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 Monday, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Casey Jones, Chattanooga, Jr., G
Chattanooga guard Casey Jones averaged 16.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in January, helping the Mocs to a 7-2 record, all in SoCon play. The junior from New Orleans, La., turned in four 20-point outings in the month and had 11 or more rebounds four times, as well. Jones opened the month with consecutive 20-plus efforts, scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in a win over Furman before dropping 21 points with seven boards in a four-point loss to Wofford. He followed that with 18 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Western Carolina that started a five-game winning streak for the Mocs. He narrowly missed another double-double with nine points and 11 boards in a win over ETSU but hit the game-winning 3-pointer from 25 feet to stun the Bucs in overtime. He had 12 and 13 points in wins over Samford and VMI, respectively, and had a monster game against Mercer, scoring a career-best 24 points and pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds in an overtime loss. He capped his month with 23 points and three blocked shots in a win over The Citadel. Jones shot 53.2 percent from the floor (58-for-109) in the month and was named the SoCon Player of the Week for games the final week of January.

Other nominees: Ashton Moore (The Citadel), Stephen Croone (Furman), Darius Jones-Gibson (Samford), James Sinclair (Western Carolina) and Karl Cochran (Wofford).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Precious Bridges, Mercer, Sr., G
Mercer guard Precious Bridges picked up her third straight monthly honor after averaging a league-best 16.9 points per game and 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. The senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., scored in double figures in all nine of Mercer’s contests in the month, including three games of at least 20 points. Bridges also averaged 37.6 minutes per game, playing the full 40 in five contests. Bridges helped Mercer to five straight wins in the month, scoring 18.2 points per game in those contests. She started that spurt with 16 against Florida A&M, following it up with 17 points and eight rebounds at Kennesaw State before dropping 18 points at Western Carolina. She then scored 20 points in consecutive contests, going 14-for-17 from the free-throw line with seven assists at UNCG before going 8-for-15 from the field with eight rebounds against Wofford. Her final 20-point outing came against ETSU, as she was 11-for-23 from the floor for 23 points and six assists against the Bucs. Her 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio for the month was fifth-best in the league.

Other nominees: Whitney Bunn (Furman), Keiana Gilbert (Chattanooga), Hannah Nichols (Samford) and Jordan Frazier (Wofford).

MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Troy Reeder, Furman, R-Fr.
Furman redshirt freshman Troy Reeder turned in strong performances in a pair of meets in January, setting a new personal record of 4:05.86 in the mile at the Vanderbilt Indoor Invitational and setting a school record in the 3,000 meters at the Hilton Garden Invitational. The Fishers, Ind., native paced five Paladins in the top 14 in the mile at Vanderbilt, finishing seventh overall in a time that leads the SoCon so far this season. Reeder posted another SoCon-best time in the Camel City 3,000m at the Hilton Garden Invitational, finishing sixth and shattering Furman’s school record with a time of 8:04.87 – dropping more than 13 seconds off the previous mark. His converted mark of 7:59.30 is the fastest in the league this season by 12 seconds and is 17th in the NCAA this year. Reeder was named the SoCon Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 28.

Field
Javion Lee, Samford, So.
Samford transfer Javion Lee made an immediate mark in his first indoor meets for the Bulldogs, setting a personal and school record with a SoCon-best mark of 14.96 meters in the triple jump at the UAB Blazer Invitational on Jan. 9. He also added a personal-best leap of 7.06 meters in the long jump, also the best mark in the SoCon this season, en route to finishing fourth in both events. Lee, a sophomore from Clinton, Miss., bettered his school mark in the triple at the Auburn Invitational the following week, turning in a 15.00m effort that leads the SoCon this season by half a foot. He finished third in the event in a field that consisted primarily of SEC and ACC competition. Lee also competed at the Vanderbilt Indoor Invitational, turning in a 7.02m finish in the long jump and a 14.99m triple jump.


WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Tayla Carter, Western Carolina, Jr.
A two-time SoCon Track Athlete of the Week in January, Western Carolina sprinter Tayla Carter blazed to a trio of SoCon-best times at the Thundering Herd Invitational on Jan. 30-31, helping the Catamounts to the team title. Individually, the junior from Marietta, Ga., finished second in both the 60 meters and 200 meters at the event. Carter turned in a time of 7.49 seconds in the 60m and finished the 200m in 24.35 seconds. She also ran a leg on WCU’s winning 4x400-meter relay team, which turned in a time of 3:47.11, also the best in the league this season. Earlier in the month, Carter posted what was then the top 60m mark in the league with a 7.50 to take second place at the ETSU Invitational. She also turned in what was then the top mark in the league with a finish of 24.35 in the prelims of the 200m and was part of the 4x400m relay team that finished second in 3:47.47, also a SoCon-best mark. Carter opened her month with a second-place finish in the 200m at Clemson’s Orange & Purple Classic in a time of 7:52.

Field
Chenell Bryan, Western Carolina, So.
Western Carolina sophomore Chenell Bryan turned in several outstanding efforts in January, finishing in the top four in the long jump in all three meets in which she competed and twice being named the SoCon Field Athlete of the Week. At the Orange & Purple Classic, the Asheville, N.C., native finished third in the event with a leap of 5.93 meters, which stands as the best mark in the SoCon this season. Bryan was fourth at the ETSU Invitational with a mark of 5.64 and won the event at the Thundering Herd Invitational with a jump of 5.84 as the Catamounts won the team title. Bryan also competed in the triple jump, 60 meters, 200 meters and 4x400-meter relay in the month, and sits eighth in the SoCon with her 60m time from the Orange & Purple Classic (7.99) and seventh in the triple with her mark of 10.66m at the ETSU Invitational.



WRESTLING
Aaron Walker, The Citadel, So., 157 pounds
The Citadel’s Aaron Walker went 11-2 in a busy January, including a 4-0 SoCon mark and a 6-0 dual record. He posted bonus points in seven of his 11 wins. Walker opened his month with a fifth-place finish in the 157-pound bracket at the Defense Soaps & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2, topping a pair of ranked wrestlers at the event. The sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, opened the tournament with a pin and a major decision before topping 2014 All-American Mitch Minotti of Lehigh by an 8-1 score. Walker then pinned No. 8 Dylan Alton of Penn State in 6:24 before dropping a close 4-2 decision to No. 2 James Green of Nebraska. Another close loss (5-2) dropped him to the fifth-place match, where Walker dominated No. 12 Russell Parsons of Army to the tune of a 20-5 technical fall. That win was the first of seven straight to finish the month, as Walker won his two bouts at the Virginia Duals, including a major decision over Div. II No. 4 Chase White of Nebraska-Kearney, before picking up four SoCon wins. Walker earned bonus points in two of them, posting majors in wins over Gardner-Webb’s Kyle Ash and SIUE’s Sam Zimmerman. He also topped Appalachian State’s Zack Strickland and Chattanooga’s Austin Sams.

Other nominees: Nick Kee (Appalachian State), Ville Heino (Campbell), Scott Patrick (Davidson), Jake Residori (SIUE), Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) and Shabaka Johns (VMI).

Southern Conference January Athletes of the Month
Men’s Basketball                                      Casey Jones, Chattanooga
Women’s Basketball                                 Precious Bridges, Mercer
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Track         Troy Reeder, Furman
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Field          Javion Lee, Samford
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Track    Tayla Carter, Western Carolina
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Field     Chenell Bryan, Western Carolina
Wrestling                                                 Aaron Walker, The Citadel