Conference Carolinas Announces 2011 Fall Scholar Athletes of the Year
High Point, NC, December 8, 2011 – Conference Carolinas is
proud to announce the Fall Scholar Athletes of the Year as recently
voted on by the student-athlete affairs committee. This prestigious
award is presented annually to a student-athlete in each sport for
recognition of their outstanding academic and athletic
achievements.
Each school submits candidates that are the best of the best for
the conference from their sport while meeting certain
qualifications for nomination. The qualifications include being a
junior or senior student-athlete with a cumulative grade point
average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale in all work completed at
their member institution that have played in a conference sponsored
sport. The GPA is calculated based on the student-athletes
cumulative average through the previous semester and each
student-athlete must have attended their member institution for at
least one academic year. Additionally, in order to qualify for the
award the student-athlete must be a current member of the
All-Conference Carolinas First, Second, or Third Team that were
recently selected by head coaches from conference member
institutions that nominate and then vote upon award winners.
Women’s Cross Country
Danielle Alfano, a King College senior from
Chattanooga, TN served as a prime example of the benefit of hard
work a season can bring a student-athlete. From her first to her
last race, Alfano showed steady improvement and exploded in her
last two 5k races of the season. Between the Covered Bridge
Invitational (Sept. 2) to the Conference Carolinas Championship
(Oct. 22), she improved her 5k time by nearly three minutes,
setting a new personal record at the league championships with a
19:24.4 time and a 13th place finish and all-conference
selection. At the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship,
she earned a spot on the All-Region Team finishing inside the
top-25 with a time of 23:13.3. Alfano is a physical education major
and carries a 3.53 grade point average in the classroom.
Women’s Volleyball
Megan Mitchell put together another impressive
season for the Lees-McRae Bobcats, leading the team and the
conference in assists per set (9.76), while ranking second in the
league and 11th in the nation in aces per set (0.63). A native of
Minden, Nev., Mitchell recorded a career-high 1,210 assists this
season to become the program’s all-time leader with 3,347
helpers, while also needing just nine service aces to pass Megan
Epperson for the career lead in that category. The junior setter
earned first-team all-conference honors for the second straight
season this fall. Majoring in business administration with minors
in psychology and mathematics Megan is also a Sigma
Beta Delta, Alpha Chi, and honors program
member.
Women’s Soccer
Senior forward Ashley Alderin-Fleagle adds
another impressive accolade to her resume. The Kernersville, N.C.
native and 2011 Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Player of
the Year guided the Saints to a program-best 13-5-1 overall record
this season after posting a career-high 20 goals. This year she
earned First-Team All-Conference Carolinas, Daktronics First-Team
All-Southeast Region and Daktronics First-Team All-American honors
while claiming a share of the NCAA Division II National Scoring
Title in total goals scored. The biology major has performed just
as well in the classroom carrying a 4.0 GPA to secure a spot on the
Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Academic All-Conference
Team for the second consecutive season.
Men’s Cross Country
Felix Duchampt, a Clermont Ferrand, France
native, led the Queens University of Charlotte men’s cross
country team to an 18th place finish at the NCAA
Championships after taking 48th individually. The Royals
earned a bid to the national race after winning their fifth
consecutive NCAA Division II Southeast Regional title. Duchampt
took second place in the race with a time of 31:09.5 earning
all-region honors. He also took first place in the Conference
Carolinas Championships earning League Runner of the Year honors as
the Royals won their third conference title in a row. The senior
runner was one of two members from his team named to the Conference
Carolinas All-Academic Team.
Men’s Soccer
Coker College goalkeeper James
Sweeney was recently named a Capital One Academic
All-American First Team selection as selected by the College Sports
Information Directors of America. The junior mathematics major from
Huntington, MD holds a perfect 4.0 GPA. Sweeney was also a first
team All-Conference selection at goalkeeper, leading Coker to an
18-3 record and season ending No. 18 national poll ranking. He
helped Coker capture both the Conference Carolinas regular season
and tournament championships, as well as leading the Cobras to
their first appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. He also
earned Daktronics All-Southeast region honors after posting a 0.61
goals against average that included 10 shutouts and a 0.817 save
percentage.
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletic conference
currently made up of 12 teams from North Carolina, South Carolina,
and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College,
Belmont Abbey College, Coker College, Converse College, Erskine
College, King College, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, Mount
Olive College, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University,
and Queens University of Charlotte.