SoCon announces 1999-00 athletes of the year

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The 1999-2000 Southern Conference male and female Athletes-of-the-Year were announced at the annual Honors Awards Banquet at the Myrtle Beach Martinique Hotel on Wednesday night.

Furman’s Kaye Brownlee was named the Female Athlete-of-the-Year after an All-America campaign in women’s soccer in which she led the Lady Paladins to a 20-win season and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia Southern’s Adrian Peterson, the Walter Payton Award recipient as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Player-of-the-Year, added to his accomplishments by being named the winner of the Bob Waters Award as the Male Athlete-of-the-Year.

Brownlee, a rising junior midfielder, is already Furman’s all-time leader in assists, and is second in career points and third in goals. In 1999, she became the first Furman women’s soccer player to earn All-America honors, being named a consensus All-American by three different organizations. Brownlee was among the national leaders in assists with 17 to go along with her 13 goals last fall.

Brownlee carries a 3.63 GPA as an environmental science major. She was elected to the CoSIDA All-District at-large team and was a member of the SoCon Honor Roll in 1999. She has been a member of the dean’s list every semester since she arrived at Furman. In the community, Brownlee is active as a tutor at Lakeview Middle School for science and Berea High School for English. She has also helped lead soccer clinics with the St. Giles Soccer Club.

Peterson, a rising junior fullback at Georgia Southern, has had a phenomenal first two years in Statesboro. In 1999, he was named All-American by five separate squads and was also named Player-of-the-Year by the Atlanta Touchdown Club and the 100% Wrong Club. Peterson has already tied or broken 118 Georgia Southern, Southern Conference and national records in his first two seasons and is on pace to shatter the SoCon and NCAA I-A and I-AA career rushing records.

In 1999, Peterson set NCAA season records for touchdowns (28), points (174) and playoff rushing yards (897). Peterson rushed for 1,352 yards and 22 touchdowns in his eight Southern Conference games in 1999 and was not held under 100 rushing yards in a game all season. He was an integral part of Georgia Southern’s powerful offense that led the nation in scoring, total offense and rushing offense.

Peterson is a member of the Georgia Southern Student-Athelete 3.0 club after posting a 3.0 GPA during the fall 1999 semester as a recreation major.

In the Statesboro community, Peterson is an active member of Georgia Southern’s Community Relations program. He participated in the March of Dimes Walkathon to raise money for the prevention of birth defects and volunteers time at two local elementary schools for the “Reading is Fundamental” program. Peterson also volunteers his time through public appearances and autograph sessions coordinated through the Georgia Southern Marketing and Promotions Office.