Xavier Stephens chosen for Don Kelly Award

A special message from ⁦@PointParkUAD⁩ John Ashaolu to Xavier Stephens, the 2019-20 Don Kelly Outstanding Student-Athlete Award recipient. #1BigTeam #DowntownU #GoPioneers @PointParkU ⁦@pointparkxctf⁩ pic.twitter.com/DZec8GOwNm

— Point Park University Athletics (@PointParkSports) April 24, 2020

PITTSBURGH -- Xavier Stephens, a senior on the Point Park University men's track & field and cross country teams, has been chosen as the 2019-20 recipient of the Don Kelly Outstanding Student-Athlete Award.

The award is given annually to one Point Park male who embodies the values, spirit and tradition of being a model student-athlete. Established in 2014-15, the award is named after Don Kelly, a Point Park baseball alum, former Major League Baseball player and current Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach.

Stephens was nominated by his head coach Jim Spisak. Each sport within the athletic department is permitted to nominate one candidate. After a review by athletic administrators, Stephens was chosen as this year's awardee.

The award was presented as part of Point Park's annual Outstanding Student Awards. In place of the usual awards program and banquet, the award winners were announced virtually on the afternoon of Friday, April 24.

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⭐️CONGRATULATIONS!⭐️ Every single nominee & finalist should be so proud of the work they put in this year! We are in awe of all of your accomplishments this year and can't wait for everyone to be back in the fall. Stay safe & have a great summer, pioneers! . . . For a complete list of award descriptions and nominees, be sure to check out the website! (Link in bio)

A post shared by SAIL Point Park (@sailpointpark) on Apr 24, 2020 at 12:10pm PDT

The recognition caps off a stellar four years for Stephens at Point Park. His resume is filled with athletic accomplishments, and he is also a strong student within the School of Business. All of that made Stephens very well deserving of the honor.

Stephens carries a 3.16 GPA majoring in Business Management. He has been a member of Point Park cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field all four years. Stephens is a two-time NAIA All-American and a seven-time NAIA national qualifier combined in cross country and track. He has competed at NAIA nationals a total of four times in track (three indoor and one outdoor) and each of the last three years in cross country.

One of the consistently top runners in the NAIA and the River States Conference, Stephens was primed to make another NAIA national qualification during the outdoor track season. But the pandemic called off those chances. Stephens mainly ran the middle-distance events in track although he was able to go all the way to the distance events and the 8,000 meters in cross country.

Stephens' career featured a big haul of medals from the NAIA and the conference. He earned a total of 22 all-conference medals with 19 of those coming in track and each of the last three years in cross country. In track, Stephens is a 12-time conference champion and a two-time River States Conference Track Athlete of the Year. He finished in the top five of the RSC Cross Country Championships the last three years.

Stephens has his name all over the Point Park track and cross country record books. He is the program record holder in the indoor mile (4:16), 800 (1:54) and 1,000 (2:30) and also the outdoor 800 (1:53) and 1,500 (3:54). He holds the school record for cross country 8,000 at 25:47.

Don Kelly played baseball at Point Park from 1999-01 and then went on to play professionally for the next 17 seasons, including nine in the Major Leagues, most notably for the Detroit Tigers. He is a multi-year winner of the MLB's Heart & Hustle Award, given annually to the player on each team who embodies the values, spirit and traditions of playing the game the right way. He is also a model in the community as his service efforts have been exemplary throughout his career. He is also in Point Park's Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame. Kelly is in his first year as Pirates bench coach.

From 2014 to 2019, the female outstanding student-athlete of the year received the Don Kelly Award as well. The female recipient has been remaned in honor of Anna Shields, the 10-time national champion in track and cross country who graduated in 2019.

DON KELLY OUTSTANDING STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD RECIPIENTS BY YEAR