BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Announced on Friday afternoon by the Mountain East Conference, West Liberty University's Ty McGeary (wrestling) and Nyia Setla (volleyball) have been named the 2024 MEC Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Similar to the model that the College Sports Communicator's (CSC) use, the award is used to recognize the top student-athletes in both their competition of play and for their work in the classroom. It marks the fourth time in league history that one school has had individuals earn both the MEC Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year award, with it last occurring in 2022 when WLU's Cole Laya was the Co-Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Audrey Tingle was the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Hilltoppers have earned the MEC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award five times and the MEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award two times since their inception in 2015.
 
A day removed from being named the 2023-24 MEC Male Athlete of the Year, McGeary adds yet another accolade to this year's accomplishments. The McDonald, Pennsylvania, native recorded a 3.69 GPA as a cyber security major while having success on the mat as the NCAA Division II National Champion, NCAA Division II Super Region III Champion, and MEC Champion at 184 pounds. He has also been recognized as the NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year, NCAA Division II Super Region III Wrestler of the Year, and the MEC Wrestler of the Year. He completed his quest for back-to-back titles in Park City, Kansas, in March with a victory over No. 3 Matt Weinberg of Kutztown by a 9-1 major decision, sealing a perfect 33-0 record. He was just one of three champions at the DII level to finish the year with an unblemished mark. He also found himself in the mix for NWCA's DII Most Dominant Wrestler, finishing second in the standings with 24 bonus point victories and was also eighth in NWCA's Falls Leaders with ten pins. Additionally, McGeary has brought in a trio of academic honors following the completion of the year as he became a 4-time NWCA Scholar All-American, a 2-time CSC Academic All-District selection, and a 2-time MEC Commissioner's Honor Roll selection.
 
PREVIOUS WINNERS – MEC MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2014-15: Conor Branson (Charleston, Soccer)
2015-16: Conor Branson (Charleston, Soccer)
2016-17: Dan Monteroso (West Liberty, Football/Basketball)
2017-18: Dan Monteroso (West Liberty, Basketball)
2018-19: John Cominsky (Charleston, Football)
2019-20: Tony Vezzetti (Notre Dame, Wrestling)
2020-21: Dalton Bolon (West Liberty, Basketball)
2021-22: Cole Laya (West Liberty, Wrestling), Anthony Stehlin (Concord, Baseball)
2022-23: Nate Moore (Notre Dame, Football)
2023-24: Ty McGeary (West Liberty, Wrestling)
 
Setla also continues to add to her Hilltopper legacy as she was only the second All-American in program history, earning accolades such as AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, AVCA All-Atlantic Region First Team, D2CCA All-Atlantic Region Second Team, MEC Libero of the Year, and All-MEC First Team during this past season. The Northville, Michigan, native posted a 3.90 cumulative GPA as an environmental stewardship major while continuing to add to the team's success on the court with WLU's second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. She ended the year ranked second in the league in both total digs (579) and digs per set (4.95) while ranking 23rd and 37th nationally. She recorded double digit digs in 29-of-31 matches this season and had 13 games with 20 or more digs. Early in the season Setla became only the third player in program history to reach the 2,000 career dig mark, doing so in a win at Salem on October 3rd. She has also added 111 assists (0.95 assists per set) and 37 service aces (0.32 aces per set) this year. Setla currently ranks third nationally in career digs per set (5.49) and fifth in total career digs (2,229) among active DII players. She ended the season as the program's active leader in career digs per set.
 
PREVIOUS WINNERS – MEC FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2014-15: Nichole Perry (Charleston, Basketball)
2015-16: Lauren Langenderfer (Notre Dame, Basketball)
2016-17: Kayce Krucki (Wheeling Jesuit, Volleyball)
2017-18: Mackenzie Harrison (Fairmont State, Volleyball)
2018-19: Kristine Gegeshidze (Charleston, Tennis)
2019-20: Haley Kramer (Wheeling, Volleyball)
2020-21: Sierra Kotchman (Fairmont State, Basketball)
2021-22: Audrey Tingle (West Liberty, Basketball)
2022-23: Abbey Dennis (Frostburg State, Soccer)
2023-24: Nyia Setla (West Liberty, Volleyball)