Women's Indoor Track and Field 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 Friday, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month.


MEN’S BASKETBALL
Z. Mason, Chattanooga, Sr., F
Chattanooga forward Z. Mason led the Mocs to an 8-1 record in January, averaging a double-double with 18.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Mason scored in double figures in eight of the Mocs’ nine January games, with double-doubles in six of those contests. The Chattanooga, Tenn., senior scored 30 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in Chattanooga’s comeback win over The Citadel on Jan. 6, with 26 of those points coming in the second half. Mason matched his career high with 15 boards in a win over Wofford on Jan. 18. For the month, Mason eclipsed 20 points on four occasions, netting 20 against Furman, 22 against Appalachian State and 27 against Elon to go along with his 30-point effort. Mason was also a force on defense, blocking at least one shot in each game and averaging 4.1 per contest in January. He had a career-high six blocks each in wins over Furman and Appalachian State and five blocks each in wins over Samford and Wofford. Mason helped the Mocs to their first 8-0 SoCon start since 1984-85 and their first 10-game winning streak since 1996-97.

Others nominated: Jay Canty (Appalachian State), Matt Van Scyoc (The Citadel), De’Mon Brooks (Davidson), Jelani Hewitt (Georgia Southern), Kyle Cain (UNCG), Tim Williams (Samford), Trey Sumler (Western Carolina) and Karl Cochran (Wofford).


WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State, Jr., F
Appalachian State forward Maryah Sydnor nearly averaged a double-double in eight January games, posting 22.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest to lead the Mountaineers to a 4-4 record. Sydnor scored at least 15 points in each game, turning in double-doubles in four of them. Against league-leading Chattanooga on Jan. 13, the junior from Radford, Va., scored 20 points and had 14 rebounds in the overtime loss. Sydnor scored a career-high 36 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in a win over Davidson on Jan. 25. She had 27 points in a win over UNCG on Jan. 19 and opened her month with 17 points and 10 boards at Furman on Jan. 4. She backed that up with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Wofford two days later and then had 24 points against Samford on Jan. 11. Sydnor was named the SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 21 after her efforts against Elon and UNCG.

Others nominated: Hannah Early (Davidson), Kelsey Harris (Elon), Anna Claire Knight (Georgia Southern), Taylor Hall (Chattanooga), Hannah Nichols (Samford) and Logan Morris (Wofford).


MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Brandon Hazouri, Samford, So.
Samford sophomore Brandon Hazouri turned in a pair of outstanding performances in two January meets for the Bulldogs. At the Auburn Invitational on Jan. 18, Hazouri was one of three Samford runners to break a 16-year-old school record in the mile, as he finished in 4:09.23, well under the previous school standard of 4:12.90. Hazouri, a Birmingham, Ala., native, followed that up with another stout showing at the Hilton Garden Invitational, turning in a converted time of 1:50.07 in the 800 meters, good for the best mark in the league so far this season.

Field
Brandon Bassett, Samford, R-Sr.
Samford redshirt senior Brandon Bassett posted the third-best score in the nation so far this season in the heptathlon at the Samford Stand Alone Multi Competition on Jan. 15, registering a school-record 5,534 points in winning the event. The Tallahassee, Fla., native also posted a pair of other SoCon-best marks at the meet, clearing 2.10 meters (6’10.75”) in the high jump and leaping 7.13 meters (23’4.75”) in the long jump. His time of 8.27 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles stands as the second-best time in the SoCon this season.


WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Teghan Henderson, Chattanooga, So.
In her only meet of the month, Chattanooga sophomore Teghan Henderson dominated the 3,000-meter race at the Niswonger Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn., cruising to a 36-second victory. Henderson’s time of 9:35.19 was a personal best and was fewer than four seconds off the school record of 9:31.75 set in 2006. The Pickering, Ontario, Canada, native’s time is the third-best in the league this season.

Field
Ashley Cope, Samford, Sr.
Samford sophomore Ashley Cope turned in the top SoCon mark in the pentathlon in January, registering a league-best 3,600 points in the event at the Samford Stand Alone Multi Competition. The Juliette, Ga., native finished fifth in the event behind a quartet of SEC competitors. Cope’s best showing in the pentathlon came in the 60-meter hurdles, which she completed in 8.81 seconds to finish fourth. Her 60m hurdles time of 8.77 seconds at the UAB Invitational is the second-best mark in the league so far this season.


WRESTLING
Kevin Birmingham, Davidson, Jr., 149 pounds
Davidson wrestler Kevin Birmingham went 7-1 in January with six of his seven wins coming by fall. The 149-pounder topped a pair of ranked opponents in the month, pinning No. 24 Justin Arthur of Clarion and No. 27 Matt Frisch of The Citadel. Birmingham opened his month with a 47-second pin of Ohio Northern’s Steven Feucht in the Wildcats’ 23-17 win on Jan. 8. That would be the first of five straight falls for the Sicklerville, N.J., native, as he went on to stick Arthur, Pittsburgh’s Jake Keller, Seton Hill’s Kevin Laubach and Gardner-Webb’s Tyler Ziegler in order. Birmingham earned a 9-7 sudden victory over VMI’s Shabaka Johns on Jan. 24 before suffering his only setback of the month, an 8-7 decision against No. 10 Richard Durso of Franklin & Marshall on Jan. 26. Birmingham rebounded to pin Frisch later that day to cap his month.

Other nominees: Vito Pasone (Appalachian State), Ville Heino (Campbell), Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel), Austin Trott (Gardner-Webb), David Devine (SIUE), Nick Soto (Chattanooga) and Juan Adams (VMI).

Southern Conference January Athletes of the Month
Men’s Basketball    Z. Mason, Chattanooga
Women’s Basketball    Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Track    Brandon Hazouri, Samford
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Field    Brandon Bassett, Samford
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Track    Teghan Henderson, Chattanooga
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Field    Ashley Cope, Samford
Wrestling    Kevin Birmingham, Davidson

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