BILLINGS, Mont. – Sophomore Sam Charles and junior Alira Carpenter were named Montana State Billings Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year as announced at the annual MSUB Athletic Awards Banquet this past weekend.

Charles, a sophomore forward of the men’s soccer team from Chiswell, England, was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2007. In addition, he became the first MSUB soccer player named to the NCAA Division II All-America Third Team as well as being named to the NSCAA/Adidas Division II all-Midwest first team. Charles finished the season as the GNAC’s regular-season leading scorer with 41 points. His 19 goals and 41 points rank second highest in GNAC conference history. He also led the conference with seven game-winning goals. Charles ranks first in school history for goals scored in a single season, total points in a single season, and for consecutive games with at least one goal scored at eight.

“Sam had a great season in 2007,” head coach Dan McNally said. “The whole men’s soccer team is proud he won the award. Sam is very humble and I’m sure he appreciates all the hard work his teammates did in creating all his goal scoring opportunities throughout last season. Now it’s important that Sam works hard over the summer and arrives at pre-season determined to have another special season.”

Carpenter, a junior guard on the women’s basketball team, averaged a team-best 20 points per game this season which was best in the league and 18th nationally. She also led the team with 191 made field goals and 80 made three-pointers. She broke the school record for career made three-pointers this season and has 213 for her career. The previous best was 194 set by Amy Winslow.

During the 2007-08 season, the Lewistown, Mont., native had 16 games of scoring 20 points or more and tallied her career-high with a 33-point performance against Seattle University, Feb. 16. Heading into her final season, she has 1,399 career points and has a shot at breaking the 2,000 point mark. She needs 601 points in 2008-09 to accomplish that feat.

“Alira had another outstanding season,” head coach Kevin Woodin said. “I’m very impressed with how she continues to improve her game. She increased her offensive rep. and also improved defensively. Her dedication and hard work continues to impress me and I feel fortunate to be able to coach her.”