Women's Indoor Track and Field 2/7/2013 1:48:00 PM Southern Conference SoCon Announces January Athletes of the Month SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its January athletes of the month for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and wrestling Thursday, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month. MEN’S BASKETBALL Trevis Simpson, UNCG, Jr., G UNCG guard Trevis Simpson averaged 19.5 points per game for the Spartans in January, eclipsing 20 points four times. The Douglas, Ga., native scored 30 points in a win over Samford on Jan. 24 and poured in a career-high 41 in a win over Chattanooga three days later. The 41 points were a UNCG Division I-era school record and the third-most scored in a DI game this season. Simpson also pulled down seven rebounds and hit seven 3-pointers in the contest. After being slowed by an injury early in the month, Simpson rebounded to score in double figures in each of his final six contests. He shot 78.4 percent from the free throw line (29-for-37) and 38.6 percent (17-for-44) from 3-point range in January. He was the league’s player of the week on Jan. 29. Other nominees: Nathan Healy (Appalachian State), Andrew Lawrence (College of Charleston), Mike Groselle (The Citadel), Jake Cohen (Davidson), Lucas Troutman (Elon), Colin Reddick (Furman), C.J. Reed (Georgia Southern), Tim Williams (Samford), Z. Mason (Chattanooga), Trey Sumler (Western Carolina) and Karl Cochran (Wofford). WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson, Sr., F Davidson forward Sophia Aleksandravicius averaged a double-double in January, scoring 15.6 points per game and pulling down 10.2 rebounds per contest as the Wildcats were 8-1 in the month. The Pound Ridge, N.Y., native scored in double figures in eight of her nine contests and grabbed at least six rebounds in each game, with at least 11 in five games. Aleksandravicius became Davidson’s career scoring leader on Jan. 15 at Furman, with her first bucket of the game putting her atop the Wildcats’ all-time points list. She opened her month with 18 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Appalachian State and followed that up with 19 and 12 against College of Charleston. She notched her third straight double-double with 15 points and 11 boards in a win at Wofford on Jan. 12. Aleksandravicius wrapped up her month with two more double-doubles, scoring 21 points with 15 rebounds in a win over Elon and notching 22 points and 11 boards at Western Carolina on Jan. 28. She also blocked 23 shots (2.6 per game) and was the league’s player of the week twice in January. Other nominees: Maryah Sydnor (Appalachian State), Alyssa Frye (College of Charleston), Ali Ford (Elon), MiMi Dubose (Georgia Southern), Ashlen Dewart (Chattanooga), Lindsay Simpson (Western Carolina) and Morgan Wrightson (Wofford). MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Track Paul Katam, UNCG, Jr. UNCG junior Paul Katam turned in a solid month on the track, turning in a pair of top times in the SoCon in January. At the Wake Forest Invitational on Jan. 19, the Eldoret, Kenya, native won the mile in a new personal-best time of 4:11.90, the top time in the SoCon this season at the time. The time was six seconds faster than the second-place finisher and bettered his previous school record by seven seconds. The following weekend at the Hokie Invite, Katam finished fourth in the 3,000 meters in a personal-best time of 8:11.56. That time is the top mark in the SoCon in that event by more than four seconds. Field Jared Stalling, Appalachian State, Sr. Appalachian State senior Jared Stalling won the shot put with a throw of 52’8” at the Mountaineer Open on Jan. 21 and placed second in the weight throw with a throw of 59’, the first of which was the top mark in the conference at the time. Stalling, a Greensboro, N.C., native, bettered both marks at the Rod McCravy Memorial at the University of Kentucky on Jan. 28, placing fourth in the weight with a toss of 61’8.25” and ninth in the shot with a throw of 52’10”, which is now the top mark in the league. WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Track Tayla Carter, Western Carolina, Fr. Western Carolina freshman Tayla Carter won an event and matched a school record in January. The rookie won the 60-meter final in 7.54 at the Niswonger Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn., on Jan. 19 and turned in a time of 7.48 in the 60 meters in the finals of the event at the University of Kentucky’s Rod McCravy Memorial the following weekend, matching a seven-year-old school record with that time. She also took third among collegiate runners in the 60m at the Tiger Challenge in Clemson, S.C., on Jan. 11. Carter, a Marietta, Ga., native, was the SoCon’s track athlete of the week on Jan. 24. Field Roshani Glover, College of Charleston, Fr. College of Charleston freshman Roshani Glover turned in a pair of top-five finishes in the triple jump in January. The Summerville, S.C., native took fifth place at the Tiger Challenge on Jan. 11 with a jump of 11.33 meters. She also ran a leg on the 4x400-meter relay at the meet. The following weekend, Glover took fourth in the triple jump at the Wake Forest Invitational, turning in a jump of 11.89m. She also jumped 5.02m in the long jump. Glover, who leads the conference standings in the triple, was the SoCon field performer of the week on Jan. 24. WRESTLING Odie Delaney, The Citadel, R-Sr., 285 pounds The Citadel’s Odie Delaney went 11-2 overall and 4-0 in SoCon action in January. The Bulldog heavyweight faced a brutal slate in the month, taking on four ranked opponents at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., with his only two losses coming to grapplers ranked in the top three nationally. Delaney pinned No. 17 Jeremy Johnson of Ohio and earned a decision against No. 14 Levi Cooper of Arizona State at the Scuffle, while his losses came to No. 1 Tony Nelson of Minnesota and No. 3 Alan Gelogaev of Oklahoma State. At the Virginia Duals on Jan. 11, Delaney picked up a major decision over Army’s Stephen Snyder and a pin over VMI’s Michael LaPrade. The Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., native pinned his opponents in duals against Appalachian State and Chattanooga in addition to earning decisions against Campbell’s Joe Nolan and SIUE’s David Devine. For the month, Delaney posted a pair of major decisions and five falls. Other nominees: Zack Strickland (Appalachian State), Eric Montoya (Campbell), Alex Medved (Gardner-Webb), Niko Brown (Chattanooga) and Ryan Goodsell (VMI). Southern Conference January Athletes of the Month Men’s Basketball Trevis Simpson, UNCG Women’s Basketball Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Track Paul Katam, UNCG Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Field Jared Stalling, Appalachian State Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Track Tayla Carter, Western Carolina Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Field Roshani Glover, College of Charleston Wrestling Odie Delaney, The Citadel -www.SoConSports.com-