Tuesday, June 5, 2012

CRONS Achiever Award for May


Crons sponsors the monthly "Achiever Award," which is presented to the school recognized by a fan vote for the most notable achievement from the month prior. Below are the descriptions of each submission, along with the poll in the right-hand sidebar.

Mercer Baseball – Chesny Young
Young led the Bears with a .426 batting average, 20 hits and 16 runs scored in the month of May. Overall, Young finished his first collegiate season third in the A-Sun Conference in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage and seventh in hits on his way to be named the A-Sun Conference Freshman of the Year.

Lipscomb Baseball – Josh Cotham
Making three quality starts in three appearances and notching a 1.44 ERA, Lipscomb's Josh Cotham posted a 2-1 record on the hill for the Bisons in May including a complete-game shutout of FGCU that led to the redshirt-junior being named Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week. The right-hander followed up the blanking of the Eagles with another complete-game win as Lipscomb downed Jacksonville 6-2 fanning nine Dolphins without issuing a single free pass. Cotham closed out the month with a quality start against Belmont, allowing just two earned runs and three hits in seven innings against the Bruins.

North Florida Track & Field – Brianna Frazier
Sophomore Brianna Frazier of the University of North Florida track and field team recorded a May worthy of her place in the record books. At the Georgia Tech Invitational, as a tune-up for NCAA East Prelims, Frazier clocked a 23.56 in the 200m, breaking her own school record and setting a new best for the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2012. Two weeks later, at the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round, Frazier broke her own 200m record for the second consecutive meet, clocking a 23.53 to advance to the next day’s quarterfinals. At the same meet, Frazier recorded a 52.86 and 52.48 in the 400m to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. It will be the sophomore’s second consecutive visit to the NCAA Finals.

Stetson Baseball – Robbie Powell
Stetson senior closer Robbie Powell tied the A-Sun record with 18 saves this season. He finished his career with 35 saves from 2009-12, good for 3rd in A-Sun history behind only former Hatters Tom Hickox (48) and Robbie Elsemiller (37).

ETSU Athletics – ETSU claimed the Bill Bibb Trophy for the sixth consecutive year, edging Kennesaw State by 4.5 points to claim the 2011-12 Atlantic Sun All-Sports championship. The Buccaneers, who have won the award since joining the conference in 2005-06, received a balanced effort from their men’s and women’s programs, tallying 144 points from the men to also claim the Jesse C. Fletcher Trophy and 141 from the women. The Bucs won championships in women’s soccer, men’s tennis and men’s outdoor track and field, and the 144 points were the most recorded by any men’s team in league history.
FGCU Softball – Playing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament, the FGCU softball team sent shock waves through the collegiate softball world when it defeated regional host and No. 5 Florida, 2-1, on May 18, 2012. A pair of solo home runs from sophomores Kirsten Bembnowski and Emily Lanier and a complete game gem from A-Sun Picher of the Year Shelby Morgan helped the Eagles defeat the Gators in front of a crowd of 1,345 at the Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. FGCU softball was the fourth Eagle squad to make the NCAA Tournament in 2011-12, but the first in school history to win a game in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles also won the A-Sun regular season and tournament title in their first year of postseason eligibility.

As the Official Motivation and Apparel Brand of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Crons Brand provides what it calls “high quality motivational apparel, merchandise, and accessories to inspire people to get better and constantly strive for their goals.” It also strives to reinforce positive messages to athletes about what it takes to be a winner and the importance of working harder than anyone else in order to reach their full potential. Crons communicates this message through four separate product categories: Team Gear, Lifestyle Apparel, Nutritional Products, and School Programs. Crons is a national brand with its message-themed and motivational merchandise and apparel already in use by more than 500 schools and organizations in 25 states.

Crons perpetuates its message through its Achievers Program, designed to teach students the importance of setting and achieving goals. The program focuses on fostering skills that will help young people set smart, measurable goals now and in the future – leading to academic, personal and professional success.