MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Senior defenders Easther Mayi Kith and Bianca St. Georges of the West Virginia University women's soccer team are two of 30 candidates for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award.
 
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
 
West Virginia University is the only school to place two candidates on the women's list. It marks the second time in three years a pair of Mountaineers have been named candidates, as Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence were named to the list in 2016.
 
Since the program's first candidate in 2013 (Frances Silva), five Mountaineers have landed on the award's initial list, and all have claimed Senior CLASS All-America honors: Kate Schwindel (second team, 2014), Amanda Hill (second team, 2015), Buchanan (first team, 2016), Lawrence (second team, 2016) and Michaela Abam (second team, 2017).
 
Today's recognition is the third team the duo has been named to together, as they also were named to the 2018 Preseason All-Big 12 Team and the Boilermaker Challenge Cup All-Tournament Team. Additionally, Mayi Kith was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4, and St. Georges earned the award on Sept. 11.
 
Since joining the team in 2015, the pair has helped the Mountaineers claim three Big 12 Conference titles, as well as make three straight NCAA Championship appearances, where WVU has advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals (2015), College Cup final (2016) and the NCAA Third Round (2017).
 
The Mountaineers show a 62-11-9 (21-1-2 Big 12) record with the pair, and the WVU defense has posted 50 shutouts.
 
Throughout their four years at WVU, Mayi Kith and St. Georges have made visits to the WVU Medicine Children's Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House with their teammates. They've also assisted with the program's efforts to raise money for breast cancer research and volunteered at WVU women's soccer team camps and clinics.
 
A four-year starter at outside back, St. Georges, a native of St. Felix de Valois, Quebec, has started 66-of-67 career matches and shows 19 career points (3 G, 13 A). Her 13 career assists rank No. 1 on the team.
 
A 2018 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate, she was named to the 2017 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team and the All-Big 12 First Team. She also claimed the Team MVP honor and was a two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honoree. The 2015 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, she also was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Big 12 Freshman Team that season.
 
One of three team captains, St. Georges shows a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 4.0 in exercise physiology. She is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and was named to the first team in 2017. St. Georges also was named to the 2017 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team. A two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree and a 2015 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team member, she also is a President's List honoree and a member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
 
A four-year starter at center back, Mayi Kith, a native of Quebec City, Quebec, has started 75-of-79 career matches and currently ranks No. 7 among active Division 1 players in career matches played. She shows one career point (1 A).
 
In 2017, Mayi Kith was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and was named the team's Defensive MVP. She earned the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award three times since 2016.
 
Mayi Kith shows a 3.80 cumulative GPA in exercise physiology. Named to the 2017 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region Second Team, she also is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree and was named to the 2015 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team. Mayi Kith is a President's and Dean's Lists honoree and a member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
 
The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will then select one male and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition.
 
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup championships in December.