GREENVILLE, S.C. - Conference Carolinas held its annual "Leading the Way: Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul" SAAC Retreat on Friday and Saturday in Greenville, South Carolina.

This impactful weekend started with Conference Carolinas' annual visit to the Boys & Girls Club on Friday. The Conference Carolinas student-athletes in attendance played games with the children of the Boys & Girls Club, mixing in a lot of fun along with sportsmanship lessons.

On Saturday morning, the awards for Community Service, Make-A-Wish, and student-athlete programming were announced. 

Award winners were based off the previous academic year. Belmont Abbey College earned awards for Community Service and Make-A-Wish while Francis Marion University won with their student-athlete programming. Conference Carolinas raised over $11,000 during the 2024-25 academic year, another increase from the previous year.

"The Make-A-Wish honors are always some of our favorite awards to present to our student-athletes," Commissioner Chris Colvin said. "All of our member institutions in Conference Carolinas truly embody who we are and our efforts to be champions in body, mind and soul. These Make-A-Wish honors continue to show this, while also helping us to further tell our amazing story in Conference Carolinas."
 
Also on Saturday morning, the student-athletes participated in important meetings and breakout sessions before having the tremendous opportunity to hear from North Carolina Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Student-Athlete Development Cricket Lane and Duke Associate Director of Athletics/Director of Student-Athlete Development Leslie Barnes. Lane and Barnes provided leadership training to all in attendance.

The Conference Carolinas Faculty Athletic Representatives were also again in attendance this year and they held their annual business meetings while also being a part of the fun and taking advantage of all of the unique opportunities provided over the course of the special weekend.
 
"We provide this programming to inspire and motivate our student-athletes to take it back to campus," Associate Commissioner Jill Robbins said "It is a great way for them to share with others the experiences in making their communities better." 

Student-Athletes who attended the retreat are listed below.
 

Leadership	SAAC
Joshua Miller, Barton	Celeste Bailey, Barton
Ansley Whilden, Barton	Jacob Oliver, Barton
Ellie Ripchik, Belmont Abbey	Zeke Jarzyniecki, Belmont Abbey
Ethan Bell, Belmont Abbey	Payton Lanier, Belmont Abbey
Stefan Reedy, Chowan	Ayanna Rutledge, Chowan
Caroline Madi Webb, Chowan	Coley Drew, Chowan
Manuel Roncero Ros, Converse	Kaylah Belle Danjczek, Converse
Rae Rice, Converse	Paisley Stepp, Converse
Gabriel Alvarez, Ferrum	Isabella Hoffman, Emmanuel
Anna Newman, Ferrum	Hayleigh Deputy, Erskine
Reese Miller, Francis Marion	CoCo Fogle, Erskine
Patricio Perezpuebla, King	Erin Harden, Ferrum
Kendall Cross, King	Brandon Jones, Ferrum
Jake Pagliarini, Mount Olive	Jordyn Perry, Francis Marion
Chris Nebraski, Mount Olive	Robbie Jordan, Francis Marion
Donovan Miller, UNC Pembroke	Vanessa Neubauer, King
Steven Lassiter, UNC Pembroke	Jalen Royster, King
Beka Haddad, North Greenville	Lilly Anthony, Lees-McRae
Kason Herlong, North Greenville	Jeff Wagner, Lees-McRae
Chandler Burns, Shorter	Maddy Fratus, Mount Olive
Abbie Arthur, Young Harris	Olivia Castillo, Mount Olive
Kyle Chatham, Young Harris	Daniel Karmanov, UNC Pembroke
	Peyton Mann, UNC Pembroke
	Judy Rose, North Greenville
	Joe Cash, North Greenville
	Alexis Schoggen, Shorter
	Maree Hernandez, Southern Wesleyan
	Taylor Townsend, Southern Wesleyan
	Tamra Brito, Young Harris
	Jack Enrico, Young Harris