IRVING, Texas – Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky announced the 14 student-athletes that will receive the C-USA Winter Spirit of Service award today. The C-USA Spirit of Service Award is designed to recognize the community service efforts of the league’s student-athletes, based upon significant community service, good academic standing and participation in their elected sport. The Spirit of Service award will be presented three times throughout the season, with today’s honorees representing Conference USA’s winter sports: men's and women's basketball, women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's indoor track and field.
2014-15 WINTER C-USA SPIRIT OF SERVICE HONOREES:
Erin Crissman, Charlotte, Women’s Track & Field
Ally Mayhew, FIU, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Ali Gorrell, Florida Atlantic, Women’s Basketball
Kenneth “Speedy” Smith, Louisiana Tech, Men’s Basketball
Austin Loop, Marshall, Men’s Basketball
Jacquez Rozier, Middle Tennessee, Men’s Basketball
Kedron Sowells, North Texas, Men’s Track & Field
Ashley Betz-White, Old Dominion, Women’s Basketball
Seth Gearhart, Rice, Men’s Basketball
Christopher Monroe, Southern Miss, Men’s Track & Field
Renay Ransaw, UAB, Women’s Track & Field
Elphas Maiyo, UTEP, Men’s Track & Field
Niaga Mitchell-Cole, UTSA Women’s Basketball
Katie Lever, WKU, Women’s Track & Field
Old Dominion redshirt junior Ashley Betz-White helped pace the Lady Monarch basketball team to the semifinals of the C-USA Championship and earn a berth in the WNIT. She started all 33 games in which she played, topping the team in assists (91) and steals (51). A native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Betz-White is a three-time member of the Dean’s List with a 3.42 GPA in communications. Betz-White served as a student Liaison for the Life Enrichment Center Summer Camp, where she encouraged youth to pursue a college education. She volunteered at the Life Enrichment Center (LEC) of Norfolk, providing educational, cultural, social and spiritual enrichment to children, youth and adults in at-risk communities. Betz-White also provided community service support at: the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the ODU Alzheimer’s Awareness Walk, NPS Education Day, ODU Homecoming Parade, Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, Field Day at St. Helena Elementary School and was an intern at a local Summer Camp.
A native of Pfafftown, North Carolina, Erin Crissman has proven her worth in and out of the classroom as a member of the Charlotte Track & Field team. Within the chambers of education, the junior maintains a flawless 4.0 GPA in child and family development. On the track, Crissman participates in the pole vault. But most importantly, the standout has given time in her community, where she completed nearly 90 hours of community service this year. Crissman’s work includes aiding in the Greater Charlotte Down Syndrome Association Buddy Walk, volunteer work collecting bone marrow swabs for the athletic department’s Project Life Movement, speaking publicly to nearly 4,000 elementary school students and volunteering at Hickory Grove Baptist Church.
FIU swimmer Ally Mayhew has already become a constant presence in Miami during her first season with the Panthers. The freshman has actively participated in the programs such as the Embrace Girl Power, Miami Marathon and Relay for Life events. For the Embrace Girl Power, Mayhew helped mentor 20 girls through team building exercises and a Q&A session on what it means to be a student-athlete. The Dayton, Ohio, native also impressed in the classroom, holding a 3.73 GPA in biology pre-vet, and in the pool in her debut season. Mayhew earned three top-3 finishes during the 2014-15 season and was a part of the FIU squad that won its first C-USA title in school history.
In her first season with the Florida Atlantic women’s basketball team, junior guard Ali Gorrell led the Owls in minutes played (28.9 per game), rebounds (6.5 per game) and assists (68), and ranked second on the squad in points per game (13.9) and steals (33). Gorrell boasts 3.658 GPA as a double-major in multimedia studies and economics, and was named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All- District 4 women's basketball first-team. The Evergreen, Colorado, native has volunteered with countless children’s programs in the Boca Raton area, including teaching the game of basketball, working in local classrooms, assisting at camps and adopting a young girl with brain cancer through the Friends of Jaclyn program. Gorrell has also spent time with Florida seniors at the Advent Square Senior Community center as well as the ACTS – Retirement Life Communities for people with Alzheimer’s.
Louisiana Tech senior Kenneth “Speedy” Smith is not only the 2015 C-USA Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, but has been an excellent ambassador for LA Tech sports since his freshman season. He has and continues to represent the athletics department and the university at several community events throughout the year including: Wiggin’ Out – Cancer Benefits and Awareness (Gala) Community Organization, youth basketball camps and clinics, working with the Boys and Girls Club, Community Pumpkin Patch and reading to kids at local elementary schools. In addition to his Player of the Year honor, he was also named to the All-Conference USA first team and All-Defensive Team and received AP All-America honorable mention honors. Smith finished the season with 267 assists, the most of any NCAA Division I player in the country, and concluded his career as LA Tech’s leader for assists and steals. A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Smith graduated early with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Marshall sophomore guard Austin Loop volunteers at the A.D. Lewis Community Center in Huntington, cleaning the facilities, teaching basketball and playing with children. He also participated in reading events with elementary school children in the months before the season began. Loop is a Conference USA All-Academic men’s basketball team selection with a 3.6 GPA as a clinical exercise physiology/biomechanics major. A native of South Webster, Ohio, he was the Herd’s second-leading scorer this y as one of only two players to start all 32 games this year. Loop’s 84 three-pointers on the season rank second in C-USA this year and sixth in Marshall program history.
Middle Tennessee senior men’s basketball student-athlete Jacquez Rozier was nominated to the 2015 Allstate Good Works Team and now earns a C-USA Spirit of Service award. Rozier has actively shared his upbeat and contagious personality with the surrounding community, logging more than 50 hours of community service since his arrival at Middle Tennessee. He has put in countless volunteer hours helping children by teaming up with the Special Kids program, volunteering to go to local elementary schools and the Boys and Girls Clubs as well as volunteering his service at the Special Olympics. The Waynesboro, Georgia, native turned in his best season yet on the court for the Blue Raiders, averaging career highs in all categories. Rozier is an organizational communications major and became the 38th consecutive Blue Raider men’s basketball player that has exhausted their eligibility to graduate.
Sprinter Kedron Sowells holds a 3.45 GPA in the North Texas kinesiology program and has also been impressive on the track for the Mean Green, where the pre-med student placed first at the Texas A&M Invitational with a 21.93 mark in the 200m dash. Most importantly, the junior has given back to his community over the past three years as the Dallas native has led a winter garment drive, encouraging North Texas student-athletes and students across campus to donate gently used winter clothing. Sowells partnered with a Dallas non- profit and facilitated a team trip to hand out the garments collected, along with food and other donations, to the homeless.
Rice senior Seth Gearhart led the Owl men’s basketball team this season, averaging 15.3 points per game and earning All-Conference USA second-team honors. The Wilsonville, Oregon, native has volunteered his time serving in a soup kitchen, reading and tutoring at local elementary schools and working with the Houston Food Bank as well as serving with his teammates in other community service activities, such as the recent Shopping with the Owls. On campus, he has served as a Peer Academic Advisor and completed the athletic department’s leadership program while being involved with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. An economics major with a minor in business, Gearhart is a four-time selection to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, has twice been named the Rice Honor Athlete and was one of 30 national men’s basketball candidates for the Senior CLASS Award this season.
Christopher Monroe, a junior on the Southern Miss Track & Field team, sports a 3.079 GPA in tourism management and has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, the President’s List and C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native has achieved much more than that as he was a lead organizer for the 2014 “Let’s SAAC Hunger” food drive and has volunteered at the “Heroes for Habitat” fundraiser to support Hattiesburg Habitat for Humanity. Additionally, the track star coordinated efforts to donate toys and school supplies through Operation Christmas Child. On the track, Monroe placed in the C-USA Indoor Championship triple jump event, recording a season-best mark of 14.77m.
UAB senior Renay Ransaw actively participates in community service through Student-Athlete Development on campus. In track and field, Ransaw is a standout across the board, holding record times and distances from the hurdles to the long jump, including an 18’-9” outdoor long jump mark that ranks eighth in C-USA. She also has the sixth-longest javelin throw in the league at 122’-6”. Academically, the Montgomery, Alabama, native has earned UAB Athletic Director’s Honor Roll six times. She participates in several charitable events and organizations, including the Ronald McDonald House Cleaning, Lakeshore Foundation, Dr. Seuss Read Across America and the Martin Luther King Day of Service.
Elphas Maiyo of the UTEP Track & Field squad has spent 135 hours of his free time during the 2014-2015 campaign volunteering at the El Paso University Medical Center, where he provides non-medical assistance to the nursing staff. The senior distance runner helps deliver items throughout the hospital, assisting with meal delivery and distribution of refreshments throughout the unit. A 2014 C-USA Cross Country All-Academic Team selection, the Kenya native was named All-C-USA second team after his performance in the 5,000m run at the 2015 C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championship.
Junior Niaga Mitchell-Cole was a member of the UTSA women’s basketball team that finished fourth in the league, capturing one of the coveted first-round byes in the C-USA Championship. She battled injury this year, missing nine games, but came back to average 6.4 points and 3.9 points per game, while shooting 75.9 % from the free throw line. The homegrown product is majoring in sport, event and tourism management, and human resources management. Off the court, Mitchell-Cole has been involved with numerous youth initiatives including the Children’s Museum Christmas event and Fashion Show for the Kids, has served as a speaker at local schools and as a Junior Achievement Teacher. Additionally, she has aided in the Color Me Rad 5K Run, the Walk for Cancer Survivors, Dream Runners, the Race for the Cure and Habitat for Humanity.
A junior on the WKU Track & Field team, Katie Lever has been nothing short of phenomenal from her work in the community to her results in the classroom and on the track. She earned the 2014 WKU Outreach-Service Award for exemplifying sportsmanship and character and being actively involved in the community at the 2014 WKU Athletics Banquet. The Elizabethtown, Kentucky, native is a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection and was a 2014 Cross Country C-USA All-Academic honoree last fall. Lever has a perfect cumulative GPA of 4.0 through five completed semesters as a communication studies major. On the track, Lever finished third in the 5,000-meter run at the C-USA Indoor Championships to garner all-conference accolades. Lever has earned a combined seven all- conference honors spanning cross country, and indoor and outdoor track seasons since 2013.