| Successful sports season capped by academic honors for EMCC teams and student-athletes |
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SCOOBA – Capping a successful 2010-11 sports season both on and off the playing fields, four East Mississippi Community College sports teams and six EMCC student-athletes have earned academic recognition from the National Junior College Athletic Association. The national selections were released Wednesday by the NJCAA office headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The EMCC softball, women’s basketball, men’s golf and baseball teams all collected NJCAA All-Academic Team honors for having composite team grade point averages of 3.00 or higher. Individually, Lady Lion softball players Leigh Ellen Barefield, Mallory Pace, Nashedra Barry and Cayla Coleman, along with Lion baseball players Wesley Dodd and Mitch Bohon, all achieved national academic laurels for compiling cumulative GPAs of 3.60 or higher. For the second straight year, head coach Kate Neely’s Lady Lion softball team led the way for EMCC’s athletic teams by posting a composite 3.39 team grade point average to tie for 10th nationally among all NJCAA softball programs. On the field, the 2011 Lady Lions enjoyed their most successful season in the school’s fastpitch softball history by claiming the program’s first-ever MACJC North Division fastpitch championship and advancing to NJCAA Region 23 Tournament play for the first time since 2002. In addition, the EMCC baseball team was recognized academically for the third consecutive season by the NJCAA for achieving a composite team grade point average of 3.00 or higher. Head coach Chris Rose’s 2011 EMCC squad posted a composite 3.01 team GPA in the classroom to lead all Mississippi community college baseball programs. On the diamond this past year, the Lions earned their first baseball playoff appearance since 2004 and compiled the team’s best division mark (14-10) since the 1998 season. Along with claiming their second MACJC North Division women’s basketball regular-season title in the last three seasons, head coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions were honored by the NJCAA for the second straight year by scoring a 3.04 team grade point average to top all junior college women’s basketball programs in the state of Mississippi. Rounding out EMCC’s team classroom accomplishments for the 2010-11 academic year, head coach Dale Peay’s Lion golf team likewise carded a 3.04 composite GPA along with capturing a school-best, runner-up finish at this year’s MACJC State Golf Championship. Pacing East Mississippi’s student-athletes this past academic year, Barefield was honored with the NJCAA’s Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence for maintaining a perfect 4.00 grade point average during her two years on the Scooba campus as a member of EMCC’s softball program. The former Neshoba Central High School standout was also a two-time honorable mention selection to the MACJC’s All-North Division squad for the Lady Lions. Three other Lady Lion softball standouts achieved Superior Academic Achievement Awards, as Pace (3.89), Barry (3.85) and Coleman (3.80) all posted cumulative GPAs between 3.80 and 3.99 as two-year starters. A product of Northeast Lauderdale High School, Pace garnered NJCAA All-Region 23 honors for her athletic exploits this past year, while Coleman (Clarkdale HS) and Barry (Columbus HS) collected second-team and honorable mention all-division accolades, respectively, as sophomores. Rounding out EMCC’s 2010-11 individual academic achievers, Dodd (Madison-Ridgeland Academy) and Bohon (Oak Hill Academy) claimed the NJCAA’s Exemplary Academic Achievement Awards for having respective cumulative GPAs of 3.68 and 3.66 as members of the Lion baseball team. Along with East Mississippi Community College’s team and individual academic success this past season, all six of the school’s athletic teams affiliated with the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) participated in postseason competition during the 2010-11 academic year. Marking the 28th year that the NJCAA has recognized the success of its student-athletes in the classroom, more than 1,470 NJCAA student-athletes met the requirements for individual academic honors during the 2010-11 sports season while over 370 teams qualified for academic team accolades. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 June 2011 ) |
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