OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The 2016 Senior CLASS Award candidates were announced on Friday with University of Dayton senior men's soccer player
Lalas Abubakar being named as one of the Top 30 candidates.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The candidates are chosen by a committee after looking at four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition.
Abubakar is a senior defender on the Flyer men's soccer team and is third season at Dayton. A native of Accra, Ghana, Abubakar has been a leader on and off the field for the Flyers. He has played 54 games in his career including starting all 12 so far this season. He has already earned Atlantic 10 Defender of the Week honors and was Preseason All-Atlantic 10.
Last season, Abubakar was named Dayton's Defender of the Year after earning All-Region, All-Ohio, and First Team All-Conference accolades. He was also Academic All-Ohio and earned the R.U.D.Y.S. Rising Star Award as well. He helped lead the Flyers to an Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Division I Tournament.
Abubakar has already earned his bachelor's degree and is working towards his master's degree in engineering management. He has been named to multiple A-10 Commissioner's Honor Rolls, all with English being a second language.
The Dayton men's soccer program has had previous recognition on the Senior CLASS Award list, including
Amass Amankona from last year, who was named a Top 10 Finalist and earned Senior CLASS Award Academic All-America honors.
The candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
For more information regarding the Dayton men's soccer program, check back at DaytonFlyers.com. ?
