MonticelloLive

University of Arkansas at Monticello outgoing senior first baseman Meredith Heckel has been named to 12th class of the Gulf South Conference Top 10 honor recipients.
 
Heckel (Hot Springs, Ark.) is one of the three female outgoing seniors to be honored in this year’s class. She joins Henderson State’s Edith Musebe and Harding’s Kendyl Washburn.
 
These honors, based on athletic, academic and extracurricular achievement during the 2007-08 academic year, recognize the top five male and top five female student-athletes as the cream of the GSC crop.
 
Heckel earns this honor after recently leaving the UAM softball program as the top slugger in school history.
 
She is a four-time All-GSC first team selection and just the third UAM student-athlete to given this honor.
 
The following is a portion of a release sent from the GSC office on Tuesday:
Heckel’s dominance in the batter’s box helped re-launch UAM softball onto the West Division map, pushing her team to its first ever NCAA regional win in 2007.  In 2008, no one would pitch to her, and her production dropped, but she remained the most feared hitter in the league.
        
Named captain of the 2008 squad, she managed a .605 slugging percentage while drawing a team-high 26 base on balls. Heckel connected for 15 home runs, giving her a UAM career record 51 for her career. This comes on the heels of a monster 2007 season, where she was named an NFCA All-American after smashing a GSC leading 22 home runs (a UAM single season record). The league’s coaches tabbed her West Division Player of the Year for her historic efforts.
 
Heckel was also a master of the classroom, finishing her four-year career at UAM with a degree in business administration and a final cumulative 3.92 grade point average.
 
Her presence was felt in the community as well, participating in the UAM “Special Olympics” and working for the American Cancer Society. She also volunteered in the “Help-A-Student-Read” program and assisted as a coach for youth summer softball camps.
          
The top male and top female receive the Commissioner’s Trophy, the league’s most prestigious honor. This honor is presented to the winners at the annual GSC Awards Banquet.
 
This year, the banquet is being held at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front in Pensacola Beach, Fla. at 6:30 p.m. At that time, the GSC will announce the winners of the Commissioner’s Trophy, as well as recognize the All-Sports Trophy champion and bid farewell to departing administrators from around the league.
 
The “Top 10” is selected with the assistance of an advisory committee representing the Ads, SWAs, SIDs, FARs and Presidents from randomly selected GSC schools, which makes a recommendation to the Commissioner, who has the final decision.
 
Heckel joins former softball players Sarah Reed and Lindsey Kight as the only UAM student-athletes to earn the honor since its conception in 1997.