SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its January athletes of the month Friday, highlighting excellence among 11 student-athletes across eight sports during the month.
 
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Malachi Smith, Chattanooga, So., G, Belleville, Ill.

• Averaged 23.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.9 steals per game and in leading Chattanooga to a 7-1 record in the month and the No. 5 spot in latest the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25
• Surpassed 20 points in each of his first six games in the month, matching the Mocs’ Division I record for consecutive games with at least 20 points
• Had 33 points and nine rebounds in UTC’s lone loss of the month, a 70-59 setback at Western Carolina on Jan. 12
• Was named the SoCon Player of the Week presented by GEICO twice in January, pushing his total to four selections on the season, the most in the league since Davidson’s Stephen Curry earned the honor eight times in 2008-09
• Leads the SoCon in scoring at 20.8 points per game

Others nominated: Hayden Brown (The Citadel), David Sloan (ETSU), Jalen Slawson (Furman), Jalen Johnson (Mercer), De’Monte Buckingham (UNCG), Ques Glover (Samford), Jake Stephens (VMI), Nicholas Robinson (Western Carolina) and B.J. Mack (Wofford).
 
 
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tierra Hodges, Furman, 5th, G/F, Covington, Ga.

• Helped Furman to a 4-2 record in the month by averaging a double-double of 22.2 points and 12.3 rebounds per game
• Posted a double-double in five of Furman's six games
• Topped 20 points in four of six contests, scoring a month-high 27 points, one shy of her career high, in a 68-54 win over ETSU on Jan. 27
• Topped her season averages with a 26-point, 15-rebound performance that keyed Furman to a 69-66 road victory over previously league undefeated Mercer, the reigning SoCon tournament champion, giving Furman its first win in Macon, Georgia, since the 2014-15 season and halting a string of seven straight road losses to the Bears
• Named SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1

Others nominated: Amoria Neal-Tysor (Mercer), Isys Grady (UNCG), Andrea Cournoyer (Samford) and Reagan Rapert (Wofford).
 
 
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Cameron Ponder, Furman, Sr., Winston-Salem, N.C.

• In his only action of the month, placed fourth overall and second among collegiate runners at the 114^th Millrose Games
• Broke the 4:00 mark for the third time in his career, finishing in 3:59.48
• Was just 0.14 seconds off his personal-best time
• Earned SoCon Indoor Track Athlete of the Week and Student-Athlete of the Week honors after that performance
• Leads the SoCon by nearly nine seconds and ranks 39^th in the NCAA in the mile

Field
Seth Wolfe, Samford, Gr., Atlanta, Ga.

• Named the first SoCon Indoor Field Athlete of the Week award of the season
• Won the weight throw with a toss of 18.29 meters and took 10^th in the shot put with a throw of 12.32 meters at the UAB Vulcan Invitational on Jan. 15
• At the Samford Invitational on Jan. 21, took third in the weight throw with a toss of 19.00 meters and finished 10^th in the shot put with a heave of 14.74 meters, which led the SoCon at the time but is now second in the league
• Leads the SoCon in the weight throw with a throw of 19.80 meters from December
• In his first season at Samford after coming in as a graduate transfer from Charleston Southern

 
 
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Megan Marvin, Furman, So., Chapel Hill, N.C.

• Two-time SoCon Indoor Track Athlete of the Week for her performances in January, winning after her only two competitions
• Opened her season by winning the 800-meter run in 2:07.31 at the Gamecock Opener on Jan. 15, winning by more than eight seconds
• Her time leads the SoCon and ranks No. 33 on the NCAA performance list
• Won the mile at the South Carolina Invitational on Jan. 28, lowering her personal record by nearly 20 seconds to 4:42.96, which leads the SoCon and ranks No. 52 in the NCAA
• Also competed in the 400-meter run at that meet, finishing 14^th in 58.94, which ranks seventh in the SoCon

Field
Brittany Bishop, Samford, Jr., Clinton, Tenn.

• In her only action of the month, won the pole vault at the Samford Invitational on Jan. 21
• Cleared a personal-best height of 3.91 meters
• Leads the SoCon by more than a foot
• Named SoCon Indoor Field Athlete of the Week on Jan. 26
• Two-time defending indoor champion in the event

 
 
RIFLE
Smallbore
Erin Ballard, Georgia Southern, So., Reedsville, W.Va.

• Averaged a 577 in smallbore in the month, topping her career high three times in the Eagles' three matches
• Shot a personal-best 581 to place first against VMI and No. 13 Jacksonville State on Jan. 29, marking the second-highest smallbore tally in program history
• Placed first in the discipline against The Citadel's mixed and women's teams on Jan. 22 with a score of 577
• Posted a personal-best aggregate score of 1,168 on Jan. 29, which tied for the fifth-highest total in program history and helped 18th-ranked Georgia Southern set a school record with a 4,621 team aggregate
• Shot a 573 against The Citadel's mixed team on Jan. 16 to finish second

Others nominated: Amy Kohan (UAB) and Jaden-Ann Fraser (North Georgia).
 
Air rifle
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern, Jr., Acworth, Ga.

• Averaged a 590 in air rifle for the month, topping the 590 mark twice in the Eagles' three appearances, to claim her third SoCon air rifle shooter of the month honor this season
• Placed first in the discipline against The Citadel's mixed team on Jan. 16 (586) and The Citadel's mixed and women's team on Jan. 22 (591)
• Shot a 593 against VMI's mixed rifle team and Jacksonville State on Jan. 29 to finish second
• Helped the 18th-ranked Georgia Southern rifle team set a school record with a 4,621 aggregate on Jan. 29
• Has now posted six scores of 590 or more this season and leads the SoCon this month in both disciplines (SB 569.7, AR 590.200) with an aggregate average score of 1159.9

Others nominated: Amy Kohan (UAB) and Jayne Fraley (North Georgia).
 
 
MEN’S TENNIS
Jamie Connel, Furman, Fr., Edinburgh, Scotland

• Helped Furman to a 2-1 start to the season as the Paladins lost 6-1 at Clemson to open the season on Jan. 15 but rebounded to down Georgia Southern 5-2 on Jan. 23 and sweep Emmanuel 7-0 on Jan. 29
• Went 3-0 in singles play, going 1-0 at No. 1 and 2-0 at No. 2
• Finished 2-0 at No. 1 doubles, teaming up with Ivan Mitric for a 7-5 win over Georgia Southern's top duo and a 6-3 win over Emmanuel's top pair
• Won in straight sets at No. 2 at Clemson, defeating Yizhou Liu 6-1, 6-4
• Came from behind to down Alexandros Roumpis of Georgia Southern 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and ended the month with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Emmanuel's top player

Others nominated: Lucas Wayenburg (Mercer) and Mohammed Ali Bellalounda (Samford).
 
 
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Laylo Bakhodirova, ETSU, Jr., Tashkent, Uzebekistan

• Went 5-1 at singles, including 4-1 at No. 1, and 5-1 at No. 1 doubles
• Named the SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 25 after going 3-1 with three ranked singles wins and 3-1 in doubles play to open the season
• Opened the spring season with a win over Kentucky's Carlota Molina, ranked No. 100, making quick work of her in a 6-2, 6-0 straight-set victory before beating her again, 6-0, 6-2, later that afternoon
• Picked up a win over eighth-ranked NC State's Abigail Rencheli, ranked 25th in singles, coming from behind for a 4-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-8) victory on Jan. 23
• Along with partner Alejandra Morales, downed Kentucky's top duo 6-4, Virginia Tech's top pair 6-2 and NC State's No. 1 duo 6-4

Others nominated: Julia Adams (Furman), Mary Courville (Mercer), Ally Hayduk (Samford), Emma Van Hee (Chattanooga) and Lily Woods (Wofford).
 
 
WRESTLING
Jonathan Millner, App State, R-Sr., 149, Greensboro, N.C.

• Went 4-0 in January, with one win coming against a nationally ranked opponent, and named the SoCon Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 19
• Claimed an 8-3 decision over Duke's No. 8 Josh Finesilver on Jan. 13 to hand the Blue Devil wrestler his second loss of the season after claiming a 15-5 major decision over him at the Mountaineer Invitational earlier this year
• Went 2-0 in SoCon dual appearances, earning a 19-4 technical fall against VMI's Luke Hart on Jan. 21 before securing a pin in 56 seconds against Gardner-Webb's Corbin Dion on Jan. 25 
• Earned a 4-0 shutout win over Little Rock's Joseph Bianchi on Jan. 21
• Ranked No. 4 in the country at 149 pounds by Intermat

Others nominated: Eric Beck (Bellarmine), Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) and Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga).
 
 
Southern Conference January Athletes of the Month
Men’s basketball                                    Malachi Smith, Chattanooga
Women’s basketball                               Tierra Hodges, Furman
Men’s indoor track and field – track          Cameron Ponder, Furman
Men’s indoor track and field – field          Seth Wolfe, Samford
Women’s indoor track and field – track     Megan Marvin, Furman
Women’s indoor track and field – field           Brittany Bishop, Samford
Rifle – smallbore                                    Erin Ballard, Georgia Southern
Rifle – air rifle                                         Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Men’s tennis                                           Jamie Connel, Furman
Women’s tennis                                      Laylo Bakhodirova, ETSU
Wrestling                                               Jonathan Millner, App State