Southern Conference names January athletes of the month

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its January athletes of the month Tuesday, highlighting the athletic excellence of 10 student-athletes across eight sports during the month.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Vonterius Woolbright, Western Carolina, Sr., G, Albany, Ga.

• Averaged 23.6 points, 13.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game in January, posting double-doubles in eight of the team's nine games that included two triple-double efforts
• Eclipsed the 20-point mark six times and twice scored over the 30-point plateau including a career-high 36 points against Chattanooga on the final day of the month
• Had 20 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a win at ETSU on Jan. 10
• Recorded 18 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists versus VMI on Jan. 27
• Named SoCon Player of the Week three times during the month (Jan. 8, 15 and 29), Lou Henson National Player of the Week on Jan. 8 and Oscar Robertson Player of the Week on Jan. 30

Others nominated: Elijah Morgan (The Citadel), Marcus Foster (Furman), Mikeal Broen-Jones (UNCG), Achor Achor (Samford) and Trey Bonham (Chattanooga)
 
 
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Rachael Rose, Wofford, Jr., Scranton, Pennsylvania
 

• Averaged a double-double this month with 24 ppg, 10 rpg and added 6.6 apg
• Went 45-for-47 from the free-thrown line, 13-of-22 from behind the three-point arc, and shot 58.9 percent from the field
• Four 20-point games on the month, including two 30-point performances and a triple double against Furman on Jan. 20
• Logged the first triple-double in the conference since 2014 with 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists versus the Paladins
• Won SoCon player of the week three times to become the first player to win the award seven times in a single season

 
Others nominated: Nevaeh Brown (ETSU), Stacie Jones (Mercer), Jayde Gamble (UNCG), Kennedy Langham (Samford) and Jada Guinn (Chattanooga)
 
 
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK
Carson Williams, Furman, Sr., Raleigh, North Carolina
 

• Placed first in the mile at the Carolina Challenge on Jan. 20
• Recorded a sub-four minute mile time of 3:55.46, a personal best and conference lead
• Mile time represents a school and facility record 
• Currently 13^th in the nation for the event

 
Others nominated: Cagan Campbell (Samford) and Liam McBride (VMI)
 
FIELD
Keyandre Midgett, VMI, Sr., Portsmouth, Virginia
 

• Finished first in the triple jump with a distance of 15.22m at the VMI Team Challenge on Jan. 20
• Placed third in the long jump with a 7.11m performance at the VMI Invitational on Jan. 27
• Currently leads the conference in both triple jump and long jump 

 
Others nominated: Samuel Warner (Samford)
 
 
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK
Megan Marvin, Furman, Jr., Chapel Hill, N.C.

• Came in first in the 800m at the Carolina Challenge with a time of 2:09.63 on Jan. 20
• Was the top finishing collegiate athlete in the mile at the Camel City Invitational with a time of 4:44.87 on Jan. 27
• Mile and 800m times are ranked first in the conference

Others nominated: Hannah Burkhart (ETSU) and Ella Tennent (Wofford)
 
FIELD
Sherika Christie, Wofford, Fr., St. Catherine, Jamaica
 

• At the Brant Tolsma Invitational on Jan. 19, Christie placed first in long jump with distance of 5.93m
• The next day, she finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 12.18m
• Her triple jump performance represents a school record and places Christie first in the conference
• Christie ranks second in the conference in long jump

 
Others nominated: Hannah Daffin (Samford)

RIFLE
SMALLBORE
Emma Pohlmann, Ga. Southern, So., Nentershausen, Germany

• Helped lead the fifth-ranked Eagles to wins over No. 7 Nebraska, No. 10 Murray State and No. 18 UT Martin
• Recorded the best month of shooting in program history - set the smallbore and aggregate school records and tied the air rifle school record
• Averaged 590.000 in smallbore (592, 590, 588) with the top two performances in program history
• Led all competitors with a 592 in smallbore in the win over Murray State and led all competitors with a 590 in smallbore in the win over Nebraska
• Averaging a 587.273 Smallbore, 1182.273 aggregate score this season

 
Others nominated: Christopher Hicks (VMI)
 
AIR RIFLE
Emma Pohlmann, Ga. Southern, So., Nentershausen, Germany
 

• Recorded the best month of shooting in program history
• Set the smallbore and aggregate school records and tied the air rifle school record
• Averaged 597.333 in air rifle (599, 598, 595) and averaged 1187.667 in aggregate (1188, 1187, 1187) with the three top aggregate scores in program history
• Led all competitors with a 599 in the air rifle in the win over Murray State and led all competitors with a 598 in the air rifle in the win over Nebraska
• Averaging a 595 Air Rifle, 1182.273 aggregate score this season

 
Others nominated: Christopher Hicks (VMI)
 
 
MEN’S TENNIS
Leonardo Dal Boni, Furman, Fr., Sarasota, Fla.
 

• Named SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 23
• Posted a 3-1 singles record for the month, while leading the Paladins to victories in three of its last four matches
• Ended the month on a three-match winning streak, with all three wins coming in straight sets

 
Others nominated: Dimitri Badra (ETSU)
 
 
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Sofia Markova, ETSU, Sr., Nuremberg, Germany
 

• Led the way for ETSU with three power five wins
• At Kentucky on Jan. 14, Markova played No. 1 singles against Elizabeth Stevens and won 6-2, 7-5
• At Clemson, she partnered with Alessandra Caceres for the No. 2 double match to beat Cristina Mayorova and Leigh Van Zyl, 7-5, on Jan. 19
• Defeated Ozlem Uslu of Virginia Tech at the No. 1 singles position 6-1, 6-7 (6-8), 1-0 (13-11) on Jan. 21

 
Others nominated: Emily Surcey (Samford), Rozalie Dohnalova (Chattanooga), Jade Groen (Western Carolina) and Breda Brennan (Wofford)
 
 
WRESTLING
Jha’Quan Anderson, Gardner-Webb, R-Sr., 184, Conyers, Ga.
 

• Perfect in the month of January, going 10-0 with five bonus-point victories
• Named the Southern Scuffle’s Most Outstanding Wrestler on Jan. 2, becoming the SoCon's first Southern Scuffle Champion since 2004
• First Southern Scuffle Champion in program history
• Earned a 10-1 major decision victory against Virginia wrestler Griffin Gammell on Jan. 6
• Also earned a major decision win in dual at Bellarmine on Jan. 28

 
Others nominated: Cody Bond (App State) and Anthony Molton (Campbell)
 
 
Southern Conference January Athletes of the Month
Men’s basketball                                   Vonterius Woolbright, Western Carolina
Women’s basketball                              Rachael Rose, Wofford
Men’s indoor track and field – track        Carson Williams, Furman
Men’s indoor track and field – field         Keyandre Midgett, VMI
Women’s indoor track and field – track   Megan Marvin, Furman
Women’s indoor track and field – field    Sherika Christie, Wofford
Rifle – smallbore                                   Emma Pohlmann, Georgia Southern
Rifle – air rifle                                       Emma Pohlmann, Georgia Southern
Men’s tennis                                         Leonardo Dal Boni, Furman
Women’s tennis                                    Sofia Markova, ETSU
Wrestling                                              Jha’Quan Anderson, Gardner-Webb