May 7, 2008

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University men's soccer player George Josten and women's basketball player Michelle Elliott were named the Bulldog Club Male and Female Athletes of the Year, respectively, at Wednesday's Senior Athletes Social which honored the Bulldogs 60 student-athletes who comprise the Class of 2008.

Josten and women's soccer player Lauren Zuckerman were also named the Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year, respectively.

Josten, who hails from Idaho Falls, Idaho, departs as perhaps the most decorated men's soccer player in school history. He became Gonzaga's inaugural Hermann Trophy candidate (soccer's version of the Heisman) and ended his career tied for third in career goals scored with 34, third in career assists with 17 and fourth in career points with 85. His seven assists this past season tied for fourth on the single-season charts as he helped Gonzaga return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.

He became Gonzaga's inaugural three-time All-West Coast Conference first-team pick, was a three-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas All-Far West Region selection and capped his career with three ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors, the last two years as a first-team selection after being third team as a sophomore. He was also honored as the 2007 NSCAA/adidas Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year with a 3.82 GPA in mechanical engineering. He was the No. 20 pick by the Columbus Crew in the January MLS Draft and is currently with the Crew.

Elliott joined the Bulldogs for the 2006-07 season from Columbia Basin College in her hometown of Pasco, Wash., after two seasons at San Diego State University. She has eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for her career, amassing 1,215 points. At Gonzaga, she scored 626 points, grabbed 222 rebounds, dished out 126 assists and made 53 steals during her two-year stint. She has drained 101 3-pointers to stand seventh on the Zags career record book for 3-pointers made. She also hit nine 3-pointers in a single contest earlier this season to break a 14-year-old Bulldog record held by Ivy Safranski. Michelle is a two-time West Coast Conference winter all-academic honoree and was named the most inspirational player by her teammates both seasons she has been a Zag.

Gonzaga advanced to its inaugural NCAA Tournament in 2007 and to the Women's National Invitational Tournament in 2008.

Zuckerman, a senior defender from Lafayette, Calif., is a two-time WCC All-Academic pick with a 3.92 GPA in accounting. She also paced the Zags in scoring with five goals and an assist for 11 points while earning All-WCC honorable mention and All-Far West Region third team accolades. She was an All-WCC honorable selection pick as a sophomore and a second-team pick as a junior. She is also on track to be a three-time WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll honoree, the 2007-08 list yet to be named.