VALDOSTA – The Valdosta State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) recently hosted the annual Blazer Athletics End-of-the-Year banquet, where the top student-athletes at VSU were recognized for their achievements during the 2016-17 season, both on the field and in the classroom.
The banquet, attended by Blazer Athletic staff, coaches and student-athletes, served as a formal event where women’s basketball’s Madi Mitchell and men’s tennis’ Leo Blay were named the 2016-17 Valdosta State Student-Athletes of the Year. The full list of awards presented, along with the honorees, can be found below.
Athletes-of-the-Year
The Student-Athlete of the Year honor is one of the top awards a student-athlete can receive at Valdosta State. The award is presented to a junior or senior who has been at Valdosta State for at least one full academic year and has a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00. One female and one male are chosen based on a combination of both athletic and academic achievement.
- Madi Mitchell, women’s basketball
- Leo Blay, men’s tennis
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Community Service
Both the team and the individual with the most hours of community service completed during the 2016-17 athletic season were presented with this award.
- Team – softball (a total of 1011 hours)
- Individual – Jarfaith Jones, women’s basketball (a total of 106.5 hours)
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Academic Awards
Students who completed at least 40 hours of class work, have been at Valdosta State for at least one full academic year, and have between a 3.5 and 3.74 cumulative grade point average were recognized at the event for their academic excellence.
- David Wortham, Baseball
- Tynisha Harris, Cheer
- Tyra Holloway and Meghan McShea, Women’s Cross Country
- Lindy Hollingshead, Dance
- David May and Jacob Dilliplane, Football
- Olav Zandveld, Golf
- Maci Fletcher, Softball
- Sabrina Schmidt, Women’s Tennis
- Sydney Chick and Jenna Usry, Volleyball
Students who completed at least 40 hours of class work, have been at Valdosta State for at least one full academic year, and have between a 3.75 and 3.99 cumulative grade point average were recognized at the event for their academic excellence.
- Jacob Elliott, Men’s Basketball
- Jaison Morning and Maxwell Steele, Men’s Cross Country
- Jacinda Miller, Women’s Cross Country
- Lauren Pope, Dance
- Charlie Massey and Thomas Wright, Football
- Davis Roche, Golf
- Caitlyn Dawkins and Mallory McDaniel, Soccer
- Brandi Morgan, Softball
- Taylor Vinge, Women’s Tennis
- Natalia Campos and Julianna Masonheimer, Volleyball
Students who completed at least 40 hours of class work, have been at Valdosta State for at least one full academic year, and have 4.0 cumulative grade point average were recognized at the event for their academic excellence.
- Suvi Savolainen, Soccer
- Daniella Barta, Women’s Tennis
- Taylor Holder, Susi Peonia and Carley Smart, Volleyball
Student-Athlete Academic Spotlight Award
For the first time ever, student-athletes who demonstrated class participation, performance, time management, leadership, and other notable accomplishments were recognized with the Student-Athlete Academic Spotlight Award. The award was created and approved by Valdosta State’s Faculty Senate’s Athletic Committee, and student-athletes were nominated by all VSU faculty in an effort to recognize those athletes who demonstrated exceptional leadership in the classroom. The inaugural award was presented by Mr. Andrew Black, Instructor of Mass Media.
- Anke Poncelet, women’s tennis
- Ava Scott-Moncrieff, soccer
- Brandy Morgan, softball
- Danielle Barta, women’s tennis
- David Wortham, baseball
- Jessica Marie Hubler, women’s cross country
- Susi Peonia, volleyball
Female & Male Student-Athlete Academic Award
Each year, the Student-Athlete Academic Award is presented to a junior or senior who has been at Valdosta State for at least one full academic year and has the highest cumulative grade point average. The award is presented to one male and one female. Because ties are not broken, two females were honored this year.
- Taylor Holder, volleyball
- Susi Peonia, volleyball
- Thomas Wright, football
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