11 Jun 2025 Pair of Little Rock athletes earn Community Service awards
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — The Ohio Valley Conference announced its 18 Community Service honorees Wednesday morning. Among those were two Little Rock student-athletes. Senior women’s golfer Katja Mueller and men’s cross country/track and field athlete Joel Allen were both honored.
The awards, first bestowed in 2022-23, are based on activities that took place during the 2024-25 academic year and recognize outstanding student-athletes for the contributions they make away from athletics, both on campus and in the community. OVC member institutions who competed in the league during the 2024-25 academic year were able to select a maximum of one male and one female student-athlete from their institution to be honored.
“The OVC has always been about a sense of community,” said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. “We are delighted to continue to bestow these awards to these outstanding student-athletes who are giving back to their communities.”
Mueller, who graduated in May with a degree in Business Administration Management, was an active volunteer around campus and in the community. The Rhineland-Platinate, Germany native volunteered at Little Rock volleyball, swimming and soccer events. She also worked at the inaugural Simmons Bank Championship at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock and volunteered at five other golf tournaments. She served at the Little Rock Animal Village and contributed a total of 69 volunteer hours during the 2024-25 school year.
Mueller, a 2024 WGCA All-American Scholar, was a four-year letter-winner for the Trojans and finished 15th in the OVC Tournament this spring. The Trojans finished second in the OVC Tournament as a team and won the event last spring.
Allen, a native of Youngsville, La., served Little Rock SAAC as a Community Engagement Officer for a year and also helped lead Little Rock DEI Week student engagement initiatives. During his Little Rock career, Allen medaled once in the Men’s 10,000 meters and won gold in the Men’s 3,000 Steeplechase, including winning the event the last two years during the Little Rock Invitational.
He coordinated volunteers at Little Rock athletic events for two years and was active volunteering at on-campus events for his four-year stint on campus. Allen also led student-athlete volunteers at the Little Rock Marathon and totaled 29 volunteer hours this school year.
