INDIANAPOLIS — Sam Paneno of California-Davis and Maggie Maloy of Defiance College are the first recipients of the NCAA's Inspiration Award.
The award, announced Thursday, is presented to athletes, coaches or administrators who have demonstrated an ability to overcome life-altering situations.
Paneno, a two-year letter winner in football, had his right leg amputated after getting hurt in his first start, on Sept. 11, 1999. Paneno rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns in Cal-Davis' second game of the season. But in overtime he dislocated his knee and complications from the injury forced doctors to amputate the leg below the knee nine days later.
Maloy, a cross country and track letter-winner at Defiance, was abducted in high school during a training run. She was raped twice, shot five times and left for dead in a ravine. Today, three bullets remain lodged in her body.
Then during her junior year at Defiance, Maloy lost control of her car on an icy roadway and collided with a van head on. She broke her pelvis in three places, an injury that threatened her ability to walk.
Maloy returned to classes and resumed her running career before her graduation last May from Defiance, where she also earned all-conference honors in cross country and track and field. Maloy works as an inspirational speaker.