By Lileana Pearson, Swimming World College Intern
The weekend of February 5-7 was the inaugural NAIA Mid-South Conference Championships. For some it is the end of a competitive season if they did not make a National ‘A’ cut, but for others it is only setting the bar for the division championship meet.
The event started with a banquet hosted by Cumberland University to recognize outstanding individuals within the conference. The first awards to be given out were those which recognized Academic Mid-South Conference.
An academic award, 20 athletes on the women’s side and nine for the men were presented the award. To obtain the honor, Academic Mid-South Conference, an athlete must have a minimum of a 3.25 GPA and have the academic standing of a sophomore.
For women, Lindsey Wilson College presented the most athletes to receive the award. Senior Sarah Wood, junior Elena Nikolaeva, junior Susan Herrington, junior Paige Lewis, junior Kelsey Marshall, sophomore Natalie Miller, and freshman with sophomore standing Lily Pearson were the ladies representing their school. Campbellsville University recognized the second most with five women, Cumberland’s in third with four, and Life and St. Catherine’s were tied with two honor students apiece.
On the men’s side Lindsey Wilson College and Campbellsville University tied with four honors recipients each. From Campbellsville University we recognize junior Luke Camp, junior Brandon Wiseheart, sophomore Fillipo Albertino, and sophomore Daniel Fathergill. For Lindsey Wilson College they presented junior Shelby Stevenson, junior Tolga Dogruyol, sophomore Ryan Leamy, and sophomore Iker Laezabal as their outstanding males.
Another award that is competed for is the Champion of Character honor. NAIA focuses on the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership. To obtain the Champion of Characters award an athlete must be nominated and present a written essay. This year’s female winner was Shelby Mattingly. From Campbellsville University, Mattingly is finishing her third year of studying elementary education. She is a sprint freestyle swimmer for her university and a proven role model for her teammates.
A senior from Cumberland University was the second recipient of the award that evening. Joseph Brinkman, originally from Commerce Township Michigan, is an outstanding individual and Coach Skelly thinks he is the type of individual everyone should strive to be like. Brinkman insists he will use the core values the rest of his life in everything he does.
NAIA is always looking for ways to recognize and reward outstanding individuals. Awards such as Academic Mid-South Conference and Champion of Character are just a few ways to outline the stellar athletes in the division and within the conference. As of now it is officially full-speed ahead as National qualifiers swim on, keeping in mind all the hard work they have done to get them to this place in time.