Southeast Missouri running back Geno Hess is the 2022-23 Ohio Valley Conference Male Athlete of the Year in voting by the league's athletics directors and communications directors.
Hess will be honored during the OVC Honors Brunch on Friday, June 2, 2023
A native of Peoria, Illinois, Hess put together a phenomenal season as the top running back in the OVC. He led SEMO to its third conference title and fourth FCS Playoff appearance in program history. Hess ranked first in the nation in scoring (11.5 ppg), rushing touchdowns (21) and total touchdowns (23).
Hess, a First-Team All-OVC selection, was named to five All-America teams and finished fifth in the overall voting for Walter Payton Award.
During the 2022 campaign alone, he broke SEMO records in six career categories, three single-season categories, and one single-game category, including: career rushing yards (4,112), single-game rushing yards (317, vs. Murray State, Nov. 19), career rushing attempts (689), career rushing touchdowns (53), single-season rushing touchdowns (21), most career 200-yard games (4), career points scored (330), single-season points scored (138), career total touchdowns (55) and single-season total touchdowns (23).
Additionally, Hess broke the OVC single-game rushing record and the league's career scoring record.
Hess is the fourth SEMO athlete to win the prestigious OVC Male Athlete of the Year award. William "Bud" Eley (Basketball, 1998-99), Jeremy Johnson (Baseball, 1999-2000) and Jim Klocke (Baseball, 2009-10) are the others.
Hess returns to the gridiron this fall, as the Redhawks enter the season ranked 9th in the nation by in the Preseason Top 25 poll.
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