2009 MT AAU Outstanding MALE Athlete of the Year
Tyrel Todd - Bozeman, MT

Tyrel’s parents Kim & Jeff Todd receiving award for Tyrel from
MT AAU District Governor, Jean Olson for Montana’s

TYREL TODD: Wrestling, University of Michigan, Senior
This season has been a bigger challenge than most for Tyrel. He began his senior season ranked #2 after moving up a weight to 197 lbs. In December he injured his ACL at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. He returned in early January to wrestle at a University of Michigan dual held in Bozeman. Prior to the Big Ten Championships, he had achieved an 18-1 record, with 9 falls and 79 dual points. Tyrel won the Big 10 championship after defeating the #1 seed 5-4 in the championship match. He then wrestled in the NCAA Championships where he finished 4th , achieving All-American status for the third straight year. As a junior, Tyrel was an All-American at 184 lbs. finishing 3rd in the NCAA tournament after placing 2nd in the Big Ten Championships. After the season he continued to wrestle, competing for a spot on the U S Olympic Team. At the conclusion of the trials, he was 4th on the depth chart for the Olympic Team. As a sophomore, he placed 3rd in the Big Ten and 5th in the NCAA Championships, earning his first All-American status. As a red-shirt freshman, he placed 5th in the Big Ten. Tyrel’s other awards include, as a freshman, Academic All Big Ten, Outstanding Freshman Wrestler and the University of Michigan’s Athletic Academic Achievement Award; as a sophomore, the Steve Fraser Mental Toughness Award, and as a junior and senior, team captain. Towards the end of his junior year, Tyrel was also selected for the senior service organization Order of Angels. Out of approximately 40,000 students, 10 to 15 are selected each year for this organization. He is also in a leadership position in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Tyrel attended high school in Bozeman where he was a three-time state wrestling champion. He was also their all-time career wins leader, pins leader and take-down leader, along with holding the single-season takedown record for the team. Tyrel is a history major with a psychology minor. He is working towards a degree in education administration.

2009 MT AAU Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year
Alira Carpenter – Lewistown, MT

Semi-Finalist- Sonja Rogers, Jean Olson, MT District Governor, & Alira Carpenter

ALIRA CARPENTER: Basketball, Montana State University-Billings, Senior
As the all time leading scorer for both men and women with 2000 points, Alira’s career at MSU-B left a big impact on the record books. Other records include field goals made with 700, field goals attempted with 1,628, three pointers made with 294, three pointers attempted with 712 and free throw percentage with 86.2%. She ranks 2nd in three-point percentage, 4th in free throws made, 5th in games played and 9th in free throws attempted. Alira was also on the Dean’s Honor Roll all 4 years. As a senior and team captain, she started all 27 games, averaging 34 minutes and 22.3 ppg. Her honors include: GNAC Player of the Week 4-times; GNAC All-Conference 1st Team; State Farm 1st Team All-Region; Daktronics West Region 2nd Team; State Farm Coach’s All-American Honorable Mention; ESPN the Magazine Academic All-Region 7 First Team; ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American Third Team; and MSUB-s Woman of the Year Recipient.. As a junior she was a team captain, started all 27 games and averaged 20.1 ppg. She led the GNAC in scoring and 3-point percentage and broke the school record for three pointers made and attempted. Other honors included: GNAC All-Conference 1st Team, Daktroics West Region 2nd Team, GNAC All-Academic Team; ESPN All-District 7 Academic First Team; two all-tournament teams; MSUB’s MVP Female Athlete for 2007-08 and Team Offensive MVP. Starting all 32 games during her sophomore season, Alira broke school records for 3-pointers made and attempted in a season, led the league in 3-pointers made per game, was 2nd in scoring, and tied the school record for 3’s in a single game with 7. She was named All-Heartland Conference 1st Team, Yellowjacket Classic All Tournament Team and Team Offensive MVP. As a true freshman she started in 23 games, played in all 27 and led the conference in 3-point shooting. She was named to an all-tournament team, was Player of the Week in the Heartland Conference 3 times and was Freshman of the Year in the Heartland Conference. Alira attended Fergus High where she excelled in several sports achieving all-state in basketball, tennis and volleyball. She was the 2005 Fergus High Athlete of the Year and the National Guard Female Athlete of the Year. In campus and in the community Alira has been a volunteer coach for the Billings Bees basketball camps, a volunteer book and scorekeeper for MSUB volleyball and a referee for a youth basketball tournament. She participated in the yearly “Think Pink Night” for Breast Cancer Awareness, plus this year participated in a conference with St. Vincent healthcare staff and breast cancer survivors. She’s been a speaker for a middle school girls basketball team, bowled with 5th graders and helped teach 3rd graders math and reading. She’s been a member of College Age Movement Christian Fellowship every year and a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes one year. Alira has a 3.56 GPA with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. She hopes to continue playing basketball semi-professionally in Europe next year. If that doesn’t work out, she will finish school in December, then continue her schooling in Physician’s Assistant School.