Feb. 17, 2010
Two University of San Diego student athletes will be recognized at the 64th Annual Salute to the Champions Dinner hosted by the San Diego Hall of Champions. The Salute dinner will induct members into the Hall of Fame, recognize Professional and Amateur Stars of the Year as well as give out other awards and distinctions.
James Meador, the reigning West Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Year, and Ali Troost, the WCC Volleyball Player of the Year, will be two of the seven 2009 Amateur Stars of the Year. The other five athletes being recognized in the amateur category will be Sam Cyr (golf), Rita Hanscom (track), Paris Johnson (basketball), Kelly Rulon (water polo) and Stephen Strasburg (baseball).
Meador started in all 54 games he played during his 2009 campaign where he was a catalyst for the Toreros offense. He batted .376 with a .435 on-base percentage and .559 slugging percentage. He was the team leader in hits (80), RBI (45) and runs scored (42). Troost led the Toreros in kills with 357 on the season, while hitting .316 and also had a league leading 39 service aces.
During 2009, the Toreros had 13 athletes win 15 Breitbard Stars of the Month awards handed out by the San Diego Hall of Champions. Meador won the award once while Troost earned the honor twice. The other Torero athletes to earn Breitbard Stars of the Month honors were Gyno Pomare (men's basketball, January), Brandon Johnson (men's basketball, November and December), Sam Child (women's basketball, December), Amber Sprague (women's basketball February), Kiva Herman (women's basketball, March), JT Rogan (football, October), Patrick Wallen (soccer, October), Ben Murray (golf, October), Alex Ching (golf, April), AJ Griffin (baseball, May) and Dean Jackson (tennis, May).
The Salute dinner will be held on Monday, Feb 22 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center. The reception will start at 5PM and dinner and program will begin at 6:30PM. For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, visit the San Diego Hall of Champions website at www.SDHOC.com.
