Southern Conference names October athletes of the month

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its October athletes of the month Thursday, highlighting excellence among 14 student-athletes across nine sports during the month.
 
 
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Cameron Ponder, Furman, Jr., Winston-Salem, N.C.

• Won the SoCon Cross Country Championship on Oct. 30, earning SoCon Runner of the Year honors with a time of 24:40.0 in the 8K race and helping the Paladins to their ninth straight team title
• Finished 27^th at the Joe Piane Invitational on Oct. 1, turning in a time of 24:05.3 in the 5-mile race
• Helped Furman to a team victory, as the Paladins finished ahead of No. 25 Michigan and No. 10 Butler
• Earned SoCon Runner of the Week honors after finishing 37^th overall at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational on Oct. 15, turning in a career-best 8K time of 23:55.1 to lead Furman to a ninth-place team finish in a field that included 17 of the top 30 teams in the country
• Has helped Furman to a No. 17 ranking in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll

 
Others nominated: Adam Beucler (Furman) and Daniel Bernal (Furman).
 
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Bethany Graham, Furman, So., Aldie, Va.

• Won the SoCon Cross Country Championship on Oct. 30, earning SoCon Runner of the Year honors with a time of 17:41.4 in the 5K race and helping the Paladins to their ninth straight team title
• Named the SoCon Runner of the Week after finishing 17^th at the Joe Piane Invitational on Oct. 1 with a personal-best 5K time of 16:41.2
• Led Furman to a 10-place finish in the prestigious race
• Turned in another career-best effort at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational on Oct. 15, finishing 11^th overall in the 6K race with a time of 20:20.1
• Helped the Paladins finish 23^rd in a field that included 16 of the top 30 teams in the country

 
Others nominated: Heidi Fortin (The Citadel) and Lindsey Stallworth (ETSU).
 
FOOTBALL
Offense
Liam Welch, Samford, Gr., QB, Augusta, Ga.

• Averaged 316.8 yards of total offense per game, scoring 12 touchdowns in four games in the month
• Went 106-for-165 for 1,058 yards (264.5 per game) and eight touchdowns through the air and had 43 carries for 209 yards and four rushing touchdowns
• Opened his month with five total touchdowns against Mercer on Oct. 2, throwing for 312 yards and four TDs and running for 69 yards and a score
• Had three total touchdowns against Wofford on Oct. 16, throwing for 250 yards and two TDs and running for 34 yards and a TD
• Also had three total touchdowns at No. 18 VMI on Oct. 30, rushing for 68 yards and two scores and throwing for 365 yards and a TD

 
Others nominated: Quay Holmes (ETSU), Fred Davis (Mercer), Ailym Ford (Chattanooga), Seth Morgan (VMI), Raphael Williams (Western Carolina) and Irvin Mulligan (Wofford).
 
Defense
Lance Wise, Mercer, So., S, Marietta, Ga.

• Recorded 37 tackles in five games (7.4) per game in helping the Bears go 4-1 in October
• Made nine tackles and broke up a pass in a win over Samford on Oct. 2 to open the month
• Had eight tackles, including one for loss, a forced fumble and a 56-yard interception return to the 1-yard line against Western Carolina on Oct. 9
• Had five tackles each against VMI (Oct. 16) and Wofford (Oct. 23)
• Made 10 tackles, nine of which were solo stops, and had a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown at The Citadel on Oct. 30

 
Others nominated: Donovan Manuel (ETSU), Noah Martin (Samford), Devonnsha Maxwell (Chattanooga), Kareem Taylor (Western Carolina) and Joe Beckett (Wofford).
 
MEN’S GOLF
Nick Lyerly, UNCG, Sr., Salisbury, N.C.

• Lyerly won both events in which he competed in October, claiming SoCon Men’s Golfer of the Week honors both times
• Shot a 10-under-par 206 to claim victory at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate (Oct. 16-17), opening with a 7-under 65 and helping UNCG to a second-place finish in the 89-man, 16-team field
• Captured his second straight tournament win at the Grandover Collegiate (Oct. 23-24), opening with consecutive 6-under 66s en route to a 14-under 202 in which he bogeyed just two of the 54 holes
• Led UNCG to a third-place finish in the 101-man, 15-team field
• Averaged 68 strokes per round over the six rounds, with three of 66 or lower and none over par

 
Others nominated: Archie Davies (ETSU), Jack Crosby (Furman), Tobias Jonnson (Mercer), Paul Conroy (Chattanooga), Jake Peacock (Western Carolina) and Harry Jones (Wofford).
 
 
WOMEN’S GOLF
Tereza Melecka, ETSU, Sr., Belcovice, Czech Republic

• Claimed her first individual medalist honors of season and fifth of her career the at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate (Oct. 8-10) with a 9-under-par-207, which is her second-lowest collegiate score
• Fired all three rounds below par (69-70-68)
• Led the tournament with 17 birdies
• Helped lead the Bucs to second of 15 teams with a 7-under-par 857
• Named Southern Conference women's golfer of the week on Oct. 13

 
Others nominated: Anna Morgan (Furman), Mikayla Dubnik (Mercer), Dorota Zalewska (Chattanooga), Elizabeth Lohbauer (Western Carolina) and Lindsey Hollis (Wofford).
 
 
RIFLE
Smallbore
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern, Jr., Acworth, Ga.

• Competed in six events in October taking first in smallbore in three of those competitions
• Posted a league-best average score of 572.8 in the discipline in the month, highlighted by a career-high 578 against UAB on Oct. 16 in which she finished first
• Also finished first against No. 18 North Georgia and Georgia Military on Oct. 9 with a 562 and finished atop the leaderboard against Wofford on Oct. 31 with a score of 576
• Shot 577 against No. 1 Alaska to finish seventh
• On consecutive days against No. 16 Morehead State to open the month, shot 573 and 571

 
Others nominated: Amy Kohan (UAB) and Dawson Kissik (North Georgia).
 
Air Rifle
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern, Jr., Acworth, Ga.

• Averaged a league-best 589.5 in air rifle in the month, winning three of her six competitions and finishing runner-up once
• Shot a career-high 593 against No. 16 Morehead State on Oct. 2 after shooting 592 the previous day
• Earned her first air rifle win in the month with a 584 against No. 18 North Georgia and Georgia Military on Oct. 9
• Finished first against UAB on Oct. 16 (587) and against Wofford on Oct. 31 (592)
• Shot 589 to finish fifth against No. 1 Alaska on Oct. 28

 
Others nominated: Sophia Flores (UAB) and Alyssa Kiser (North Georgia).
 
 
MEN’S SOCCER
Offense
Jake Raine, Furman, So., F, Stoke England

• Led Furman with 16 points on seven goals and two assists during the month of October

• Scored a goal in all but one game
• Tied his career high of two goals against 18th-ranked Duke on Oct. 19
• Tallied two assists in final two games of the regular season at UNC Asheville and VMI
• Only Furman player to score a goal in six straight games since 2004
• Concluded the regular season with 11 goals to become the first Paladin since Haris Cekic in 2007 to record double-digit goals in a season

 
Others nominated: Liam O’Brien (Belmont), Tarik Pannholzer (ETSU), Kadeem Agard (Mercer), JC Ngando (UNCG) and Brandon Oddy (Wofford).
 
Defense
Drew Romig, Belmont, Sr., GK, Midlothian, Va.

• Named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 12 and Nov. 2
• Recorded a career-high eight saves in the Bruins’ program record eighth shutout of the season at Eastern Illinois on Oct. 26
• Set the school’s single-season shutout record with his seventh clean sheet following the 2-0 victory over Eastern Illinois
• Posted shutout performances against IUPUI and Wofford
• Claimed a combined shutout in the 5-0 win over VMI
• Ranks fifth in the nation in save percentage (.831), ninth in shutouts, 22nd in goals against average (0.80) and 26th in saves (64).

 
Others nominated: Josh Hosie (Furman), Trevor McMullen (Mercer) and Emmanuel Hagan (UNCG).
 
 
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offense
Nieva Gaither, Furman, So., MF, Lilburn, Ga.

• Tallied 17 points on eight goals and one assist as Furman went 8-2 in the month, including wins over The Citadel (2-1) and Western Carolina (1-0), in the SoCon Women's Soccer quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to advance to Sunday's championship tilt
• Finished with two multi-goal games in wins over VMI (Oct. 15) and Mercer (Oct. 22)
• Scored three game-winners and was 1-for-1 on penalty kicks
• Named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 19 and Oct. 26 after scoring six points in each respective week
• Tabbed the SoCon Player of the Year, first team all-conference, and selected to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week on Oct. 26

 
Others nominated: Jocelyn Nehls (ETSU), Ally Fordham (Mercer), Taylor Yount (Samford), Mackenzie Smith (Chattanooga), Valentine Pursey (Western Carolina) and Caileen Almeida (Wofford).
 
Defense
Morgan McAslan, Samford, Sr., GK, Waterdown, Ontario, Canada

• Helped Samford to a 9-0 record in the month as the Bulldogs finished conference play undefeated and earned the top seed in the Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championship
• Started in all nine contests and played the entirety of every game, totaling 810 minutes in goal
• Recorded five shutouts and allowed more than one goal in just a single contest
• Tallied 31 saves on 66 shots faced and finished with a 0.56 goals against average
• Named second-team all-conference and was the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 5

 
Others nominated: Shu Ohba (ETSU), Camryn Bolick (Furman), Jordyn Ebert (Mercer), Maggie Shaw (Chattanooga) and Ashlee Owens (Western Carolina).
 
 
VOLLEYBALL
Offense
Kayla White, UNCG, Gr., OH, Montgomery, Ala.

• Averaged 4.15 kills and 3.75 digs per set as UNCG went 6-4 in the month of October
• Tallied double-digit kills in all 10 matches and totaled eight double-doubles in the span
• Led the match in kills in six of 10 matches
• Recorded 20-plus kills in three matches as she totaled 25 at Furman on Oct. 9, 22 at Western Carolina on Oct. 13 and 24 against The Citadel on Oct. 15
• Named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 18

 
Others nominated: Sharlissa De Jesus (The Citadel), Sara Esposito (ETSU), Neci Harris (Furman), Rayanne de Oliveira (Mercer), Lauren Deaton (Samford), Gylian Finch (Chattanooga), Merry Gebel (Western Carolina) and Kennedy Smith (Wofford).
 
Defense
Paige Gallentine, Chattanooga, Fr., LIB, Fenton, Mich.

• Led all players in digs in eight of Chattanooga's 10 matches as the Mocs went 4-6
• Averaged 5.62 digs per set in the span
• Tallied 20-plus digs in six matches and 25 or more digs in three contests, one of which was a three-set match
• Had a month-high 30 digs in a five-set win over Samford on Oct. 8
• Named SoCon Defensive Player of the Month twice in October, taking home honors on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18

 
Others nominated: Kenzie Kellerman (The Citadel), Taylor Roberts (ETSU), Kelsey Watkins (Furman), Megan Smith (Mercer), Hannah Knier (UNCG), Kate Morgan (Samford), Destinee Dorsey (Western Carolina) and Kaitlyn Brown (Wofford).
 
Setter
Kayla Keshock, Samford, R-So., Spanish Fort, Ala.

• Averaged 10.94 assists per set, totaling 339 assists on the month
• Totaled 30-plus assists in seven of her eight matches played, while finishing with 40-plus five times and 50-plus three times
• Tallied a month-high 56 assists at ETSU on Oct. 7
• Offensively, hit .346 on the month while also contributing 2.29 digs per set on the defensive end
• Named the SoCon Player of the Week on Nov. 1 after leading Samford to wins over Western Carolina and UNCG in the final weekend of October

 
Others nominated: Belle Hogan (The Citadel), Caroline Dykes (ETSU), Sarah Turner (Furman), Agnieska Paskevic (Mercer), Gabriela McHugh (UNCG), Sydney Carlson (Western Carolina) and Emily Hodsdon (Wofford).
 
Southern Conference October Athletes of the Month

Football – offense                                   Liam Welch, Samford
Football – defense                                  Lance Wise, Mercer
Men’s golf                                              Nick Lyerly, UNCG
Women’s golf                                         Tereza Melecka, ETSU
Men’s cross country                                Cameron Ponder, Furman
Women’s cross country                           Bethany Graham, Furman
Rifle – smallbore                                     Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Rifle – air rifle                                         Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Men’s soccer – offense                           Jake Raine, Furman
Men’s soccer – defense                          Drew Romig, Belmont
Women’s soccer – offense                      Nieva Gaither, Furman
Women’s soccer – defense                     Morgan McAslan, Samford
Volleyball – offense                                 Kayla White, UNCG
Volleyball – defense                                Paige Gallentine, Chattanooga
Volleyball – setter                                   Kayla Keshock, Samford