Post by Bornthrilla on May 1, 2007 11:19:31 GMT -5
AGGIES HONOR THEIR OWN AT ANNUAL BANQUET
Rush, Mitchell take home three awards apiece
GREENSBORO, April 30, 2007 – North Carolina A&T Athletics honored its own on Monday night at the Annual All-Sports Award Banquet held at the Alumni-Foundation Event Center.
Volleyball senior Arlene Mitchell and men’s basketball junior Steven Rush walked away with three trophies apiece. Rush took home two of the biggest awards of the night as he took home the N.C. A&T Aggie Club, Inc., Award and the he was named the N.C. A&T Department of Athletics Male Athlete of the Year. Rush was also named Men’s Basketball Team MVP.
Rush led the Aggies in scoring and became the first first-team All-MEAC member from Aggies men’s basketball since the 2000-2001 season. He was one of the best sixth men in the country as he averaged better than 17 points per game.
Rush, who is familiar with the Aggie basketball tradition having grown up around N.C. A&T Athletics because his mother played for the women’s team, said he transferred from UNC-Asheville for one important reason.
“I want to help bring A&T back to the top,’’ said Rush. “It means a lot to me to wear an A&T jersey. “My mother always told me when you come to play and work hard, eventually good things will happen, and a lot of great things happened for me and my teammates this year.”
Mitchell’s biggest accomplishment of the night came when the N.C. A&T Sports Hall of Fame awarded her their prestigious Hall of Famers Educational Foundation, Inc., Player of the Year Award. She also received the Department of Athletics’ Senior Female of the Year Award and Volleyball Team MVP.
Mitchell is the only player in Aggie history to record more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. She is the program’s all-time kills leader and was named to the MEAC’s first team as a senior. “I was surprised to earn some many honors tonight,’’ said Mitchell. “I’ve truly had a great career here, better than I could have ever dreamed of.”
The big female prize, however, went to women’s basketball player Amber Bland. Bland, who broke the school’s single-season scoring record as a sophomore, was named the department’s Female Athlete of the Year. Bland led the conference in scoring and the Aggies to a second-place finish in the MEAC.
The department’s other senior award went to baseball player Charlie Gamble. Gamble’s season has not ended, but he is batting .397 with seven home runs and 47 RBI. He has 33 career home runs, 183 career RBI and 281 career hits, all school records.
The rookie awards from the department went to women’s basketball player Ta’Wuana “Tweet” Cook and baseball player C.J. Beatty. In March, Cook became the first N.C. A&T women’s basketball player to be named MEAC Rookie of the Year. Her year also included a MEAC Player of the Week recognition as a freshman and second-team All-MEAC honors. Cook also led the MEAC in assists.
After a slow start, Beatty has lived up to the hype he had coming into Aggieland. Beatty leads the MEAC in home runs with nine and is hitting an impressive .333 on the season. In less than a month, he has increased his batting average by 109 points.
On the academic side, the swimming team took home the Athletics Director’s Academic Team Award with a combined GPA of 3.3 in what is apparently a heated competition among teams. Individually, swimmer Asha el-Shair took home the Female Academic Athlete of the Year Award.
Men’s basketball player Austin took home the male academic award. Ewing, who served as the Aggies starting point guard this season, has a 4.0 GPA as a psychology major.
The other team MVPs included Amber Bland for women’s basketball; Alexandria Spruiel for women’s indoor track and field; Lonnie Phifer for men’s indoor track and field; Janee Cadlett for women’s cross country; Rashad Burnett for men’s cross country; Christina Ruffin for women’s tennis; Donielle Campbell for swimming; Adryan Williams for cheerleading; Tabitha Veney for softball; Shea Stark for bowling and the Travis Kelly Leadership Award went football’s Oritz “Trey” Green.
Baseball and outdoor men’s and women’s track and field chose not to hand out individual awards because their respective seasons are not over.
-www.ncataggies.com-
Rush, Mitchell take home three awards apiece
GREENSBORO, April 30, 2007 – North Carolina A&T Athletics honored its own on Monday night at the Annual All-Sports Award Banquet held at the Alumni-Foundation Event Center.
Volleyball senior Arlene Mitchell and men’s basketball junior Steven Rush walked away with three trophies apiece. Rush took home two of the biggest awards of the night as he took home the N.C. A&T Aggie Club, Inc., Award and the he was named the N.C. A&T Department of Athletics Male Athlete of the Year. Rush was also named Men’s Basketball Team MVP.
Rush led the Aggies in scoring and became the first first-team All-MEAC member from Aggies men’s basketball since the 2000-2001 season. He was one of the best sixth men in the country as he averaged better than 17 points per game.
Rush, who is familiar with the Aggie basketball tradition having grown up around N.C. A&T Athletics because his mother played for the women’s team, said he transferred from UNC-Asheville for one important reason.
“I want to help bring A&T back to the top,’’ said Rush. “It means a lot to me to wear an A&T jersey. “My mother always told me when you come to play and work hard, eventually good things will happen, and a lot of great things happened for me and my teammates this year.”
Mitchell’s biggest accomplishment of the night came when the N.C. A&T Sports Hall of Fame awarded her their prestigious Hall of Famers Educational Foundation, Inc., Player of the Year Award. She also received the Department of Athletics’ Senior Female of the Year Award and Volleyball Team MVP.
Mitchell is the only player in Aggie history to record more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. She is the program’s all-time kills leader and was named to the MEAC’s first team as a senior. “I was surprised to earn some many honors tonight,’’ said Mitchell. “I’ve truly had a great career here, better than I could have ever dreamed of.”
The big female prize, however, went to women’s basketball player Amber Bland. Bland, who broke the school’s single-season scoring record as a sophomore, was named the department’s Female Athlete of the Year. Bland led the conference in scoring and the Aggies to a second-place finish in the MEAC.
The department’s other senior award went to baseball player Charlie Gamble. Gamble’s season has not ended, but he is batting .397 with seven home runs and 47 RBI. He has 33 career home runs, 183 career RBI and 281 career hits, all school records.
The rookie awards from the department went to women’s basketball player Ta’Wuana “Tweet” Cook and baseball player C.J. Beatty. In March, Cook became the first N.C. A&T women’s basketball player to be named MEAC Rookie of the Year. Her year also included a MEAC Player of the Week recognition as a freshman and second-team All-MEAC honors. Cook also led the MEAC in assists.
After a slow start, Beatty has lived up to the hype he had coming into Aggieland. Beatty leads the MEAC in home runs with nine and is hitting an impressive .333 on the season. In less than a month, he has increased his batting average by 109 points.
On the academic side, the swimming team took home the Athletics Director’s Academic Team Award with a combined GPA of 3.3 in what is apparently a heated competition among teams. Individually, swimmer Asha el-Shair took home the Female Academic Athlete of the Year Award.
Men’s basketball player Austin took home the male academic award. Ewing, who served as the Aggies starting point guard this season, has a 4.0 GPA as a psychology major.
The other team MVPs included Amber Bland for women’s basketball; Alexandria Spruiel for women’s indoor track and field; Lonnie Phifer for men’s indoor track and field; Janee Cadlett for women’s cross country; Rashad Burnett for men’s cross country; Christina Ruffin for women’s tennis; Donielle Campbell for swimming; Adryan Williams for cheerleading; Tabitha Veney for softball; Shea Stark for bowling and the Travis Kelly Leadership Award went football’s Oritz “Trey” Green.
Baseball and outdoor men’s and women’s track and field chose not to hand out individual awards because their respective seasons are not over.
-www.ncataggies.com-
