HAMMOND – Senior men's track and field student-athlete Adonson Shallow and senior women's soccer student-athlete Dana Mayer have been selected as the 2009-10 Southeastern Louisiana University Athletes of the Year.

Since 1990-91, Southeastern has honored its top male and female student-athletes. Each season, two student-athletes are selected from voting by members of the Southeastern Athletics Department. The award is intended to award the department's top male and female performers in competition.

Shallow, a native of Kingston, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is the fourth member of the men's track and field program to earn Southeastern Athlete of the Year accolades. Shallow joins Southeastern Hall of Famer David Bennett (1993-94), Chris Carter (2002-03, 2004-05) and Lars Laursen (2005-06).

Mayer, who hails from Toronto, Ont., is the fifth women's soccer student-athlete to earn Southeastern Athletics' top individual honor. Previous women's soccer winners include Southeastern Hall of Famers Allison Holliday (1998-99) and Becca Weingartner (2001-02), as well as former Lady Lions Kendra Oney (2003-04) and Kim McNally (2004-05).

Shallow capped one of the greatest seasons ever by a Lion with an All-American performance in the discus at last month's NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The 2010 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Field Performer, Shallow was one of two student-athletes in the nation to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the discus, shot put and hammer throw.

The USTFCCCA South Central Region Field Athlete of the Year, Shallow won the East Regional title in the discus during the outdoor campaign and also won Southland outdoor titles in the discus, shot put and hammer. During the indoor season, he was named the league's Outstanding Field Performer after winning titles in the weight throw and discus. Shallow, who competed in the weight throw in the NCAA Indoor Championships, is eligible to compete in indoor competition next season.

While Shallow was arguably the department's top performer in competition, Mayer was perhaps the most well-rounded. On the field, Mayer was a key part of the Southland Conference Tournament champions, helping the Lady Lions to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. A starting midfielder in her first three seasons, Mayer made a seamless transition to defender, earning first team All-Southland and honorable mention All-Louisiana accolades. The Southeastern defense – featuring Mayer, Nicole Brannigan, Brittany Prieto, Kyle MacIntosh and goalkeeper Lacey Bockhaus – helped Southeastern finish 14th nationally with a 0.63 goals against average. That goals against average is the lowest single-season total in Southland Conference history, while Mayer and company also matched league single-season records for shutouts (13) and fewest goals allowed (13).

Her performance in the classroom was even more impressive. Graduating with a 4.0 grade point average in biology in May, Mayer received the President's Medal for Academic Excellence, which is the highest academic honor a Southeastern graduate can receive. Later in the month, she earned the Southland Conference F.L. McDonald Postgraduate Scholarship – the league's ultimate academic honor for its top graduates presented annually to graduating male and female letterwinners with the highest cumulative GPA's during their enrollment at Southland Conference institutions.

The 2009 Southland Conference Women's Soccer Student-Athlete of the Year, Mayer was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VI and Southland Conference All-Academic teams for the third straight year. A third team NSCAA Scholar All-South Region pick, Mayer will be involved with stem cell research at the University of Toronto before beginning medical school in the Fall of 2011.

Nominees came from programs throughout the department. Shallow's fellow nominees on the men's side were Philipp Westermann (men's golf), Chris Franklin (baseball), Patrick Sullivan (men's basketball) and Brian Babin (football). Mayer, Katie Duhe (softball), Lacey Sanchez (women's track and field), Zevy Ivory (women's basketball), Alex Greer (volleyball) and Morgane Dadot (women's tennis) were the female nominees.

Southeastern Male and Female Athletes of the Year

1990-91
Male: Ola Fjellstrom (Tennis)
Female: Diana Brown (Track and Field)

1991-92
Male: Troy Melancon (Baseball)
Female: Millie Williams (Basketball)

1992-93
Male: Hank Washington (Basketball)
Female: Renata Smekalova (Tennis)*

1993-94
Male: David Bennett (Track and Field)*
Female: Renata Smekalova (Tennis)*

1994-95
Male: Harvey Baker (Basketball)
Female: Felisa Howard (Track and Field) and Rena Faust (Basketball)

1995-96
Male: Sam Bowie (Basketball) and Jeff Williams (Baseball)*
Female: Darci Starr (Volleyball)* and Deneka Knowles (Basketball)*

1996-97
Male: Martin du Toit (Golf)*
Female: Anne Bauer (Volleyball)*

1997-98
Male: Grant White (Golf)
Female: Simona Nedorostova (Tennis)

1998-99
Male: Macky Waguespack (Baseball)*
Female: Allison Holladay (Soccer)*

1999-00
Male: Jacques Chevalier (Golf)
Female: Stacey Turner (Basketball)

2000-01
Male: Steve Trosclair (Baseball)
Female: Christine Amertil (Track and Field)*

2001-02
Male: Andy Smith (Golf)
Female: Becca Weingartner (Women's Soccer)*

2002-03
Male: Chris Carter (Track and Field)
Female: Sarah Gascon (Volleyball/Softball)

2003-04
Male: Amir Abdur-Rahim (Basketball)
Female: Kendra Oney (Soccer)

2004-05
Male: Chris Carter (Track and Field)
Female: Kim McNally (Soccer)

2005-06
Male: Lars Laursen (Track and Field)
Female: Iva Velkovska (Tennis)

2006-07
Male: Chris Province (Baseball)
Female: Emilija Arnaudovska (Tennis)

2007-08
Male: Wade Miley (Baseball)
Female: Emilija Arnaudovska (Tennis)

2008-09
Male: Cedric Scotto (Golf)
Female: Kristy Carlin (Basketball)

2009-10
Male: Adonson Shallow (Track and Field)
Female: Dana Mayer (Soccer)

* - Denotes member of the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame