BETHANY – The second night of Southern Nazarene's annual Storm Sports Awards on Wednesday night featured all of the Fall & Winter sports, with eight different Crimson Storm teams being recognized for various awards.
 
Each of the sports featured this evening had three student-athletes recognized for three different awards. The SNU LiveLast award, the Newcomer of the Year, and the Most Valuable Player. Every team is built differently, but each has athletes that stand out from the rest. The LiveLast award recognizes a male or female student-athlete who are overall well-rounded representations of SNU's pivotal verse in the book of Mark about "living last".
 
Every team has one player that comes in and makes an immediate impact right away. The Newcomer of the Year award recognizes a male and female student-athlete on each team who excels in their first season in a Crimson Storm uniform. This can be a freshman or a transfer who made the biggest impact for their respected program.
 
The Most Valuable Player for each team is one that has had the largest impact on the team on and off the playing field. This individual sets an example for those around them by the qualities and characteristics they possess. They are dedicated to their team by putting their teammates and coaches first. They show strong leadership and encouragement even when times get hard. The MVP's strive for success and their effort and dedication is unquestionable.
 
Football
Beginning on the gridiron, we are proud to present the LiveLast award to Hunter Jones. Hunter is a graduate senior from Davis, Oklahoma. He earned GAC All-Academic honors as a junior and senior and is majoring in history and education.
 
The Newcomer of the Year for the Crimson Storm football team is Noah Turbyfill. Noah is a freshman running back from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He played in all 11 games this past season and rushed for 73 yards on 22 carries. He also had 8 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown as well.
 
We are excited to announce the SNU Football Most Valuable Player in Jakel Davis. Jakel is a junior defensive back from Rowlett, Texas. Davis was named to the All-GAC Second Team as a return specialist after racking up 764 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. He also added 40 tackles on the season as well.
 
Volleyball
Moving on to the hardwood with the SNU Volleyball team, we are proud to present the LiveLast award to Evetta Soma. Evetta is a junior outside hitter from Manvel, Texas. This past season, Soma was selected to the GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete list and served as a great leader for head coach Kevin Ingram and the rest of the Crimson Storm squad.
 
The Newcomer of the Year for the Storm volleyball team is Sunny Batschelett. Sunny is a freshman middle blocker from Ponca City, Oklahoma. Batschelett played in 29 matches in her first campaign and really came on strong down the closing stretch of the season for SNU. She recorded 184 kills and 61 blocks on the year for SNU.
 
We are thrilled to announce the SNU Volleyball Most Valuable Player to Kylie Smith. Kylie graduated in December and is from Deer Park, Texas. After one of the best seasons in school history for the Crimson Storm volleyball team, Smith was named the GAC Setter of the Year in 2019. She not only led the GAC in assists with 1,453, but she also led the entire NCAA Division II realm. She also broke the school record for most assists in a single match with 67 this season against Henderson State.
 
Men's Soccer
Transitioning to the pitch with the SNU Men's Soccer squad, we are proud to present the LiveLast award to Josh Robertson. Josh is a freshman midfielder from Denton, Texas. Robertson played in just one match this past season but was a vocal piece to his teammates and head coach Trevor Harmon over the course of the year.
 
The Newcomer of the Year for the Crimson Storm Men's Soccer team is Eric Romero. Eric is a freshman defender from Dallas, Texas. Romero made an immediate impact for SNU as he was named All-GAC/MIAA honorable mention after leading the way on the backline for the Storm defense. He started in all 18 games he played and scored three goals and registered one assist as well.
 
We are excited to announce the SNU Men's Soccer Most Valuable Player to Caleb Gray. Caleb is a junior midfielder from Mustang, Oklahoma. Gray started in 15 of the 17 matches he played this season as he logged nearly 1,200 minutes on the field. He landed three shots on goal and had one assist for SNU. Gray was also named to the GAC All-Academic Team this year as well.
 
Women's Soccer
Staying on the pitch with the SNU Women's Soccer club, we are proud to present the LiveLast award to Alejandra Andrade. Alejandra is a sophomore forward from Oklahoma City. Andrade started in 9 of the 10 matches she played before suffering a season-ending injury. Despite that, she stayed committed to her team by being a leader for head coach Julie Duncan.
 
The Newcomer of the Year for the Crimson Storm Women's Soccer team is Linda Nigg. Linda is a freshman defender from Oklahoma City. She received All-GAC honorable mention accolades as she started in all 18 games while logging a team-high 1,536 minutes on the field.
 
We are thrilled to announce the SNU Women's Soccer Most Valuable Player to Karsyn Matthews. Karsyn is a sophomore forward from Edmond, Oklahoma. Matthews started in all 18 games this year and led the team in goals with four on the year. She logged nearly 1,500 minutes and landed 19 of her 24 shot attempts on goal, the highest SOG percentage on the team.
 
Men's Cross-Country
Moving on to the terrain treaders with the SNU Men's Cross-Country team, we are proud to present the LiveLast award to Jarrod Ferguson. Jarrod is a senior graphic design major from Bethany, Oklahoma. Ferguson is a 2-time GAC All-Academic Team selection and is a member of the SNU SAAC. He served as a foundational leader for head coach Billy Miller and the rest of the squad.
 
The Newcomer of the Year for the Crimson Storm Men's Cross-Country Team is Joba Fabiyi. Joba is a freshman who competed in four events this past Fall. He recorded a personal-best time of 28:59.7 in the 8K event for the OBU Invitational.
 
We are excited to announce the SNU Men's Cross-Country Most Valuable Player to Zach McAlpin. Zach is a junior from Oklahoma City who had a fantastic season for SNU. He had a couple of top-25 finishes in the Fall and recorded a personal-best time of 26:32.8 in the 8K at the GAC Championships. He went on to finish 19^th in that event. McAlpin went on to compete at NCAA Regionals the following week as well.
 
Women's Cross-Country
Wrapping up the XC teams on the women's side, we are proud to present the LiveLast award to
Rachel Hurtz. Rachel is a senior from Yukon, Oklahoma. She just recently earned the Dr. Loren Gresham Scholar award on Monday night for having a perfect 4.0 GPA in Mathematics. She served as a great leader for SNU over the last four years.
 
The Newcomer of the Year for the Crimson Storm Women's Cross-Country team is Sabbatha Taylor. Sabbatha is a freshman from Hereford, Texas. Taylor recorded a couple of top-10 finishes as she made a quick impact on Billy Miller's squad. She placed 10^th in the first event of the year at the UCO Land Run and later in the year finished fifth at the OBU Invitational in the 5K. She went on to finish 26^th at the GAC Championships.
 
We are thrilled to announce the SNU Women's Cross-Country Most Valuable Player to Madalyn Harper. Madalyn is a sophomore from Oklahoma City. Harper was named the SNU Player of the Week back in October as she recorded a 17^th place finish at the OBU Invitational. She placed 36^th at the GAC Championships and went on to compete in the NCAA Division II Central Regional in early November.
 
Men's Basketball
Our final two sports recognized this evening are the Winter sports on the hardwood. Beginning with SNU men's hoops, we are proud to present the LiveLast award to Micah Speight. Micah is a senior guard from Oklahoma City. Speight broke numerous records on the court this past season, including the GAC all-time record in both assists and steals. This year, he was named the GAC Defensive Player of the Year and helped lead SNU to its third straight GAC regular season championship. On top of everything he did on the court, Speight's leadership off the court won the LiveLast award for the young man. He was the leader for head coach Adam Bohac and strived to make his teammates better both on and off the floor.
 
The Newcomer of the Year for the Crimson Storm Men's Basketball team is Manny Dixon. Manny is a redshirt sophomore guard from Trenton, N.J. Dixon was a key role player for the Crimson Storm this season as he played in 28 games, starting in 10 and averaging 7.6 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor. He shot 37.8 percent from 3-point range and hauled in 101 rebounds on the year.
 
We are excited to announce the SNU Men's Basketball Most Valuable Player to Jhonathan Dunn. Jhonathan is a senior guard from San Antonio, Texas. Dunn shattered about as many records as you can shatter in one season as he became SNU's all-time leading scorer with 2,359 points. He became SNU's first All-American in the NCAA Division II era as he was also named the GAC Player of the Year for the second time in his career. He averaged 25.3 points on 51.8 percent shooting and scored 811 points his senior year, the second most in all of NCAA Division II. He also broke the SNU single-season scoring record as well. Dunn was a unanimous selection to the All-GAC First Team and was also named NABC All-District, the D2CCA All-Region Team as well as being named 1 of 12 finalists for the Bevo Francis Award (small college basketball's player of the year).
 
Women's Basketball
Our final sport of recognition is SNU Women's Basketball, and we are proud to present the LiveLast award to Massey Beard. Massey is a sophomore forward from Calumet, Oklahoma. Beard played in 16 games this season and exemplified every quality of living last for her teammates and head coach Trent May. While sitting out some games due to injury, her leadership never wavered on the bench as she pushed her girls to be the very best they could be on a nightly basis.
 
The Newcomer of the Year for the Crimson Storm Women's Basketball squad is Myriam Garcia. Myriam is a graduate transfer from Madrid, Spain. Garcia was dominant in her only season sporting the SNU jersey as she finished second in the GAC in blocks with 53 on the year. She started in 12 of the 26 games she played in and averaged 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds. She anchored the Storm frontline to be the top defense in the GAC.
 
We are thrilled to announce the SNU Women's Basketball Most Valuable Player to Jaycee Soap. Jaycee is a sophomore guard from Stilwell, Oklahoma. Soap started in 26 of the 27 games she played in as she led the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game. She was tabbed to the All-GAC honorable mention list as she shot 41.5 percent from the floor and 38.8 percent from 3-point range. She also knocked down a team-high 57 triples.
 
 
Congratulations to all of our award winners from the Fall/Winter sport seasons. We cannot wait for August to see our student-athletes get back to what they love to do. Join us on Friday night as we conclude the 2020 Storm Sports Awards by honoring our Spring sports and be sure to follow SNU Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to see all of these athletes featured in our SSA graphics!