Senior Bridget Sanchez was named one of six Ohio Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Award winners for 2010-2011.

The award marks the highest individual honor given to to a junior or senior OVC student-athlete who has performed with athletic distinction and at least a 3.25 GPA, while also conducting themselves “in a manner which has brought credit to the student-athlete, his or her institution, intercollegiate athletics and the OVC,” according to the OVC. The award is given annually to three male athletes and three female athletes.

Sanchez currently has a GPA of 4.00, while majoring in psychology. The Melrose Park native is the president of the Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society, and a member of both the Phi Alpha Eta Honor Society, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Sanchez has also been involved as a minority affairs peer leader in her time at Eastern.

Sanchez has seen academic honors in the OVC by earning the OVC Medal of Honor award three times and was named to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll three times as well.

Sanchez, as a member of the Eastern track and field team, has won six OVC championships, winning three in both indoor and outdoor track and field.

She currently holds the third fastest 400-meter dash time in Eastern history, and would participate in the NCAA West Preliminary Round Qualifier in that same event. As a member of the 4×400 relay team, she was taken home an outdoor OVC championship in both 2009 and 2010, while also winning the OVC indoor championship in 2009. As a member of the 4×100 meter relay team, she took second place in the OVC.

Sanchez joins Megan Gingerich, Erica Gerth, Rachel Wright, Jessica Laska and Vanessa Wells as the sixth female athlete in Eastern history to take home the award. Gingerich won the award last season. Fourteen Eastern athletes, men and women combined, have won the award. Red-shirt senior member of the Eastern football team, Cory Leman, was nominated for the honor this season, but was not chosen. The last male Eastern athlete to win the award was baseball player Brian Morrell in the 2008-2009 season.

The other recipients of the award were Emory Attig, football player of Eastern Kentucky, Lauren Harkins, volleyball player of Jacksonville State, Jenna Miller, volleyball player at Tennessee-Martin, Ty Proffitt, basketball player of Morehead State, and Paul Ritzheimer, baseball player of Murray State.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7942 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.