Day, Hefner named athletes of the year at athletic banquet
Carson-Newman football player Kevin Day (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) and softball player Brittany Hefner (Talbot, Tenn.) have been named the university’s male and female athlete of the year, respectively. The honors were determined by a vote among Carson-Newman coaches, administrators, team officials and Eagle Club members.
Cross country’s Hannah Reese (Brandon, Miss.) and football’s Zach Witherspoon (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) took home the female and male scholar athlete of year awards, respectively. Tiffany Delias (Morristown, Tenn.) of the women’s tennis team won the Eagle Club’s Academic Athlete of the Year.
Day, a member of the 2012 AFCA Good Works Team, picked up Male Athlete of the Year honors thanks in part to his selection to the Don Hansen All-America first team. The distinction made him Carson-Newman’s seventh consensus All-American since the school joined Division II in the early 1990s and its fist in a decade.
The status puts Day in the company of current C-N defensive coordinator Mike Clowney and former Washington Redskin and Houston Texan Cedric Killings.
The Jacob’s Blocking Award winner and first team all-SAC center helped clear the way for the nation’s top rushing offense in Division II. The Eagles piled up nearly 380 yards a game while scoring 52 rushing touchdowns en route to an NCAA quarterfinal appearance. The 52 scores on the ground are the most among all schools in all divisions. Day has graduated and now teaches social studies at Knoxville West.
Hefner garnered the Eagle Club Female Athlete of the Year honor after leading the nation and conference in runs batted in with 75. That total reset the single season record for both the SAC and Carson-Newman. Hefner obliterated a school record for home runs in a year with 19 – setting that school record in early March before the season reached its midpoint.
Hefner nearly won the first ever triple crown in SAC history, she was second in the league in batting average with a .451 figure. A two-time SAC player of the week, first team all-SAC selection and SAC player of the year, Hefner was just the fifth player in NCAA Division II history to hit three grand slams in a single season.
She had a school record 141 total bases this year and matched a Carson-Newman single game record with eight RBI against Lees McRae.
Delias took home Academic Athlete of the Year thanks to her pristine 4.0 grade point average. The women’s tennis team’s six seed went 6-6 in singles and 4-4 in league action. The English literature major graduates this May.
Witherspoon, a key special teams cog for Ken Sparks’ football club, helped C-N to a quarterfinal appearance against Valdosta State this year. In the classroom, he has maintained a 3.712grade point average as a double major in biology and exercise science.
Reese took home the Female Scholar Athlete honors after taking home first place at the Eagles home meet at Panther Creek Park. A food, nutrition and dietetics major, Reese has maintained a 3.9739grade point average at Carson-Newman. She is the second straight cross country runner to be named Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Jaycob Coleman (Norton, Va.) was lauded with the Charles E. McDonald Leadership Award while all-American kicker Curt Duncan (Morristown, Tenn.) took home the Roy Harmon Award.
2012-2013 Eagle Club Athletic Awards
| Eagle Club Male Athlete of the Year | Kevin Day, Football |
| Eagle Club Female Athlete of the Year | Brittany Hefner, Softball |
| Eagle Club Academic Athlete of the Year | Tiffany Delias, Tennis |
| Male Scholar Athlete of the Year | Zach Witherspoon, Football |
| Female Scholar Athlete of the Year | Hannah Reese, Cross Country |
| Roy Harmon Award | Curt Duncan |
| Wayne Sloan Booster of the Year | Andy Croley |
Athletic Training
Wounded Warrior of the Year – Kirby Ellis
Wounded Warrior of the Year – Alex Briit
Cheerleading
Leadership Award – Kaila Nelson
Eagle Spirit Award – Shaleia Whitehead
Cheerleader of the Year – Morgan Weber and Jessica Hamby
Dance Team
Leadership Award – Tessa Deforges
Technique Award – Tinsley Tullos
Dancer of the Year – Lindsay Mays
Men’s Soccer
Freshman of the Year – Sindre Welo
Player’s Player of the Year – Trystan Dafydd
Player of the Year – Rumwald Le Guevel
Women’s Soccer
Freshman of the Year – Mikayla Gregg
Player’s Player of the Year – Sam Thomsit
Player of the Year – Sidnee Edwards
Men’s Tennis
Most Improved Player – Jon Allen
Most Wins – Jon Allen
Most Valuable Player – Juan Sebastian Perez
Women’s Tennis
Most Improved Player – Brooke Sanderson
Most Wins – Brooke Sanderson
Most Valuable Player – Megan Wilson
Baseball
Bobby Wilson Scholar Athlete Award – Ryan Fillers
Frosty Holt – Most Dedicated Award – Zach Long
Best Defense – Kevin Franchetti
Best Offense – Bo Ausmus
Best Pitcher – Chris Armstrong
Softball
Best all-around Award – Brittany Hefner
Best Defense – Bri Shoemake
Most Dedicated – Cassie Elliot
Women’s Basketball
Best Offense – Tatum Burstrong
110% Award – Jai Jai McLaughlin
Coaches Award – Nikki James
Most Improved – Lacy Miller
Football
Captain – Brandon Haywood
Captain – Kevin Day
Most Improved Award – Sean Rawson
Eagle Spirit Award – Will Alderman
John Abe Teague Award – Zack Fleming
McDonald Leadership Award – Jaycob Coleman
Men’s Golf
Most Valuable Player – Gavin Hay Most Improved – Chase McCown
Lowest Stroke Average – Jonathan Kim-Moss
Women’s Golf
Most Improved – Chelsea Passmore
Eagle Spirit – Meridith Hawkins
Most Valuable Player – Danielle Bee-ahn-co
Volleyball
Most Valuable Player – Angelle Hayes
Best Exemplified Team Theme “Ignite Greatness” Angelle Hayes
Coaches Award – Kianna Sedlacheck
Men’s Cross Country
Workhorse – Mark Edwards
100% Eagle – Joey Nielson
Frontrunner – Luke Hall
Women’s Cross Country
Workhorse – Amanda Bowman
100% Eagle – Sammy McConeghey
Frontrunner – Hannah Reese
Men’s Track
Outstanding Thrower – Lucas Mathis
Highest Point Winner – Cassadine Blassingame
Most Versatile – Randall Freeman
Women’s Track
Most Dedicated – Anna Bauder
Team Leadership Award – Hannah Reese
Highest Point Winner – Jessica Azor
