RICHARDSON, TX (01.25.17) - Three UT Dallas student-athletes were among the seven honorees across the league as the American Southwest Conference announced its Distinguished Scholar Athletes for its fall sports.

FULL ASC RELEASE

Seniors Sam Konstanty (men's soccer) and Michelle Toro (volleyball) were joined by junior Lindsey Rayborn (women's cross country) as the ASC's Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in their respective sports. Both Konstanty and Toro are repeat selections.

Konstanty is the first two-time men's soccer Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in ASC history. A native of Missouri City, Konstanty was named first team Academic All-America for the second straight season after leading the Comets to a second consecutive ASC title this past fall. Named ASC Defensive Player of the Year for a second consecutive season, The Elkins High School product leaves UTD as the career record holder with 72 games started. Additionally, Konstanty was named a Scholar All-American by the NSCAA as a senior, becoming just the third Comet to earn the honor. He started all 20 games at outside back for the Comets as a senior and logged two assists. Konstanty was a three-time Academic All-ASC selection during his career and was the ASC's Distinguished Scholar-Athlete for men's soccer as a junior. He is also a member of the UTD Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Toro receives her second consecutive volleyball Distinguished Scholar-Athlete award and joins former Mary Hardin-Baylor standout Kendall Pye (2013, 2014) as the only two-time recipients. A native of Flower Mound, Toro became the first UTD student-athlete to claim first team All-America and first team Academic All-America honors in the same season. After leading UTD to consecutive ASC championships, Toro was named the ASC East Division Most Valuable Player after leading the Comets to a 32-3 record and their first appearance in the NCAA Division III Regional Finals. Ending her career as a two-time All-American, the Marcus High School product finished her senior season with 3.14 kills and 0.86 blocks per game along with a .333 hitting percentage. She was a five-time ASC East Division Player of the Week in 2016 and closed her career as UTD's all-time leader in blocks and hitting percentage.

Rabyorn is the third straight UT Dallas runner to be named the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in women's cross country following teammates Sam Hartke (2014) and Samantha Tschirhart (2015). Rayborn, a native of Pocatello, Idaho, shared this year's award with East Texas Baptist's Shelby Taylor-Spencer after leading UTD to its first ASC championship this past fall, becoming the first UTD runner to claim individual medalist. She paced the Comets in all but one meet this season, winning three individual titles and was a three-time ASC Runner of the Week. After claiming the ASC title with a time of 22:59, the Century High School product finished 17th at the NCAA Division III South / Southeast Regional Meet, earning All-Region honors.
 
Other ASC Distinguished Scholar Athletes for the fall were LeTourneau's Taber Miyauchi (men's cross country), Hardin-Simmons' Conlan Aguirre (football) and Kami Jones (women's soccer).
 
The Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams recognizes student-athletes who achieve a high level of academic achievement (a 3.20 grade-point average or better) while competing as a starter or important reserve on their team. From that list – limited to one nominee per school in each ASC championship sport – the sports information directors from the 13 ASC member institutions select a Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in each sport.