BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University Athletic Department held their second annual #KingPride Awards on Wednesday night that was hosted by math professor Wendy Traynor. During the event, King recognized their Rookies of the Year, Scholar Athletes of the Year, and Male and Female Athletes of the Year, along with numerous other awards.
The evening started with the announcement of the Rookies of the year, Kyle Ellis of the cycling team and Jess Vargo of the women's swimming team. The awards show concluded with the announcement of the Al Nida Male Athlete of the Year which was awarded to Ryan Whitt of the baseball team and the Susie Toomey Female Athlete of the Year that was awarded to Elizabeth Swallow of the women's golf team.
Whitt is having a stellar year at the plate as he leads the Tornado with a batting average of .420, along with 43 runs batted in a and nine home runs. He is slugging .685 on the season and has an on base percentage of .495. On the other side, Swallow finished eighth at the Conference Carolinas Championship and concludes her career as a four-time all-conference selection, including Conference Carolinas Player of the Year in 2014. She is also the first King women's golfer to qualify for the NCAA South Regional, coming in 2014.
The inaugural Director's Cup was awarded near the end of the evening. The Director's Cup is based on a team's achievement in the classroom and in the community. The award will be presented each year to the team who has earned the most points in the following areas: academic achievement, community outreach, and personal development.
A list of all of the award recipients are listed below.
Male Rookie of the Year
Kyle Ellis – cycling
Female Rookie of the Year
Jess Vargo – women's swimming
SAAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year
Chandler Wellmann – men's volleyball
SAAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year
Marina Doi – women's wrestling
Coach of the Year
George Pitts – men's basketball
Supporting Student Staff of the Year
Emily Morgason – athletic training
Spirit Award
Nicole Neilson - cheerleading
Play of the Year
Nicola Robertson – women's golf (five birdies in a row)
Game of the Year
TIE
Women's wrestling captures third straight WCWA national championship
Men's basketball wins first Conference Carolinas Tournament championship
Team of the Year
Men's basketball
Director's Cup
Women's Volleyball
Al Nida Male Athlete of the Year
Ryan Whitt – baseball
Susie Toomey Female Athlete of the Year
Elizabeth Swallow – women's golf
Team GPA of 3.5 or better
Women's volleyball
Women's golf
Women's cross country
Cycling
Student-Athletes with 4.0 GPA
Brooke Dodson - acrobatics & tumbling
Amanda Ignacz - dance
Morgan Greene - men's track & field/cross country
Sheena Johnson - women's basketball
Samantha Schreiber - women's track & field/cross country
Hannah Devotie - softball
Haley Carpenter - women's swimming
Catherine Vezey - women's tennis
Sarah Collins - women's volleyball
Megan Morelock - women's volleyball
Marina Doi - women's wrestling
Regina Doi - women's wrestling
Ricki Liang - women's wrestling
