Malone University senior football and track & field student-athlete Austin Cary has been selected as the 2016-17 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The award is voted upon by athletic department administrators from the league's member schools and recognizes one male graduating senior who has compiled the most outstanding record in athletics, scholarship and leadership.

"Austin is a WINNER in everything he does," commented Pioneer football head coach Fred Thomas.  "In the classroom, on the field or in any setting, he is a winner.  Austin is a fine example of what a student-athlete is supposed to be and we are extremely proud of all he has accomplished."

Cary, from Loudonville, Ohio, put together an outstanding year as a defensive lineman for the Pioneer football team and a thrower for the Malone track & field team.

On the gridiron, Cary was named Great Midwest All-Conference after registering 47 tackles and a team-high five sacks.  He concluded his stellar four-year Malone football career with 126 total tackles and 11 sacks.

The senior also excelled in his first year of collegiate track & field competition.  During the indoor season, Cary helped the Pioneer men's team secure the Great Midwest Championship by claiming the individual weight throw title.  Then at the conference's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Cary placed fifth in both the discus and the hammer throw events as the Malone men finished runner-up in the final team standings.

As impressive as his athletic accomplishments were over the span of his career, Cary achieved as much, if not more, in the classroom.  He graduated in the spring with an impressive 3.838 cumulative grade point average as a Biology major. 

In November, Cary became the first Malone football player to earn NCAA Division II Academic All-America recognition.  Then in June, he received the prestigious distinction again in track & field, becoming the first Pioneer student-athlete to receive NCAA Academic All-America recognition in two different sport categories.

Cary's track & field teammate, Duke Taylor, was selected as the Great Midwest Male Athlete of the Year, giving Malone a sweep of the conference's 2016-17 Male Athlete & Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards in its first year of membership in the league.