OKLAHOMA CITY (May 31, 2016) – The highest awards in Oklahoma Christian athletics for the just-finished academic year have gone to a pair of seniors from Wichita, Kan.

Cross country and track standout Bryant Keirns and golf star Audrey Meisch have been named as Mr. and Ms. Eagle for 2016. Head coaches and athletic department administrators and trainers vote on the awards, which are presented to the male and female senior student-athletes who best combine success in their sport with representing the ideals of OC.

Meisch is the first golfer ever to be named as Ms. Eagle. She ended her career as one of OC's most accomplished players ever, winning three tournaments and twice being named to the All-Heartland Conference second-team honor list. She earned National Christian College Athletic Association All-America honors in 2014, during her junior season.

As a senior, she finished 26th in Division II in scoring average at 75.57 and posted eight top-10 individual finishes. As a junior, she posted 10 top-10 finishes and a 75.00 scoring average, 12th-best in Division II.

She capped her career by becoming the first OC student-athlete ever to qualify for NCAA postseason competition, earning a spot as an individual in the Division II Championship played earlier this month in Aurora, Colo.

Academically, she has received numerous honors, including CoSIDA Academic All-District (2015), Women's Golf Coaches Association All-America Scholar (2014, 2015), NCCAA Scholar-Athlete (2014) and the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award (2015).

"Audrey represents every aspect of what being Ms. Eagle is all about," OC women's golf coach Greg Lynn said. "She is a great student with an outstanding work ethic and high standards in every area of her life. She has a deep and understanding faith and shares it. She helps her teammates with school and golf and makes every effort to encourage a relationship with Jesus."

Keirns has been a fixture on OC's cross country and track teams for four years, helping the Eagles to two Heartland Conference titles and a NCCAA championship in cross country during that time. He was a three-time All-Heartland selection, finishing second in the league meet as a sophomore and junior and sixth as a senior. He received Heartland runner-of-the-week honors once in 2014.

He was a two-time NCCAA All-American in cross country, finishing as the individual runnerup as a junior, and a three-time NCCAA student-athlete of the week, twice for cross country and once for indoor track. This year, he finished seventh in the 10,000 meters at the Great American Conference Outdoor Championships.

Also as a junior, he was named to the prestigious Academic All-America first-team list, the only OC student-athlete so honored during the 2014-15 academic year, and he's on the Academic All-America ballot again this year.

He's a three-time NCCAA Scholar-Athlete, a recipient of the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award as a junior and has been named three times to the Heartland academic Honor Roll's President's List.

Keirns is the first cross country/track and field athlete to be named Mr. Eagle since 2013, when his former teammate, David McWilliams, shared the award with basketball star Devan White.

"Bryant is a great example of what it means to be a student-athlete," OC cross country and track coach Wade Miller said. "He has put in countless hours balancing his academics with his athletic pursuits and he has accomplished great things on both fronts. I'm thankful for the encouragement that Bryant has been to his teammates and the positive attitude that he brings to competition and training. He is a man of character and faith and a great representative of Oklahoma Christian University athletics."

MS. AND MR. EAGLE
PAST WINNERS:
2015-16 – Audrey Meisch (golf), Bryant Keirns (cross country/track and field)
2014-15 – Kendra Pierce (softball), Caden Cleveland (baseball)
2013-14 – Roz Hamilton (basketball/track and field), Kendre Talley (basketball)
2012-13 – Katy O'Steen (basketball), David McWilliams (cross country/track and field), Devan White (basketball)
2011-12 – Davee Croy (softball), Silas Kisorio (cross country/track and field)
2010-11 – Denise Mattoon Greene (track and field), Oscar Stark (golf)