Athletic Department Honors Student Athletes

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 30, 2015–South Florida State College (SFSC) recently celebrated another sensational academic and athletic year on April 29, as the college and athletic department announced their annual award winners at the 2015 Athletic Awards Day in the SFSC University Center, Highlands Campus.

Rick Hitt, SFSC athletic director and head baseball coach, delivered his remarks and greetings to a packed house, touching upon the panthers’ many successes of the year for the Lady Panther Volleyball team, Lady Panther Softball team, and the Panther Baseball team.

“We are proud of our student athletes here at SFSC,” said Hitt. “Yes, we gave out some individual recognition last night, but more than anything else we hope that each one of our players this year truly understands what a difference they can make as a member of a team. The world revolves around successful teams in all forms of life. For example, our families are a team, successful business are a team, and collegiate institutions are a team. Being a good, contributing teammate within the athletic arena, provides you with a chance to be a good teammate in life. We hope our student athletes grasp that concept.”

“One of the unique qualities of our athletic program is that academic excellence is first and foremost with our terrific student athletes,” said Dr. Leana Revell, vice president for academic support and student services at SFSC. “It is always a pleasure to celebrate the top male and female student scholar in the program. They are smart as well as talented athletes.”

It was a historic night as the event not only marked the year-end accomplishments for the SFSC student-athletes, but also for Dr. Revell, who steps down from her position this year after 11 years at the college. In celebration of all that she has done for athletics and SFSC, Dr. Revell was recognized and presented the 2015 Distinguished Service Award.

“Dr. Revell was chosen for this award because she is awesome,” Hitt said. “She has meant so much to our college in so many ways during her time here, athletics is just a piece of that. Her support of SFSC athletics has been tremendous and greatly appreciated. We will miss her leadership and support when she retires.”

“It has been a great joy to work with the athletic department over the years,” Revell said. “I was surprised and certainly appreciative of this high honor. It has certainly been my privilege to work with the coaches and the program. This special award is special to me and will indeed be treasured by me.”

During the SFSC Athletics banquet, each athlete was honored with a participation award from his or her coach.  Athletes who received special awards were:

Volleyball:

Academic and Athletic Excellence – Jada Spano

Academic and Athletic Excellence – Darby Jones

Academic and Athletic Excellence – Breighly Bolton

Softball:

Best Offensive Player – Paige Davis

Best Defensive Player – Kelly Olson

Most Valuable Player – Haley Pinterich

Baseball:

Most Improved Player of the Year – Rodney Forbes

Top Gun Award (Pitching) – Max Boling

Coach’s Award – John Tatum

Fantasy Baseball Champions – Rodney Forbes & Max Boling

Fantasy Baseball Runners Up – Harrison McClure & Tyler Knowles

Scholastic Athletes of the Year: (given to a male and female sophomore with the highest cumulative GPA)

Male – Chris Kazen

Female – Darby Jones

2015 SFSC Panther of the Year:

Callie Bobo

Panther Athletics Distinguished Service Award: 

Dr. Leana Revell