Licon, Miller up for Big 12 Athletes of Year – Voting link here

A pair of swimmers are nominated for the Big 12 Conference’s Athlete of the Year awards, with an online fan vote standing as part of the award selection process.

On the men’s side, Texas Longhorn Will Licon is nominated. Licon had a stellar sophomore season, winning the NCAA 200 breaststroke and 400 IM titles to help lead the Longhorns to the overall NCAA championship.

A native Texan who grew up swimming for Nitro Swimming, Licon was one of the very best of a loaded Texas Longhorns roster in 2014-2015. Licon served as Texas’s upset specialist at the NCAA Championships in Iowa City, beating a pair of American record-holders in their primary events.

First was the 400 IM, where Licon topped Georgia’s Chase Kalisz. After that came the 200 breaststroke, where Licon overcame Arizona’s Kevin Cordes and became just the second man ever under 1:50 in the event.

For the women, Kansas’s Chelsie Miller earned the nomination. Miller, a rising senior, has rewritten the Kansas school record book over her college career, and 2014-2015 was no exception.

Miller crushed her own school records in three events this past season, the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 fly. Swapping the 200 IM for the 1650 free, Miller was the Big 12 runner-up in all three races as well.

Miller was also an NCAA All-America honorable mention for her 13th place finish in the 400 IM at NCAAs in Greensboro, NC, and also took silver at Winter Nationals in the 400 IM.

An online fan vote will be one factor in determining who earns the overall awards. Each of the Big 12’s ten teams got one male and one female nominee, so both Licon and Miller are among 9 other nominees in their respective genders.

You can cast your vote for the Big 12 Athletes of the Year by following these links:

Men’s vote

Women’s vote