Baker, Stansberry bring home top honors at Third Annual Frosty Awards
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman football running back Damian Baker (Columbus, Miss.) and women’s swimmer Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.) took home Frosty Awards for Male and Female Athlete of the Year at the Third Annual Frosty Awards Tuesday evening at Gentry Auditorium.
VIDEO: Full Frosty Awards Show
VIDEO: The Most Valuable Talk Show Preshow
VIDEO: Damian Baker Interview
VIDEO: Margaret Stansberry Interview
VIDEO: Blooper Reel
VIDEO: Tom Griffin and Chuck Benson Egg Roulette
The winners, finalists and history of the awards is below.
Male Athlete of the Year – Damian Baker (Football)
Damian Baker became the fourth Carson-Newman football player to be named a national finalist for the Harlon Hill trophy. A consensus All-American, Baker finished the regular season ranked in the top 25 in the nation in five rushing categories and as the SAC Offensive Player of the Year. With his 1,403 rushing yards, Baker has the eighth highest single-season total in Carson-Newman history. He rushed for 100 yards six times, including 249 yards and four touchdowns in a win at Mars Hill.
Finalist video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkAqio_1GZ4
Other finalists: Vince Apicella (Baseball), Kevin Snead (Track and Field), Sindre Welo (Men's Soccer)
Past winners:
2014: Ross Frame (Men's Soccer)
2015: Andy Hibbett (Football)
Female Athlete of the Year – Margaret Stansberry (Women's Swimming)
Margaret Stansberry became Carson-Newman's first-ever three-time All-American honoree in one NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship. She brought home the honors in the 100 and 200 Free, as well as the 800 Free Relay in March. The sophomore was a seven-time All-Bluegrass Mountain Conference swimmer and tallied the second-most points by a female at the BMC Championships. Stansberry won 13 events during the season with a career-high four wins coming against the University of the Cumberlands and Limestone.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0hWeGb2cOA
Other finalists: Alli Webster (Softball), Molly Locke (Volleyball), Julianne Herrity (Women's Soccer)
Past winners:
2014: Kelli Hensley (Softball)
2015: Rachel Harper (Volleyball)
Team of the Year – Volleyball
The Carson-Newman volleyball team won the program's first-ever Southeast Region Championship with a four-set victory on Dec. 6th over Lenoir-Rhyne setting a program-record with 138 digs. The Eagles became just the second team in SAC history to win a Southeast Region title. The three wins in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championships came in five sets, straight sets and four sets. With a 29-8 record, the Eagles won more matches than any other SAC team for the first time since 2002 and just the second time in program history.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO-GD7wiFeE
Other finalists: Men's Golf, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer
Past winners:
2014: Men's Soccer
2015: Volleyball
Comeback of the Year – Men's Basketball wins in egg roulette tiebreaker over Baseball
Carson-Newman from a 21-point deficit and Zack Pangallo (Newport, Ky.) punched in a 27-foot three from the top of the key as time expired to give the Eagles a 91-89 win over Newberry. Carson-Newman overcame a 21-point deficit and a 13-point deficit with seven minutes to play in the second half by making 12 consecutive shots at one point. The 21-point comeback is the largest of the Chuck Benson era and matches the largest for the program since the year 2000.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w65A0OSfsAQ
Other finalists: Baseball v. Newberry, Men's Soccer v. Mars Hill,
Past winners:
2014: Women's Basketball and Whitney Kyle at Newberry
2015: Women's Golf at the SAC Championships
Game of the Year – Carson-Newman Baseball at Tusculum
Carson-Newman became the first team to score multiple runs on national pitcher of the year candidate Placido Torres before winning the opening game of the series against Tusculum in 12 innings. Junior center fielder Ryan Addington singled to right field to start the top of the 12th inning. Tusculum reliever Devan Watts hit the next two batters to load the bases with no one out. Sophomore Cade Snapp drove in Addington with a sacrifice fly to left field. Kearney hit a bouncer to second base, Zach Finhum flipped to second base for one out and the transfer throw to first base bounced to the wall down the first base line to score an insurance run and make it a 4-2 contest in favor of the Eagles. A 5-4-3 double play gave the game to the Eagles.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2edEXHgEnN4
Other finalists: Women's Soccer v. Wingate, Volleyball v. Anderson, Football at Wingate
Past winners:
2014: No award given for category
2015: Carson-Newman Men's Basketball over #3 LMU in the SAC title game
Female Performance of the Year – Allison Webster (Softball)
Alli Webster reset Heather Randolph's 24-year-old single-game school record for strikeouts when she sat down 16 batters in a 5-0 win over UVA-Wise in March. Webster struck out 11 batters swinging and five looking. She carried a perfect game into the third before an error let a batter reach. The Cavs were hitless until the sixth when a double landed outside the reach of a diving outfielder. The junior struck out the side twice and punched out five of the last six batters in the game.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H-TjgfKXDs
Other finalists: Elizabeth England (Women's Golf), Margaret Stansberry (Women's Swimming), Anna Patton (Volleyball)
Past winners:
2014: Tiana Mills (track and field)
2015: Kristen Pickett (Volleyball)
Upset of the Year – Women's Basketball v. #6 Columbus State
The Lady Eagles never held a lead against the sixth-ranked team in the country until redshirt-sophomore guard Katie Stubblefield (Alcoa, Tenn.) made a pair of free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining to give the Lady Eagles (4-0) a 70-68 victory over Columbus State. It was the first win for the program over a top-10 ranked team since January 17, 2009 when the Lady Eagles defeated fifth-ranked Tusculum 90-87 at Holt Fieldhouse. Carson-Newman trailed by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter at 62-53 with 6:34 to play in the game. In a rematch of the 2015 Southeast Region Quarterfinal, the Lady Eagles stopped the reigning region Player of the Year's, Michelle Mitchell, shot as the buzzer sounded.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXK0c5VB7LI
Other finalists: Women's basketball at #11 Anderson, Men's basketball v. #20 Lenoir-Rhyne, Baseball v. #10 Belmont Abbey
Past winners:
2014: Men's Basketball v. #7 LMU
2015: Men's Basketball v. #1 LMU
Male Newcomer of the Year – Kevin Snead (Track and Field)
Kevin Snead has been named the fastest track athlete in college football by the USTFCCCA. He was an All-American following his first track season at Carson-Newman during the indoor campaign. The sprinter finished 10th in the 2016 NCAA Track & Field Indoor Championships in the men's 60 meter dash and climbed as high as fourth in the nation for Division II during the season. Snead holds the C-N record in the event following a time of 6.77 second time at UCS Invitational on Feb. 20th and was the program's first-ever automatic qualifier. The good times have kept rolling in the outdoor season for Snead. The junior has reset the school's records in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFkcJOFiE-o
Other finalists: Tom Read (Men's Soccer), Jimmy Rice (Baseball), Jace DeVault (Men's Golf)
Past winners:
2014: Ross Frame (men's soccer)
2015: Tanner Stepp (Track and Field)
Male Performance of the Year – Andrew Hall (Men's Golf)
Senior Andrew Hall won his first career tournament by carding a final round 66 to win the University of North Georgia Fall Invitational with a 14-under 202. Hall won by four strokes at the Achasta Golf Club in Dahlonega, Ga. Hall tied his South Atlantic Conference three-round total he set at the Saint Leo's Invitational. He led the field with 17 birdies and was tied for the third-lowest score on par-fives at eight-under
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih-XRr2nij0
Other finalists: Vince Apicella (Baseball), De'Andre Thomas (Football), TraShaun Ward (Football)
Past winners:
2014: De'Andre Thomas (football)
2015: Charles Clark (Men's Basketball)
Play of the Year – Zack Pangallo (Men's Basketball)
Zack Pangallo knocked in a 27-foot three to help Carson-Newman complete a comeback as the buzzer sounded and beat Newberry.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHUoZTEwTRE
Other finalists: Jason Williams and Emmanuel Orange (Football), Jess Fraiture and Helen Seed (Women's Soccer), Sindre Welo (Men's Soccer), Charles Clark (Men's Soccer), Jai Jai McLaughlin (Women's Basketball)
Past winners:
2014: Rachel Harper (volleyball)
2015: Rurik Pereira (Men's Soccer)
Female Newcomer of the Year – Jules Herrity (Women's Soccer)
Julianne Herrity recorded four multi-goal performances as she helped power the Eagles to regular season and tournament South Atlantic Conference championships, as well as a Southeast Region title. Herrity tallied multi-goal games against Newberry, Catawba, Young Harris and Coker. She had the assist that set up the Eagles conference title-clinching goal against Wingate in Rock Hill.
Finalists video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMUCoevQWtA
Other finalists: Maddie Borch (Volleyball), Molly Locke (Volleyball), Alli Webster (Softball)
2014: Combined male and female newcomer of the year was presented to men's soccer's Ross Frame
2015: Elizabeth England (Women's Golf)
Coach of the Year – Richard Moodie (Women's Soccer)
Women's soccer coach Richard Moodie was named the NSCAA Southeast Region Coach of the Year and named the South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Eagles to their first regular season title since 2010 and their first SAC Tournament since 2009. Carson-Newman ended the season ranked 13th in the nation; when the Eagles first became ranked on October 20th, it was the first ranking since the 2010 preseason poll. Carson-Newman rattled off a school record 12 wins that stretched from a win against Lincoln Memorial on Oct. 7th to a win against Armstrong State in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship second round on Nov. 15th.
Finalists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpy4au38bSI
Other finalists: Randy Wylie (Men's Golf), Tom Griffin (Baseball), Suzanne Strudwick (Women's Golf)
Past winners:
2014: Richard Moodie (men's soccer)
2015: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield (Softball)
Male Freshman of the Year – Carson Wise (Football)
Carson Wise earned second team All-SAC honors and second team D2CCA All-region honors in a year where he was named SAC Special Teams Player of the Week on three occasions. Wise did so after tying Duncan's school record for points in a game by a kicker with 17 in the Eagles' regular season finale with Tusculum. Wise has already inserted himself into C-N's record books. His 104 points this year are the second most in school history for a kicker. 65 made PATs are third most all-time and his 13 made field goals are fourth
Finalists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw21gDKa2jI
Other finalists: Antonio Wimbush (Football), Thibault Mathorez (Men's Soccer), Zack Pangallo (Men's Basketball)
Past winners:
2014: No award given
2015: No award given
Female Freshman of the Year – Varin Ness (Women's Soccer)
Varin Ness finished her first campaign in the Orange and Blue as a two-time All-Southeast Region selection, the South Atlantic Conference's Freshman of the Year and a member of the SAC's all-conference first team. Ness scored 12 goals and five assists in 19 appearances. She registered at least one point in her first four matches in her career and scored in her first appearance in the Orange and Blue against Ohio Dominican. She set the school record for goals by a freshman in the season.
Finalists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLhgYuN0Zyg
Other finalists: Jessica Fraiture (Women's Soccer), Natalie Harris (Volleyball), Elly Culp (Women's Swimming)
Past winners:
2014: No award given
2015: No award given
2016 Frosty Awards Ceremony
