Angelo State student-athletes understand that they are not just part of an isolated team or campus, but an integral part of their surrounding community. A big part of their growth as student-athletes involves community engagement and being active members of a larger body. The following entries outline what Angelo State Athletics is doing in San Angelo and the surrounding areas, and also what our student-athletes are accomplishing in the classroom.
>> April 5, 2011
Belles Basketball Wins Division II WBCA Pink Zone Contest
CARY, N.C. – The Angelo State women's basketball team closed the book on another winning season, but it wasn't quite finished striving to be the best. Perhaps more important than their on-court success, the Belles were honored Monday night by the Kay Yow Cancer Fund for contributing the most funds in Division II for the Pink Zone event.
The Belles proudly raised nearly $4,500 in their annual Pink Zone game and first-ever treadmill walk. The contest is an effort to reward participating teams in the WBCA Pink Zone who are also raising money for the Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation and the WBCA. Texas A&M won the contest at the Division I level, while Moravian College (Division III) and Viterbo University (NAIA) earned recognition for the second consecutive year. Schoolcraft College (JC/CC) and Hays High School (High School/AAU) were the winners in their respective divisions.
“We're thrilled to do anything we can to contribute to such an important cause,” Head coach Sally Walling Brooks said. “We've done [the Pink Zone game] every year, and this year we did a little better. We're competitive in everything we do and we want to win in everything. We're happy to contribute, but it is a nice award for our staff and our team to be number one in Division II.”
“We did do something a little different this year,” Brooks added. “We got walkers and they were sponsored to walk on the treadmill for four minute segments. We had the treadmills up in the Junell Center so they were able to see the game and people got to see them walking. The success was based on the walkers and how much they raised. We asked each walker to raise $250, but every one of them raised much more than that and that's where the money came from. Unfortunately, breast cancer is something that everyone will have to deal with, whether it's personal or someone we know. So it's important to be involved.”
Jostens, a long-time WBCA sponsor, will be giving a complimentary piece of jewelry from the Jostens Kay Yow Cancer Fund Jewelry Collection to the head coach of the team at each division (NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, JC/CC and High School/AAU) that raised the most funding during its WBCA Pink Zone game for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. They also presented a plaque to the winning team at each division at the Kay Yow Cancer Fund Appreciation Reception in conjunction with the 2011 WBCA National Convention and NCAA Women's Final Four in Indianapolis, Ind., Monday night.
>> February 17, 2011
Crutcher, Nussey Among Cross Country Academic Honorees
SAN ANGELO – Angelo State's Emeline Crutcher and Andria Nussey were among the student-athletes honored by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) when the organization announced its 2010 Division II All-Academic Cross Country Team Wednesday.
A total of 313 student-athletes from 115 NCAA Division II institutions that sponsor women's cross country were honored. Crutcher is a sophomore biology major from Wellman, Texas, and sports a 3.72 GPA. Nussey, from San Angelo, is a graduate student in coaching sport and recreation and fitness administration with a 3.67 GPA.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team in Division II, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or greater through the most-recent semester, completed at least 12 credit hours in the semester of cross country competition, and placed in the top 50 percent at the most recent NCAA National Championships or in the top 30 percent at the NCAA Regional Championships.
>> February 3, 2011
James, Youngblood Named Capital One Academic All-District
SAN ANGELO - Sophomores Ashley James and Morgan Youngblood were selected to the Capital One Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday, Feb. 3. Recipients are recognized as the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance on the court and in the classroom.
James collected second team honors after posting a 3.81 GPA in mathematics. The guard out of Waco, has been a fixture on the court for the Belles as she leads the squad in steals with 32 and is tied for the team lead in assists with 43. She averages 4.6 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game and has started in all 18 games for Angelo State this season.
Youngblood garnered third team recognition with a 3.47 GPA as a chemistry major. The forward from Thorndale, has seen action in 17 of the Belles' 18 games this season. She is averaging 4.2 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, 24 assists and 16 steals.
“Since the day they walked onto campus they have always worked hard and done their best on and off the court,” head coach Sally Walling Brooks said of her two players. “They are both great role-models and they are two great examples of what it means to be a Belle basketball player.”
>> February 3, 2011
Mays Earns Honor for Work on Court and in Classroom
SAN ANGELO - Angelo State guard Trey Mays was one of two Lone Star Conference players named to the Capital One Academic All-District Six men's basketball team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday. Mays earned a second-team selection in the college division.
Mays, a senior from Houston, sports a 3.32 cumulative grade point average (GPA) in finance and was joined on the second team by Central Oklahoma's Tyler Phillips. For the last two seasons, Mays has served as Angelo State's Student Athlete Advisory Committee President, elected to the position by his peers.
Mays recently scored a career-high nine points while helping Angelo State earn a 82-73 win on the road at Texas A&M-Kingsville (1/19) and his steady contributions have helped the team win five of the last seven contests. The former walk-on has emerged as one of Angelo State's fiercest defenders at both guard positions and helped defend the post in ASU's recent upset of No. 13 Incarnate Word (1/29).
“Trey Mays epitomizes what it means to be a student-athlete, he's a winner,” Angelo State head coach Fred Rike said. “If I ran a company or corporation, I'd hire him today. Trey is very conscientious; he's a very hard worker. He's one of the hardest working guys that I've ever coached and he demands a lot of himself.”
Mays, who averaged 3.6 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per contest through the team's first 18 games, chipped in seven points at Southwestern Oklahoma (1/12) while contributing to an ASU defensive effort that led to the lowest total points against (38) in school history. He helped the Rams defeat then-No. 23 Midwestern State with six points four days later (1/12).
>> December 6, 2010
Fall Semester Ends with Flurry of Activity
SAN ANGELO - Over the weekend the Angelo State Athletic Department was active in the San Angelo Community as numerous coaches, student-athletes and staff donated blood to the United Blood Services on Friday, Dec. 3, then helped raise money for the Salvation Army in front of Sunset Mall on Saturday, Dec. 4.
Ninety-Five faculty, staff and student-athletes shuffled in and out of the Junell Center throughout the day to donate blood for the Angelo State Athletics Blood Drive. All donors received a gray ASU Blood Drive T-shirt and coupon for a free sandwich at Chick-fil-A. The United Blood Services reported that 93 pints of life-saving blood was collected.
The following day, the ASU Athletic Department got into the holiday spirit as more than 50 participants donned Salvation Army vests and rang bells outside of Sunset Mall. Coaches, student-athletes and staff generously offered their time “Doing the Most Good.”
“Angelo State Athletics believes first and foremost in the Division II model of community engagement, which encompasses the whole being of our student-athletes,” Assistant Athletic Director James Reid stated. “We stress athletics, but we also feel that community involvement is a big part of being a D-II institution. Much of the support our athletic department gets comes from the community, so it is very important for our athletes to develop relationships with community members. It’s exciting to see our student-athletes’ willingness to give back.”
The activities cap a busy two-months for ASU student-athletes. The department collected nearly 3,000 pounds of canned food during the SAAC canned food drive in partnership with the Concho Valley Food Bank in Nov., and other teams participated in delivering Meals for the Elderly, volunteered at the soup kitchen and several teams are raising money to purchase toys for needy children.
