Warrior Magazine December 2018

Six sports teams recognized for academic success Led by the Lady Warrior softball team, six ECCC varsity sports teams earned National Junior College Athletic Association Aca demic Team of the Year Honorable Mention awards for having met the grade-point average requirement of 3.00 or better for the 2017-18 academic year. With a 3.67 team GPA, the ECCC women’s softball team led all softball programs in the 15-team Mississippi Association of Com munity and Junior Colleges and finished tied for second among all softball programs in the NJCAA. The ECCC women’s soccer team finished 10th among all women’s soccer programs in the NJCAA with a 3.39 GPA, which was second best among all East Central sports teams. The Lady Warrior soccer team was No. 3 among all such programs in the MACJC. The East Central women’s tennis team finished the year with a team GPA of 3.29, which ranked No. 26 in the nation among women’s tennis programs. The Warrior men’s tennis team compiled a 3.25 GPA and was ranked 13th in the NJCAA among men’s tennis teams and No. 4 in the MACJC. The ECCC Diamond Warrior baseball team had a 3.19 team GPA, which placed it 35th in the nation among baseball programs. The East Central men’s soccer team compiled a 3.02 GPA for 2017-18 and was ranked 20th in the nation and No. 4 among all MACJC men’s soccer programs.

Student-athletes recognized for academic performance Seventy-five ECCC student-athletes were honored by either the National Junior College Athletic Associa tion or the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, or both organizations, for their aca demic performance during the 2017-18 academic year. In all, 45 ECCC student-athletes were recognized by the NJCAA and 75 were honored by the MACJC. East Central was third among all 15 community and junior colleges in Mississippi in the number or student-ath letes honored by the NJCAA. The NJCAA presents awards in three categories: First Team NJCAA All-Academic (for those achieving a perfect 4.0 grade-point average), Second Team NJCAA All-Academic (3.80 to 3.99 GPA), and Third Team NJ CAA All-Academic (3.60 to 3.79 GPA). Thirteen student-athletes were named to the First Team, 20 to the Second Team, and 12 to the Third Team. The academic honors presented to student-athletes on the state level include MACJC Distinguished Aca demic All-State (those earning a 3.8 to 4.0 GPA) and MACJC Academic All-State (3.25 to 3.79 GPA). Thirty-three ECCC student-athletes were named Distinguished Academic All-State and 42 were named All-State.

WARRIOR WRAP-UP

Football

Spencer of Florence was named to the NJCAA All-Re gion 23 Team and freshman defender Hayden Sullivan, also of Florence, was named MACJC All-State. Men’s and Women’s Basketball The Warriors and Lady Warriors began their 2018 19 seasons in November and have seven home dates against MACJC South Divi sion opponents remaining beginning in January. A complete schedule of games can be found at www. ecccathletics.com. All ECCC home basketball games this season can be heard on WKOZ Cruisin 98.3 or watched via live stream video. Links to listen or watch can be found at www. eccc.edu/eccc-media.

cer Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts Oct. 1-7 when he scored four goals in two matches. Women’s Soccer Under the direction of first-year head coach Ryan Joiner, the Lady Warrior soccer team also failed to qualify for the MACJC play offs. East Central finished with a 5-11 overall record and 1-7 in MACJC North Division play. The Lady Warriors battled through several injuries during the season. Three Lady Warrior sophomores were named to the MACJC North Division Women’s All-Star Team. They were midfielder Car rington Payne of Richland, midfielder Noel Ross from Horn Lake, and defender Georgia Wilson from Ad elaide, Australia. Fresh man forward Macey

times in 2018, East Central will play five home games next fall. Men’s Soccer The men’s soccer season came to an end when the Warriors dropped a match to Hinds on a late goal Oct. 15 in Raymond. The Warriors completed their season with a 3-11 overall record and 3-5 in the league, failing to make the MACJC playoffs. Head coach Ken neth Thompson picked up his 100th win during the season. Three Warrior sopho mores were named to the MACJC North Division Men’s All-Star Team. They were midfielder Gustavo Barreto of Salvador, Brazil; midfielder Vitor Gomes from Fortaleza, Brazil; and midfielder Francisco Romero of Ripley. Gomes was named the MACJC Soc

The Warrior football team had a big turnaround season after a 1-8 record in 2017. Under the direction of sixth year head coach Ken Karcher, East Central posted a 4-5 overall record in fall 2018, including a 3-3 mark in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges South Division. The Warriors were ranked No. 20 in the National Ju nior College Athletic Asso ciation Top 20 Poll on Sept. 18 and were still in the hunt for a postseason playoff spot heading into the last two games of the season. Season highlights included a road win over nationally ranked Itawamba and losing to No. 1 ranked and defend ing national champion East Mississippi on a last second field goal in Bailey Stadium. After going on the road five

ATHLETICS

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