Sophomore track and field thrower Brittany Smith received the 2009-2010 Illinois State Athlete of the Year award at the annual Walk of Champions Sunday evening. Smith received the Jill Hutchison Female Athlete of the Year award at the event that welcomes new Redbird student-athletes to campus.
Smith had a remarkable freshman campaign as a Redbird thrower. After an indoor season with five top-five finishes, she flourished in the outdoor season. Smith swept the shot put, discus and hammer at both the Redbird Spring Invitational and EIU Big Blue Classic. At the State Farm MVC Championship, she placed second in both the discus and shot put to qualify for the NCAA West Regional, where she finished sixth and 13th, respectively. She advanced to the NCAA Championship in the discus, coming in 19th place. Smith wasn’t done with the shot put, however, as she went on to win the event at the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships and finish seventh at the IAAF World Junior Championships.
The six other female nominees were Ashleen Bracey (women’s basketball), Stacey Miller (golf), Danielle Mutters (soccer), Kara Nelson (softball), Abby Olson (softball) and Katelyn Prorok (swimming and diving).
The female athlete of the year award is named in honor of Hutchison, who retired from coaching women’s basketball in 1999 after racking up 461 wins in 28 seasons at Illinois State. Now a radio analyst for Redbird broadcasts, Hutchison was a pioneer and advocate for women in athletics throughout her coaching career. A banner in her honor hangs from the Redbird Arena rafters and she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
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