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Staff from the Athletic Department at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) announced the recipients of the 2015 Carl Rigney Award are Madison Vaughan and Lane Lassiter. The Carl Rigney Award of recognition is given each year to the most outstanding male and female sophomore athlete. Rigney was an outstanding teacher, scholar and coach at NEO, and this award is based on character, academics and athletic endeavor. The recipients were carefully selected by a vote of all head coaches at NEO.
The 2015 outstanding female athlete is Madison Vaughan. She is a Student Body Government officer, was recognized as one of NEO’s Top 10 Freshmen, a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and plays softball for NEO Lady Norse, who just placed second in the National Softball Tournament. Vaughan is originally from Coweta, Oklahoma and graduated from NEO with a double major. She is planning on continuing her education but has not selected a college at this point.
The 2015 outstanding male athlete is Lane Lassiter. Lane is a 149 lb. wrestler from Holton, Kansas. He is a two-time NJCAA Academic All-American, has a record of 13-11; 5-3 vs, JUCO; 3-1 dual meets for 2015. He finished third at Oklahoma Open and fourth at Joe Parisi Open. Lassiter was a member of the 2014 NJCAA National Championship Wrestling Team that finished with a 14-11 record. He finished with a 3.76 grade point average.
“Both Madison and Lane are excellent students. They are great athletes, but even more importantly these two have great character,” said Dale Patterson, athletic director for NEO. “These are the types of student athletes that coaches dream about having. They work hard in the classroom and in their sports. They have represented NEO Athletics very well and are well-deserving of this award. We are extremely proud of their accomplishments.”
