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XC Standout Receives Conference’s Most Prestigious Award
Two-time All-American Sophia Stone was presented with the USA South Athletic Conference’s most prestigious award when Commissioner Rita Wiggs visited Mary Baldwin University on September 12. The senior from Pacific Palisades, California, was voted the recipient of the Don Scalf Award in June. Stone earned the honor after finishing 19th at the NCAA Women’s National Cross Country Championships in November 2012, earning her All-American honors for the second straight year. Stone had won both the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship and the USA South Conference Championship for the second straight year. She has earned USA South Runner of the Year honors twice, is a three-time member of the All-Conference First Team and currently owns the Conference Championship course record.
Stone also received the Capital One Academic All-America award. This award recognizes both her athletic and academic accomplishments. In the classroom, Stone has compiled a 3.98 grade point average while majoring in both Psychology and Biology. She is a three-time member of the USA South All-Academic Team and a two-time member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. The senior has been awarded the Mary Jane Donnalley Scholar Athlete honor twice in her career.
Head Cross Country Coach Sharon Spalding talked about Stone’s accomplishments. “Sophia’s first three seasons have been remarkable, with great improvement each year. She embodies the term student-athlete and tonight she is being rewarded in both areas as she receives the Don Scalf Award, the CoSida Academic All-American Award and the USA South All-Academic Award.”
Spalding also commented on Sophia’s decision to take this year off from cross country. “To further her academic pursuits, Sophia will be sitting out this year to pursue a third major in chemistry. Since this requires an extra year, we will welcome her back to the team next season for her senior season.”
Fighting Squirrels Take Sportsmanship Trophy
The Mary Baldwin University Athletic Department received the USA South Athletic Conference Team Sportsmanship Award Thursday evening September 12. Commissioner of the USA South Athletic Conference Rita Wiggs presented the award to Athletic Director Sharon Spalding and representatives of the volleyball, soccer, basketball, and softball teams. Each of these teams received the sportsmanship award for their particular sport during the 2012-13 academic year. This is the 4th time in the past five years that Mary Baldwin University has received this award.
Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Catharine O’Connell was also on hand to present student athletes who earned USA South All-Academic Team honors in 2012-13. Mary Baldwin University had 25 student athletes receive this honor, which is the most since joining the USA South in 2007. To be eligible, a student athlete must have earned a 3.0 GPA in each of the two semesters of a given year.
O’Connell was happy to present these honors and added, “I am so pleased — but not at all surprised — that such a large percentage of our athletes have earned this academic honor. It is a testament to the self-discipline and academic dedication of the athletes who compete for Mary Baldwin University, as well as to the priorities of our coaches and athletic director. These young women are truly student athletes, as their strong academic performance demonstrates. We celebrate them and their mentors who encouraged and supported hard work in the classroom as well as on the field or court.”