Montgomery Mills and Sara Yakana have been chosen as the SLIAC Athletes of the Year for the 2023-24 academic season. 

Mills is this year's SLIAC Male Athlete of the Year after earning All-America honors in wrestling for the Westminster College Blue Jays. The fifth year grappler became the first Blue Jay, and subsequently the first SLIAC wrestler, to be named All-American. He finished 3rd at  the 2024 NCAA Division III National Tournament in the 197 pound weight class; pinning four of the top seven ranked wrestlers in the country. Mills received the Manuel Gorriaran award for the most pins in the least amount of time. He finished the year with a 27-10 overall record, tying for the conference lead in wins while leading the conference with 20 pin falls. 

Yakana, becomes the second consecutive track and field athlete from Greenville University to win the SLIAC Female Athlete of the Year. The junior jumps and sprints competitor finished the 2024 season as a three-time NCAA national qualifier and two-time All-American. Yakana competed at indoor nationals in the long jump and was in the field during outdoor nationals in the triple jump as well as a member of the 4x100 relay team. She placed 7th in NCAA Division III in the triple jump, becoming just the third outdoor All-American in conference history. She was the SLIAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet after taking home four gold medals and added three more golds at the SLIAC Outdoor Championship. Yakana also set conference all-time records in the outdoor triple jump (40'4.75"), the indoor 60-meter dash (7.77 seconds), and the indoor long jump (18'10.75"). 

Last year was the first time the conference selected Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards with Gianni Estrada (Greenville University) and Cayden Sharp (Greenville University) winning. 

Other Nominees
Male: Sam Buduris, Eureka College; Corey Carter, Principia College; Caden Krystofiak, Spalding University; Landon Mokris, Greenville University; John Paul Morgan, Lyon College; Bryson Pickard, Fontbonne University
Female: McKenzie Cook, Eureka College; Hailey Kutz, Fontbonne University; Conley Langford, MUW; Annette Ramirez, Westminster College; Faith Rutherford, Spalding University; Samantha Taylor, Lyon College