Lydia Bradshaw of Walsh, Ill., receives Missouri Baptist University's Champions of Character Award

ST. LOUIS, MO (10/05/2012)(readMedia)-- The Department of Athletics at Missouri Baptist University has announced that a pair of cross country athletes, Alex Chavez and Lydia Bradshaw, will take home the 2011-2012 Champions of Character awards.

The MBU Champions of Character Award honors the top male and female athlete of the previous year who best exemplified the five core NAIA Champions of Character initiatives: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Servant Leadership and Sportsmanship.

The student athletes will be honored at MBU's 2012 Hall of Fame Awards Dinner in November.

Lydia Bradshaw is a native of Walsh, Ill., who transferred to MBU from Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Ill., and is a member of both the cross country and track and field teams.

Bradshaw works as a math tutor in MBU's Academic Success Center in addition to serving her team as a tutor in both math and Spanish. She also spends time as a Sunday school instructor at her church as well as a volunteer teacher at a refugee camp.

Bradshaw is a senior this year and is pursuing her degree in math education with a minor in Spanish.

MBU is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and has received the distinction of being an NAIA Champions of Character institution for the past 10 years. The Spartans compete in the American Midwest Conference.

Missouri Baptist University is a Christ-centered university located in Saint Louis. MBU offers more than 40 undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees in education, business and religion and its new terminal degree, the Doctor of Education. In addition to its 66-acre West St. Louis County campus, MBU offers degree programs at 10 regional learning centers throughout Saint Louis, in Southern Illinois and online. For more information, go to www.mobap.edu or call 1-877-434-1115.