SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its September athletes of the month for football, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball Monday, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSE
Jacob Huesman, Chattanooga, Sr., QB
Senior Jacob Huesman helped guide the Mocs to a 3-1 mark during September. The senior signal-caller rushed 75 times for 376 yards and three touchdowns and completed 59-of-92 passes for 639 yards and six touchdowns during the month. Huesman rushed for at least a hundred yards and passed for at least 100 yards in two of the four games and accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense in two of the four games. He became just the fourth player in league history to account for more than 9,000 yards of total offense in a career.
Others nominated: Evan McField (The Citadel), Jon Croft Hollingsworth (Furman), Tee Mitchell (Mercer), Michael Eubank (Samford), Al Cobb (VMI), Detrez Newsome (Western Carolina) and Lorenzo Long (Wofford).
DEFENSE
Dee Delaney, The Citadel, So., DB
Sophomore defensive back Dee Delaney recorded four interceptions during September, including a 44-yard return for a touchdown against Charleston Southern. Delaney amassed 95 return yards off his four picks and was credited with nine tackles, five pass break-ups and a blocked kick during the month. His nine passes defended ranked first in FCS during September, while his four interceptions were tied for first in all of Division I football. Delaney has moved into a tie for 11th place on The Citadel’s career interceptions list with six in just 16 career games.
Others nominated: Isaiah Buehler (Mercer), Justin Cooper (Samford), Keionta Davis (Chattanooga), Daniel Riddle (Western Carolina) and Drake Michaelson (Wofford).
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Tanner Hinkle, Furman, Jr.
Hinkle paced the Paladin men to a first-place finish at the Furman Classic, an 8k race, with a time of 24:17.30. The junior from Mason, Mich., clocked his fastest time of the month at the Panorama Farms Invitational, checking in at 24:13.90 for a ninth-place finish in a competitive field of runners. Hinkle garnered runner of the week recognition on two occasions during the month of September.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Allie Buchalski, Furman, Jr.
Buchalski put forth an impressive month of September for the Paladin women. A native of Johns Creek, Ga., Buchalski placed first in the 5k race at the Queens Twilight meet in Charlotte, N.C., and the 6k race at the Furman Classic with times of 17:12.71 and 21:00.66, respectively. Her effort at the Furman Classic helped the Paladin women edge out five other schools for the team title. She also ran a 17:23.5 in the 5k race at the Panorama Farms Invitational in Earlysville, Va., which was good for 10th place. Buchalski earned runner of the week honors three times in September.
MEN’S SOCCER
James Smith, ETSU, Gr., F
ETSU forward James Smith scored 10 points on four goals and two assists in September, helping the Bucs to a 3-2-1 record. Smith, a graduate student from Eastbourne, England, netted a pair of game-winning goals, notching the decisive goal in a 2-0 win over High Point on Sept. 1 and scoring the lone goal of the contest on a penalty kick in a 1-0 victory over Liberty on Sept. 21. Smith recorded a goal and an assist in ETSU’s 3-1 win over No. 23 Kentucky on Sept. 16, earning SoCon player of the week honors for that performance, and equaled that performance with a goal and an assist against Wofford in both teams’ SoCon opener on Sept. 29. Smith, who transferred to ETSU from Lees-McRae prior to this season, reached 20 career goals and 20 career assists in the month.
Other nominees: Jeremy Booth (Mercer), Damieon Thomas (UNCG) and Connor Davis (Wofford).
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Maggie Cropp, Mercer, Sr., GK
Mercer goalkeeper Maggie Cropp posted a 0.17 goals-against average and .960 save percentage in September, allowing just one goal and making 24 saves in 538 minutes of work across six matches. The senior from Morgan Hill, Calif., posted three solo shutouts and was part of another as the Bears went 3-1-2 in the month. Cropp opened the month with shutouts in consecutive scoreless draws before allowing her only goal of the month in a double-overtime, 1-0 loss to Western Kentucky. Cropp did not allow a goal in Mercer’s 5-1 win over UAB for her first win of September and followed that up with a 1-0 win over Middle Tennessee before being credited with the victory against The Citadel on Sept. 26 to open SoCon play. Cropp reached the minutes threshold for inclusion on the SoCon’s career GAA list in September and currently sits in the top spot with her 0.68 mark in her two seasons in the league. So far this season, Cropp has posted a league-leading 0.39 GAA and .917 save percentage.
Other nominees: Katherine Arroyo (The Citadel), Simona Koren (ETSU), Maggie Grisell (Furman), Hallie Georgi (Samford) and Kasey Cooke (Western Carolina).
VOLLEYBALL
OFFENSE
Lauren Greenspoon, Chattanooga, So., S
Greenspoon has been an integral part of a Chattanooga team that is off to the best start in program history at 15-2 (4-0 SoCon). The sophomore from Houston, Texas, totaled 488 assists during the month of September for an average of 11.62 assists per set. Her 11.48 assists-per-set clip for the season is tops in the SoCon and 10th nationally. In addition, Greenspoon tallied four double-doubles with assists and digs during the month of September and posted her match high in assists for the month with 50 in a 3-2 win over Virginia Tech. She took offensive player of the week honors for Sept. 21.
Others nominated: Briana Allmon (ETSU), Jo Wilks (Furman), Ashley Muench (UNCG), Krista Boesing (Samford), Jo-Leigh Vervelde (Western Carolina) and Danni Densford (Wofford).
DEFENSE
Khadijah Wiley, ETSU, Sr., MB
Wiley, a senior from Columbus, Ga., has been a force at the net for ETSU this season. She recorded 62 blocks for a per-set average of 1.62 during the month of September, helping lead the Bucs to a 10-3 record for the month. Wiley registered a pair of nine-block performances in September, including one against Clemson on Sept. 11. Wiley, who earned SoCon defensive player of the week honors for Sept. 21, ranks in the top 10 nationally in total blocks with 80 on the season and in the top 25 in blocks per set with a 1.38 average. She is sixth among active Division I players with 445 blocks for her career.
Others nominated: Meg DeMaar (Furman), Katherine Santiago (UNCG), Morgan St. Germain (Samford), Catherine Chason (Chattanooga), Elyssa Mulheron (Western Carolina) and Jessica Graham (Wofford).
Southern Conference September Athletes of the Month
Football – offense Jacob Huesman, Chattanooga
Football – defense Dee Delaney, The Citadel
Men’s cross country Tanner Hinkle, Furman
Women’s cross country Allie Buchalski, Furman
Men’s soccer James Smith, ETSU
Women’s soccer Maggie Cropp, Mercer
Volleyball – offense Lauren Greenspoon, Chattanooga
Volleyball – defense Khadijah Wiley, ETSU
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