Due West, S.C. – The Erskine Athletic Department celebrated the accomplishments of the past year last night at the annual athletic banquet hosted by Aramark and the Flying Fleet Club.

Seniors Larissa Shannon (Newberry, SC, Newberry High School) and Corey Sorrell (Walton, KY, Northern Kentucky University)were honored as this year’s James Cowan “Jake” Todd Award winners, presented annually to a graduating senior(s) who has demonstrated outstanding athletic ability, academic achievement, leadership, character, and sportsmanship.

Shannon, a catcher/designated player on the Erskine Softball Team, set several offensive records, including a new career home run record (47).  Known for her clutch hitting, Shannon hit a three-run walk-off homer last year to give the Fleet a 6-5 win over archrival Anderson University.  In the conference tournament championship title game two years ago, Shannon launched a two-run home run to propel the Fleet to a 2-1 victory over Lees-McRae for the Fleet’s first-ever softball conference tournament title and NCAA Regional Tournament berth.  Shannon has received all-region recognition, is a former conference player of the year and freshman of the year award winner as well as four-time all-conference honoree. Head Softball Coach Alleen Hawkins presented Shannon her #18 jersey announcing it would never be worn again.

Sorrell, a post player on the men’s basketball team, led the Flying Fleet to not only their first winning season but also the most wins in a season since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 1995.  The Fleet’s leading scorer the past two years, Sorrell transformed a team who had won just three games the season prior to his arrival to an eighteen win season this year.  The two-time all-conference honoree averaged 18.8 points per game, second all-time, in route to scoring over 1,000 points.

Director of Athletics Mark Peeler announced a new department award honoring Dr. Gid Alston, who is retiring this year after a 26 year teaching career at Erskine.  The award honors the Erskine Athletic Department staff member who exhibits outstanding work ethic, loyalty, and service.  Head Baseball Coach Kevin Nichols was the inaugural winner of the award, recognizing his contributions to assisting with the college enrollment initiatives this year.

This year’s other award winners include Aaron Twitty (West Columbia, SC, Brookland-Cayce High School) receiving the Karen G. Bell Memorial Award, men’s soccer player Peter Savarese (Summerville, SC, Pinewood Preparatory School) for the Sonny Rhem Award and softball’s Kelsey Spurrier (Charlotte, NC, Butler High School)as Erskine’s nominee for Conference Carolinas’ Murphy Osborne Award.  The Bell Award goes to the student-athlete who best exhibits outstanding Christian Service while the Rhem recognizes the student-athlete for excellence in academics and service.  The Murphy Osborne Award is awarded by the conference office to the top student-athlete for academic excellence.

Each Erskine head coach took time to recognize the contributions of their seniors to their respective programs while honoring their team’s most outstanding player.