record for goals against average (1.69) and ranked second in the ASC in saves per game (5.42). The Bellaire native finished his career as the school record holder for goals against average (2.11) and best save percentage (.715). He also ended his tenure tied for first on the all-time career list for victories (7).

Like Jackson, Giardinelli made the ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Team for the third straight season. The communication major with a 3.41 GPA from Boerne, Texas was placing among the team's top five at the beginning of the season before being sidelined. Giardinelli's best performance came at the Texas Division III Championships when he placed fourth on the team and 82nd overall in 47:28.15.

The honor, in its fifth academic year, recognizes student-athletes that achieve a higher level of academic achievement (a 3.20 grade-point average or better) while competing as a starter or important reserve on their team. From that list – limited to one nominee per school in each ASC championship sport – the Sports Information Directors from the conference's 16 member institutions vote on a Distinguished Scholar-Athlete from each sport. Joining Browning and Jackson as Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year winners were Ozarks' Jeremy Provence (men's cross country) and Tony Santoro (men's soccer) as well as Texas Lutheran's Allen Cain (football).
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Concordia's All-Time Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award Winners
2007 – Michelle Heckmann (Volleyball)
2011 – Lauren Browning (Women's Soccer)
2011 – Kevyn Jackson (Volleyball)