COEUR d'ALENE - The winners of this year's North Idaho College athletics awards were announced during the annual NIC Athletics Hall of Fame Induction, Awards Banquet and Auction held May 7.

The award recipients were nominated and selected by the NIC coaching staff.

The Female Student Athlete of the Year Award was a tie between NIC women's basketball player Tugce Canitez from Izmir, Turkey, and volleyball player Tina Strahinic from Metlika, Slovenia.

Canitez helped lead the Cardinals to their first NJCAA national championship. During her career as a two-year starter for NIC, the Lady Cardinals posted a 60-11 record, won two Region 18 titles and also placed eighth in the nation her first year. Canitez was named to the NJCAA All-tournament team and was named a NJCAA first team All-American.

Strahinic led NIC to a fifth-place national finish while earning Scenic West Athletic Conference and Region 18 titles. Strahinic earned NJCAA and American Volleyball Coaches Association first team All-American honors and was named to the NJCAA all-tournament team.

There was also a tie for the Male Student Athlete of the Year Award. Awards were presented to men's basketball player Michael Hale III from Federal Way, Wash., and NIC wrestler Jamelle Jones from Winslow Township, N.J.

Hale became the first two-time NJCAA All-American in the history of NIC men's basketball. Hale helped lead the Cardinals to their first No. 1 national ranking in school history and led the Cardinals to a 50-13 overall record the past two seasons and a SWAC title in 2009-2010.

Jones was a first-team All-American and was a 2011 national champion at 197 pounds. Jones is the fifth wrestler in the history of the NIC wrestling program to earn national Outstanding Wrestler honors at the NJCAA tournament, and is the second two-time champion to win the award.

The Female Academic Athlete of the Year Award was presented to NIC women's soccer player Meagan Powell from Whitefish, Mont. Powell started every game for the Cardinals and was the captain of this year's team, which ended the season with a 10-4-3 record. Powell holds a 3.86 GPA as an English major, has made the Dean's List each of her three semesters and is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges.

The Male Academic Athlete of the Year Award was presented to men's basketball player Idris Lasisi from Leuven, Belgium. Lasisi led the Cardinals to a 23-9 season and was named to the Region 18 all-tournament team. He maintained a 4.0 GPA as a business education major.

The NIC women's basketball team, led by coach Chris Carlson, was selected as the NIC Team of the Year. The Cardinals won their first national championship in 2010-11.

Mark Hampe and Frank Darlington earned NIC Booster Club Member of the Year awards.