Morgan McIntyre

Former Western Kentucky athletes Jessica Lucas and Morgan McIntyre were named Thursday as the Conference USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in volleyball and women’s track & field, respectively.

Lucas and McIntyre combined for 12 C-USA championships at WKU.

C-USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards are presented to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport, determined by a vote of the league’s 14 faculty athletics representatives. The award is based on academic achievement (grade-point average), athletic achievement and service.

Award recipients were selected from C-USA’s full-time and affiliate institutions in 19 sports (combining indoor and outdoor track and field).

A senior from Ashland, McIntyre was also named to the 2018 Conference USA Track & Field All-Academic Team, Commissioner’s Honor Roll, U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic list and earned the 2018 Commissioner’s Academic Medal with a major in communication science and disorders. She was also named to the 2017 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.

In her final season at WKU, McIntyre notched her fourth consecutive C-USA women’s pole vault championship at the 2018 Outdoor C-USA Championships.

She finished the 2017-18 season with the best indoor and outdoor conference pole vault marks, with her best jump registering at 4.17 meters at the Hilltopper Relays in April.

Lucas became the first Lady Topper in volleyball program history to earn Senior CLASS First-Team All-American status while also collecting her third-straight C-USA Setter of the Year recognition in addition to her fourth-consecutive All-American honor from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The Seymour, Ind., native is the first athlete in program history to earn All-American honors from four organizations in a single season and is one of three four-time All-Americans in WKU volleyball history.

In Lucas’ final match, the setter went on to set the school record for career assists with 5,338.

In the classroom, Lucas earned C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll status and her second selection to the league’s All-Academic team. Lucas graduated from WKU in May 2018 with a degree in exercise science, pre-physical therapy.