By Suzy Alstrin
The 2024-2025 academic year produced an impressive number of athletic successes. The Eagles won their way to Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season titles in golf, football, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, and baseball.
Many student athletes in individual sports also captured first place in the AAC:
- Angel Banda (RU-2025) – wrestling, 125-weight class
- Caleb Cottrell (RU-2027), Prince Derring (RU-2028), JT Neal (RU-2028), and Hayden Reyes (RU-2027) – 4×100 relay.
- Abbi Cruz (RU-2026) – javelin
- JT Neal (RU-2028) – indoor 60-meter sprint
- Ethan Rice (RU-2026) – javelin
- Andrew Paolozzi (RU-2025) – hammer throw
- Emma Pelfrey (RU-2026) – indoor pole vault
- Marquia White (RU-2027) – discus
Thirty colleges compete in the AAC, accumulating points for conference standings and championships in each sport. The AAC Duard Walker All-Sports Trophy recognizes the school with the most points, and Reinhardt took second place. The combined successes of the men’s teams earned them the first-place trophy for the most successful men’s athletic program in the conference, while the women’s teams secured second place.
The following students and coaches were honored with the AAC’s highest awards:
- Baseball: Andrew Herbert (RU-2025) – Pitcher of the Year
- Basketball (women’s): Noelle Lavery (RU-2025) – Newcomer of the Year
- Football: Tyress McKey (RU-2026) – Special Teams Player of the Year
- Golf: Trey Schmidt (RU-2028) – Freshman of the Year, and Evans Nichols Coach of the Year
- Lacrosse (men’s): Luke Greer (RU-2028) – Freshman of the Year
- Lacrosse (women’s): Skylar Arroyave (RU-2028) – Freshman of the Year
- Softball: Ansley Hight (RU-2027) – Player of the Year, Anslie Pettit (RU-2027) – Pitcher of the Year, Matthew Wright – Coach of the Year
- Volleyball (men’s): Alex Sanchez (RU-2026) – Defender of the Year
- Volleyball (women’s): Silvia Aguado (RU-2028) – Freshman of the Year and Defender of the Year, Ashlynn Barnes (RU-2026) – Setter of the Year, and Tessa Corrales – Coach of the Year
- Wrestling: Lee Camp (RU-2028) – Freshman of the Year, Hayden Lee – Assistant Coach of the Year
AAC All-Conference Honors are awarded by a vote from other coaches in the conference:
- Baseball: Brett Allen (RU-2025), Nash Crowell (RU-2025), Tate Dearing (RU-2026), Louis Dion (RU-2028), Andrew Herbert (RU-2025), Logan Lynch (RU-2026), Jacob Mantooth (RU-2025), Robert Phelps (RU-2026), Adrian Vargas (RU-2025)
- Basketball (men’s): Tee Williams (RU-2025), Nate Jones (RU-2025)
- Basketball (women’s): Laphina Campbell (RU-2027), Na’Yel Camper (RU-2028), Julia Craft (RU-2024 & 2025), Noelle Lavery (RU-2025), and I’ziah McCutchins (RU-2028)
- Cross Country: Rylee Fisher (RU-2028) and Benjamin Pearce (RU-2028)
- Football: Cortez Brown (RU-2025), Jah Colbert (RU-2026), Alex Hanson (RU-2028), Zac Lyle (RU-2025), Nolan Marshall (RU-2027), Keon McGhee (RU-2025), Tyress McKey (RU-2026), Lorenzo Robinson (RU-2023 & 2025), Jamarian Walker (RU-2026).
- Golf: Zane May (RU-2027) and Trey Schmidt (RU-2028)
- Lacrosse (men’s): Zach Dixon (RU-2026), Luke Greer (RU-2028), Ethan Rogers (RU-2026), Benjamin Shackelford (RU-2026), and Gabe Turner (RU-2025)
- Lacrosse (women’s): Skylar Arroyave (RU-2028), KC Bragg (RU-2025), Lainey Byrne (RU-2027), Brinley Christiansen (RU-2027), Marissa Davis (RU-2028), Brooke Dawdy (RU-2026), Lawna Henry (RU-2026), Brooklyn Hill (RU-2024 & 2026), Emma Perritte (RU-2026), Angelina Ruiz (RU-2025), and Kelsey Sowa (RU-2025)
- Soccer (women’s): Sarah Bruce (RU-2025) and Marta Vicente-Arche (RU-2024 & 2025)
- Softball: Ansley Hight (RU-2027), Kyra Lightner (RU-2025), Anslie Pettit (RU-2027), Molly Stevens (RU-2026), and Taylor Wade (RU-2026)
- Track and Field: Kenadi Aker (RU-2027), Carter Butterfield (RU-2028), Prince Derring (RU-2028), Wes Fow (RU-2028), Carson Frizzell (RU-2027), Anthony Garcia, Zachary Graves (RU-2028), Uriel Guzman (RU-2028), Noah Jones (RU-2027), Braniff Mahoney (RU-2027), JT Neal (RU-2028), Ben Pearce (RU-2028), Emma Pelfrey (RU-2026), Tom Vincent (RU-2025), Billy Waters (RU-2025), and Lane Woodward (RU-2027)
- Volleyball (men’s): Jakub Aniolczyk (RU-2026), Bruno Dewes (RU-2025), Christian De Leon (RU-2025), Andrea Forcina (RU-2028), Gabriel Gutierrez (RU-2027), and Alex Sanchez (RU-2026)
- Volleyball (women’s): Silvia Aguado (RU-2028), Ashlynn Barnes (RU-2026), Giulia Julve (RU-2028), Emma Ponkova (RU-2026), and Jenna Smith (RU-2027)
All-American Honors from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) recognize outstanding performance:
- Baseball: Nash Crowell (RU-2025) and Andrew Herbert (RU-2025)
- Football: Tyress McKey (RU-2026)
- Lacrosse (men’s): Benjamin Shackelford (RU-2026)
- Lacrosse (women’s): Skylar Arroyave (RU-2028), KC Bragg (RU-2025), Lainey Byrne (RU-2027), Brinley Christiansen (RU-2027), and Kelsey Sowa (RU-2025)
- Softball: Ansley Hight (RU-2027) and Anslie Pettit (RU-2027)
- Track & Field: Andrew Paolozzi (RU-2025)
- Wrestling: Angel Banda (RU-2025) and Matt Jenkins (RU-2023 & 2025)
