FCA hosts NGU’s first ESPY Awards Ceremony
Shelby Snigar, Staff Writer
ESPY Award Graphic Photo. Photo design courtesy of Devan Trout.
Last Thursday, April 21, 2016, North Greenville University held its own ESPY Awards to honor the hard-working and successful athletes at NGU. This special night was presented by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). ESPY Award stands for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award.
Thirteen awards were presented that night.
Nelson Hughes. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Male Athlete of the Year
Senior Nelson Hughes — Football Captain and Quarterback
Male Athlete of the Year entitles a strong team player with great morals who competes at high levels during practices in order to lead the team to victories during each game.
To be nominated, the FCA looks at how successful of a season the team had and the success in a career at NGU a nominee has had.
Hughes believes he was nominated “because of the broken records [he has] accomplished.”
Hughes plans to start his career in coaching after graduation and said he’s “thankful for everything NGU has done for [him].”
Cameron Carter. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Female Athlete of the Year
Sophomore Cameron Carter — Basketball Point Guard
Female Athlete of the Year entitles a strong team player with great morals who competes at high levels during practices in order to lead the team to victories during each game.
To be nominated, the FCA looks at how successful of a season the team had and the success in a career at NGU a nominee has had.
Carter said she played her game and did what she does best.
Carter’s best was shown when she was the first player at NGU in eight years to be chosen for first team at All Conference.
“It’s an honor to be named Female Athlete of the year,” she said and now plans to, “focus on the important things, such as a much better relationship with God.”
Michael Thomas. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Male Iron Athlete of the Year
Junior Michael Thomas — Football Center
The Male Iron Athlete award is given to an athlete with an overall high performance and embodies a hard work ethic and good attitude in the weight room.
Thomas’s usual routine consisted of different lifts like power clean or jerk and bench press or squat. Then he’d use dumbbells or other equipment along with working on his abs to finish the day.
Thomas’s gives advice for students wanting to get better with weights.
“Go in the weight room every day with the mentality to get better that day.” he said. “Work hard and push yourself to the max and you will have the same success as me.”
Yomi Adeyeye. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Female Iron Athlete of the Year
Senior Yomi Adeyeye — Volleyball Captain
The Female Iron Athlete award is given to an athlete with an overall high performance and embodies a hard work ethic and good attitude in the weight room.
Adeyeye started 2015 with an injury that caused her to get behind in weight training. She worked hard all summer to go above and beyond her original weight maxes.
During the week, Adeyeye’s trainings would vary based on the muscle groups she was working with that day. The variations include bench press and pullups, squats and RDLS and ending with core.
In order to get ahead from her previous off-season, Adeyeye would work out four times a week instead of twice a week while consuming lots of protein.
“It was all because of my determination to not let that setback define me,” said Adeyeye. “Always do more than what you think you can do. Never give up. Your body is only trying to trick you into thinking you are not as strong as you are. Utilize the power of your mind.”
Limoh Stanley. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
International Student Athlete of the Year
Freshman Limoh Stanley — Track and Field and Cross Country
International Student Athlete of the Year is awarded to a foreign student with great success in his/her sport.
Stanley, native of Kenya, took on and beat five records for North Greenville University, which allowed him to be nominated for the award.
“I feel honored [that] I received that award,” said Stanley. “My best experience was how my teammates reacted to my award. It was not only my award but our award as a team. I believe without God I will not be the way I am today.”
“I encourage [athletes] to work hard and try to have a goal to achieve in a team,” Stanley said. “Setting goals is quite important for an athlete to excel. You will put more effort in achieving it.”
Daniel Hunter Burchette. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Male Rookie of the Year
Freshman Daniel Hunter Burchette — Basketball Shooting Guard
Male Rookie of the Year goes to a freshman athlete who shows workmanship on and off the field or court while working to improve his or her skills each game.
“I feel very honored and very blessed to have won this award with such great athletes around me. I know with this award I have to work harder and to push myself even more to continue to improve as a player,” Burchette said.
Burchette continued, “Every day is a challenge, but you have to be willing to push yourself to the limits. You must be able to outwork the competition every day. Nothing comes easy in sports and you have to set goals and break them every day, because there is always room for improvement.”
Kate Lee. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Female Rookie of the Year
Freshman Kate Lee — Softball Right Field
Female Rookie of the Year goes to a freshman athlete who shows workmanship on and off the field or court while working to improve his or her skills each game.
Through leadership qualities and great stats, Lee won this year’s award through her involvement with her team, FCA and community. Another achievement she has received was the Conference Carolina’s Softball player of the Week.
Lee has accomplished what others thought she could not get.
“It was awesome to [realize] all of my hard work [paid] off,” said Lee. I grew up in a community where no one had any faith in me and to win this award, it just helped me to see how far I have come.
Ashton Heard. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Breakout Performance of the Year
Soon-to-be Super Senior Ashton Heard — Football Runningback
The Breakout Performance of the Year award is given to an athlete who has overcome adversity by breaking one or more records at NGU this year.
“Winning is sensational and winning this award lets me know that I can do all things through Christ,” said Heard.
Heard plans to continue contributing to his team on and off the field. He wishes to grow in fellowship with his teammates and to encourage them to become better players.
Heard wants to work on his dedication to school and football as well as working on his mental stability to become a well-rounded person.
Nathaniel Maggio. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Best Hit of the Year
Nathaniel Maggio — Baseball Third Baseman
Best Hit of the Year goes to an athlete with one or more record breaking hits or tackles or baskets.
At the drive stadium, Maggio broke the record for a home run. The record he broke was the single season home run record.
In total, Maggio hit 12 home runs this entire year.
“[I was] pretty shocked and I felt really blessed,” said Maggio. “It just feels good to have all your hard work noticed by a group of people.”
Madeline King. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Service of the Year
Sophomore Madeline King — Cheerleading Coed Flyer
Service of the Year award goes to an athlete well-established in a team, community and life who devotes one’s life to serving others and embodies 1 Corinthians 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
King humbly said, “My life motto is to serve others first before being served. I just truly strive to live a life that exemplifies the verse John 3:30: “He must become greater and I must become less.”
She continued, “I must become less in order for God’s kingdom to advance. Serving others is something I truly strive to do and for that to be recognized is only advancing the kingdom of God. He is the one that has allowed me these opportunities and I cannot be thankful enough.”
King plans to continue serving the Lord and her fellow beings through love and faith.
Leslie Brown. Photo courtesy of Adeline Floyd.
Biggest Fan of the Year
Leslie Brown — Reference Librarian
Biggest Fan of the Year award goes to a faculty and team nominated fan who continuously shows up to games, cheers the most and overall encourages the team to do better.
Brown is called “Team Mom” for her dedication and love for NGU teams. She inspires all the team players to do their best and gives nothing but love for wins and losses.
“I attend as many athletic events as possible and dedicate myself to praying for each student athlete by name before each match. I also pray and cheer for them by name during the matches and try to encourage them whenever I see them on campus,” Brown said.
Brown continued, “A philosophy that I try to share with all of my students is this – [When] on the athletic court/field/track: play your best, have fun [and] leave the rest to God. [When] in the classroom: do your best, have a good attitude [and] leave the rest to God. If you do this, you can hold your head high, no matter the outcome. Also, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Coach Brianna Temples. Photo courtesy of Rob Gawrys.
Coach of the Year
Brianna Temples — Volleyball Head Coach
Coach of the Year entitles FCA involvement as a Chaplain while enhancing the performance and Christ-like environment for the coach’s athletes.
“Focusing on developing my players as individuals and as a team is what coaching is all about,” said Temples. “Anything extra is just a plus. I’m grateful to coach a group that’s hungry and wants to get better. They’re the reason why we saw success this season.”
Temples advised, “Focus on being better today and where you are currently. The outcome [will] take care of itself.”
Carl Dukes. Photo courtesy of Anonymous.
Lifetime Crusader
Carl Dukes — Alumini
The Lifetime Crusader award goes to a graduate who has achieve great success and has stayed committed to North Greenville University throughout the years by showing his or her crusader pride.
Upon receiving the award, Dukes said, “I am very humble[d].”
Dukes advised that, “The most important thing is; know [your] purpose.”
Dukes added, “God has really been blessing me in my life this last year in a half since I left this place. I had no idea where I was going. I [just] knew he was going to provide.”
God lead Dukes into education where he now teaches special education children.
Lastly, Temples said, “Way to go to Caleb Phillips and his FCA crew for pulling off such an awesome awards ceremony. They are such hard workers and they genuinely love the student athletes at NGU.”
