The Western Kentucky Department of Athletics honored about 200 athletes Monday at the schools annual Academic Athletic Awards Banquet in the Garrett Conference Center Ballroom.All of those student-athletes almost 60 percent of the 350 athletes competing in a Hilltopper uniform boast grade-point averages of 3.0 or better. Soccer standout Brandon Thompson and swimming star Brandi Carey were named the 2002 WKU Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year. The awards are given annually to the two graduating seniors with the highest cumulative grade-point averages. Thompson posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in electrical engineering technology. He is a two-time Verizon national Academic All-American as well as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference All-Academic Team and the National Soccer Coaches Association East Regional Scholar-Athlete Team. Carey recorded a 3.94 in history and government. She was an honorable mention Academic All-America pick as a senior after winning All-District IV honors in both her sophomore and junior years. She has represented Western in both the NCAA National Championships and in the U.S. Olympic Trials. A three-time selection as the National Independent Swimmer-of-the-Year, she was selected the Sun Belt Conference Womens Swimmer-of-the-Year as a senior. A 12-time Sun Belt champ, she holds eight conference records and 10 school standards. She has been accepted by the University of Kentucky College of Law. Carey was also honored as the universitys Female Athlete-of-the-Year for her outstanding performance in the pool.Taking Male Athlete-of-the-Year laurels was mens basketball All-Sun Belt Conference guard Derek Robinson. A senior from Paris, Robinson also won the coveted E.A. Diddle Award after captaining the Hilltoppers to a 28-4 season. Two Western teams were recognized as University Scholar Teams for 2001-02. Both David Holmes mens soccer team and Travis Hudsons volleyball squad earned Scholar Team status for the fourth consecutive year. The volleyball team posted a 3.41 grade-point average, the highest team GPA on the Hill in almost 25 years.Additionally, both of those teams were honored as Academic All-America teams for 2001-02 by each sports national coaches organization.