ATHLETICS NEwS
ATHLETIC ACCOLADES
Article by David Shulimson | Photography Submitted
The months of March, April and May saw no shortage of trophies for Mount Olive College, not only for individual student-athletes, but also for coaches and teams. Below is a list of other major awards that went to Mount Olive College this past spring. ConferenCe Carolinas Women’s TraCk and field aThleTe of The Year alaytra Carswell of Waynesboro, Ga became only the second Mount Olive student-athlete to earn player of the year honors in back-to-back years and the first to do it in their freshman and sophomore years as she was named the 2012 Conference Carolinas Women’s Track and Field (Field Events) Athlete of the Year. Carswell, who also the 2011 Freshman of the Year, finished first in the 200 meters and the 400 meters at the 2012 Conference Carolinas Women’s Track and Field Championship. MOC all-time men’s basketball scoring leader Kendrick Easley of Norfolk, VA was the first Trojan to win back-toback player of the year honors. ConferenCe Carolinas BaseBall PiTCher of The Year matt dillon of Trinity, nC became the fourth Trojan to win Conference Carolinas Baseball Pitcher of the Year since a separate award for pitchers was introduced in 2007. Dillon won each of his first nine decisions and finished the season with a 2.81 earned run average. He threw two complete games and also recorded a save in relief. His most noteworthy effort came in the first round of the NCAA II Southeast Regional when he pitched 8 2/3 innings and threw what’s believed to be a school record 178 pitches. ConferenCe Carolinas men’s BaskeTBall PlaYer of The Year After missing all of 2010-11 with an injury, Craig hayes of Woodbridge, Va came back with the best year of his career and was named the 2011-12 Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Hayes averaged more than 19 points per game Matt Dillon and was among the nation’s leaders in field goal percentage. His selection marked the fourth time in the past five years a Trojan won men’s basketball player of the year honors, joining Brandon Streeter of Jacksonville, NC and two-time winner Kendrick Easley. Hayes also earned Division II Bulletin All-America Honorable Mention. In addition to his awards and accomplishments on the court, Hayes graduated with a 3.08 cumulative grade point average with a double major in computer information systems and business management. ConferenCe Carolinas BaseBall PlaYer of The Year Jacob rogers of Clearwater, fl, who led the nation in runs scored and was ranked among the top 20 in seven Craig Hayes different statistical categories, was named 2012 Conference Carolinas Baseball Player of the Year. The first baseman batted .392 with 86 runs scored and 17 home runs. Rogers became the first player in Trojan baseball history to hit two home runs in a game in three consecutive games. Rogers was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 40th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft in June. Rogers shared the 2012 NCBWA Division II Baseball Southeast Region Player of the Year award, as voted on by members of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. This year marked the second year in a row two Trojans earned Region Player of the Year honors in the same sport in the year. Last year, Carter Capps of Kinston, NC was Southeast Region Baseball Pitcher of the Year and Michael Knox of Apex, NC won Southeast Region Baseball Player of the Year honors. ConferenCe Carolinas Women’s Golfer of The Year Valentina Urquiola of santone, Venezuela became Mount Olive’s first-ever Conference Carolinas Women’s Golfer of the Year. Urquiola posted four top 10 finishes in 2011-12, including a win in the CenturyLink Invitational and a second place finish in the MOC Spring Invite. Urquiola went on to become the first women’s golfer in school history to earn a bid to the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championship. She finished 19th out of 48 golfers at the NCAA II South Super Regional in Pace, FL. She had to miss Commencement due to the NCAA Tournament, but she did take part in a graduation ceremony – complete with cap and gown, official proclamation, and Mount Olive College President Philip P. Kerstetter, Ph.D., Valentina Urquiola and Vice-President for Academic Affairs Dr. Ellen Jordan dressed in full regalia – on campus the day before leaving for the championship. ConferenCe Carolinas men’s TraCk and field freshman of The Year T.J. Wilson of Princeton, nC was selected as the 2012 Conference Carolinas Men’s Track and Field Freshman of the Year, becoming the second Trojan men’s track and field student-athlete to win athlete of the year and freshman of the year in the same year. Dalton Souza captured both awards in 2011. Wilson won the 110 meter hurdles and the 400 meter hurdles. He also captured a pair of top two finishes in field events, winning the triple jump and placing second (behind teammate Devonte Jenkins) in the long jump. 22 | TODAY | SUMMER 2012