ELON, N.C. – The Elon University Department of Athletics held its 38th annual athletics awards banquet on Monday evening, May 7, at Alumni Gym, recognizing and remembering many of the outstanding performances of the 2011-12 school year. All-American wide receiver Aaron Mellette and three-time All-Southern Conference guard Ali Ford were selected as the Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete award winners.
The Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Athlete Award has been presented annually since 1958 in memory of the late Stein H. Basnight of Chapel Hill, N.C. The award honors the most outstanding Phoenix male and female athletes of the year, as determined by the Elon Department of Athletics’ administrative staff. Jesse Basnight, Jr. represented the Basnight family at the banquet
Mellette was recognized as an All-American by seven different organizations this season. An All-Southern Conference selection in 2011, Mellette finished fifth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the top player at the Football Championship Subdivision level. This past season, Mellette set a new Elon and SoCon record with 1,639 receiving yards and also led the nation with 10.27 receptions per game and 149.0 receiving yards per game. He opened the season with an 11-catch, 180-yard, one touchdown performance at Vanderbilt. Later, he caught 16 passes for a career-high 237 yards and a touchdown in a win at North Carolina Central. Mellette tallied nine 100-yard receiving games and twice went over the 200 yard mark during his junior season. He led the conference with 113 receptions and 12 touchdown catches. He was also honored with the national Wide Receiver Award from College Football Performance Awards.
Ford was an all-conference selection for the third time in her career this season after leading the league in three-pointers and finishing third in scoring. Against Wofford on December 19th, she tied a career-best with seven three-pointers en route to 27 points in Elon’s win over the Terriers. The guard was named the SoCon Player of the Week on February 7th after leading the Phoenix to two conference wins and averaging over 22 points per game. She became the Elon and SoCon all-time leader in three-pointers made this year, while moving into third on Elon’s all-time scoring chart with 1,498 career points – the most in the Division I era.
Men’s cross country runner Clay Sankey and women’s track and field conference champion Amy Salek were recognized as the recipients of the Robert C. Browne Memorial Sportsmanship Award. The Browne Award was established in 1972 in memory of Elon alumnus Robert C. Browne by his sister, Pretto Browne-Crumpton, and her husband, Dr. J.L. Crumpton, and is presented annually to the Elon male and female athletes who have best displayed exemplary qualities of sportsmanship as determined by the Elon Department of Athletics administrative staff.
Sankey’s best finish of the season came at the Elon Invitational on Sept. 17, as the Charlotte, N.C., native placed 17th overall with a time of 26:11.00. Sankey also placed 17th at the College of Charleston Invitational on Sept. 10 with a time of 26:49.00.
The Elon record holder in both the indoor and outdoor 400-meter dash and 4×400-meter relay and the outdoor 4×100 and 4×200-meter relays, Salek earned a total of seven first-place finishes during this year’s indoor and outdoor seasons. Salek is the reigning SoCon champion in the 400-meter event and turned in four all-league performances at this year’s championships.
Men’s soccer midfielder James Carroll and women’s golfer Virginia Mayer were recipients of the A.L. Hook Scholar-Athlete accolades. Carroll maintains a 3.98 grade point average in computer science, while Mayer holds a perfect 4.0 GPA in accounting.
The Hook Award has been presented annually since 1975 in honor of Dr. A.L. Hook to the Phoenix male and female junior or senior athletes who possess the highest cumulative grade-point average with a minimum of two years of playing time at Elon.
Fall MVP Awards
Men’s Soccer – Nick Millington
Women’s Soccer – Olivia Mackey
Men’s Cross Country – Luis Vargas
Women’s Cross Country – Allyson Oram
Volleyball – Caroline Lemke
Football – Aaron Mellette
Winter MVP Awards
Men’s Basketball – Jack Isenbarger
Women’s Basketball – Ali Ford
Track & Field – Amy Salek
Cheerleading – James Connolly
Dance Team – Kelsey Thompson
Service – Brian Dudiak
Spring MVP Awards
Men’s Golf – John Somers
Women’s Golf – Martyna Mierzwa
Men’s Tennis – Cameron Silverman
Women’s Tennis – Frida Jansaker
Softball – Erin O’Shea
Baseball – Alex Swim
Men’s Soccer Team Awards
Jordan Smith (Top Newcomer)
James Carroll (Scholar Athlete)
Women’s Soccer Team Awards
Chelsey Stark (Offensive MVP)
Claire O’Keeffe (Defensive MVP)
Kendall Stanley (Most Improved)
Men’s Cross Country Team Awards
Clay Sankey (Coach’s Award)
Sean Magee (Most Dedicated)
Ari Rothschild (Most Consistent)
Women’s Cross Country Team Awards
Haylee Dawe (Coach’s Award)
Morgan Denecke (Most Dedicated)
Emily Tryon (Most Consistent)
Volleyball
Ali Deatsch (Coaches’ Award)
Maggie Reichard (Most Improved)
Chanelle Smith (Top Newcomer)
Football
Jonathan Conner (Most Outstanding Defensive Back)
Ned Cuthbertson (Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman)
Josh Jones (Most Outstanding Linebacker)
Olufemi Lamikanra (Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman)
A.J. Harris (Most Outstanding Offensive Back)
Josh Jones (Most Outstanding Defensive Player)
Adam Shreiner (Most Outstanding Special Teams)
Zach Henderson (Coaches’ Award)
Men’s Basketball
Brett Ervin (Coaches’ Award)
Ryley Beaumont (Phoenix Award)
Women’s Basketball
Kelsey Evans (Best All-Around)
Aiesha Harper (Defensive Player of the Year)
Kallie Hovatter (Spark Award)
Sam Coffer (Most Improved)
Candice Silas (Coaches’ Award)
Track & Field
Allyson Oram (Outstanding Track)
Louise Prevoteau (Outstanding Field)
Amy Salek (High Point Award)
Cheerleading
Lauren Van Fleet (Coaches’ Award)
Dance Team
Mallory Lane (Coach’s Award)
Men’s Golf
Blayze DiPasquale (Most Improved Award)
Tanner Norton (Leadership Award)
Stuart Kaufman (Coach’s Award)
Women’s Golf
Virginia Mayer (Leadership Award)
Lauren Lebak (Coach’s Award)
Men’s Tennis
Jordan Kaufman (Most Improved)
Eric Turner (Coach’s Award)
Stefan Fortmann (Heart & Hustle Award)
Women’s Tennis
Barbora Lazarova (Most Improved)
Jordan Johnston (Most Outstanding Doubles Player)
Bryn Khoury (Fire of the Phoenix)
Softball
Carleigh Nester (Golden Glove)
Tomeka Watson (Best Offense Award)
Grace Eng (Most Valuable Teammate)
Ali Ford (Top Newcomer)
Grace Eng (Hustle Award)
Baseball
Spencer Medick (Top Newcomer)
John Antonelli (Coaches’ Award)
Dylan Clark (Pitcher of the Year)
Alex Swim (Golden Glove Award)
Jordan Darnell (Leadership Award)
Ryan Kinsella (Phoenix Award)
Chris Bresnahan (Danieley Memorial Sportsmanship)