Ridgnal, Suied named Cowley College Athletes of the Year

Wrapping up storybook careers at Cowley College, sophomores Dalen Ridgnal and Lubna Suied were named the school's Male and Female Athletes of the Year at a luncheon held Wednesday in the Patrick J. McAtee Dining Center.

Coming off a record-setting season, the Cowley College men's basketball team had Dalen Ridgnal, who was a Third Team All-American as a freshman, help lead the Tigers to its first region title in 64 years, as well as helped Cowley make it back-to-back conference titles. He ultimately led the Tigers all the way to the national title game where Cowley finished as the national runner-up and ended the year with a record of 24-5. The national runner-up finish matched the best finish in school history along with the 1952-53 team.

Ridgnal was named a First-Team All-Region selection for the second straight year. The sophomore led Cowley in scoring (21.1) and rebounds (12.8) per game as he finished his career as the ninth all-time leading scorer in the history of the program.

He recently signed a letter of intent to continue his basketball career at the University of Georgia.

"This award means a lot to me," Ridgnal said. "I want to thank my coaches, teammates, and family because without them I would not be receiving this award."

Lubna Suied, who finished as the women's cross country program's first-ever individual national champion, placed first in five of six races on the season. Her stellar performance helped the Lady Tiger cross country team capture the national championship at the NJCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships held in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Suied was also the region champion, lifting Cowley to its fourth straight conference title and a second place finish in the region.

She recently finished as the conference and region champion in three events at the Jayhawk Conference/Region Championships. Suied placed first in the 1,500-meter, 5,000-meter, and 10,000-meter runs. She won every event she competed in and broke the school record in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:43.34.

"I remember thinking during my freshman year that I may not have made the right choice by coming to Cowley," Suied said. "Now, I don't want my two years at Cowley to be over. This is a blessing to win this award when there are so many amazing athletes at Cowley."

Male Athletes of the Month:

September – Cevin Clark, basketball

October – Samuel Giles, cross country

November – Dalen Ridgnal, basketball

December – Alejandro Orihuela, tennis

January – Gus Freeman, baseball

February – Alvaro Gabancho, soccer

March – Adrian Diaz-Lopez, track and field

April – Shemarri Allen, basketball

May – Andrew Burgos, cheer

Female Athletes of the Month:

September – Lubna Suied, cross country

October – Iva Halacheva, volleyball

November – Andrea Rodriguez Oria, tennis

December – Erin Thompson, volleyball

January – Paige Hughes, softball

February – Corbin Goodson, soccer

March – Ane Ibarra, tennis

April – Maddy Pitts, volleyball

May – Brooke Mason, softball