April 11, 2008

ST. LOUIS - Senior Brad Byars (Marion, Ill. / Marion) and sophomore Anna Larson (St. Charles, Mo. / Francis Howell) took top honors at the Saint Louis swimming and diving teams' annual end-of-the-season banquet earlier this week. Byars was recognized as the Billiken men's Most Valuable Performer for the third straight season, while Larson earned the first MVP accolade of her career.

Byars wrapped up his collegiate career by winning the 100-free title at the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships and by being selected as the league's men's swimming and diving Student-Athlete of the Year. At the 2008 A-10 Championships, the senior sprinter also finished second in the 50 free and eighth in the 100 fly. This season, Byars eclipsed the school standards in the 100 and 200 free and helped the 800-free relay and the 400-medley relay break the SLU records at the conference championship. He swam on four of SLU's five relays that hold the current Billiken standards.

Larson, the Billikens' top diver for the second straight season, qualified for her second NCAA Zone Meet as a sophomore. She broke her own Billiken record on the one-meter board in 2008 despite dealing with injuries for much of the season. Larson placed third in the three-meter event and fourth on the one-meter board at this season's A-10 Championships.

The Billikens' Hardest Worker distinction went to freshman Jessica Schwarz (Ballwin, Mo. / Parkway West) and junior Jillian Smith (Muncie, Ind. / Delta) from the women's team, and junior Justin Breithaupt (Swansea, Ill. / Belleville East) was the recipient on the men's team. Freshman Katie Robertson (Cincinnati, Ohio / Ursuline) and sophomore David Umphres (San Diego, Calif. / St. Augustine) were recognized as the Most Improved. Best Attitude accolades were awarded to freshman Tarah Walsh (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) and Breithaupt.