Georgia College & State University’s fall sports wrapped up their seasons, making way for the winter and spring sports on campus. However, it has been an extremely successful season for GCSU fall sports, and with success comes awards.

While men’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis did compete this fall, the awards will focus more towards men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball and women’s soccer. However, don’t worry, fans of golf and tennis: I will be monitoring the teams’ performance throughout the spring seasons, ready to dish out awards. 

Before diving into the awards, this is my opinion and not officially connected with GCSU Athletics. Also, the true MVPs are the fans of GCSU Athletics and those who’ve followed the teams throughout the seasons. 

Beginning with men’s cross country, Shipley Smith made the decision extremely easy for the MVP of the season. Smith has undoubtedly been mentioned quite a few times during the fall issues, and for good reason. 

The sophomore from Kennesaw, Georgia, led the Bobcats in five of their six races during the season, giving a shoutout to Evan Rehrauer, who outran Smith by 7.4 seconds at the UNG Cross Country Invitational early in the season to capture first place in the 8K competition. Smith also almost finished All-Conference in the Peach Belt Conference Championship.

Freshman of the Year for men’s cross country was a little more difficult, with a tough decision between two in particular, freshmen who had excellent “rookie” seasons: Karl Ritzler and Zach Hilyer. 

Ritzler surprised me out of the gate during the season, finishing second for the Bobcats, 16th overall, in the Converse Kick-Off race to open the season, and third for the Bobcats, ninth overall, at the UNG Invitational.. 

However, Hilyer stuck with him throughout the beginning of the season, and deserves the honors of Freshman of the Year, especially after his 19th-place effort at the Peach Belt Conference Championship and setting a personal best time at Regionals to conclude the year. 

Switching to women’s cross country, due to injuries occurring towards the end of the season, deciding on the most valuable player was more difficult than expected; nevertheless, because of her performance before injury, it’s difficult to ignore that Lauren Thisdale is this team’s MVP. 

The sophomore from Snellville, Georgia, led the women’s cross country in the first three races of the season, helping the Bobcats complete the sweep at the UNG Invitational to take home first place in the women’s run as well. Throughout her first three races, she placed 16th, third, and fourth overall.

Thisdale was unable to compete in both the Bobcats Peach Belt Conference and Regionals races; yet, for her performances in the early going, I believe she earned the MVP award for women’s cross country.

The freshman once again made it difficult to decide for the women’s cross country team, with the problematic choice between Bella Russell and Emma Shanklin, and an honorable mention to Lily Flood, who set a personal best and led the Bobcats in the blue race at McAlpine Creek Park. 

Ironically, the case is similar for Russell, a freshman on the men’s cross country team. She performed neck-and-neck with the MVP, Thisdale, in the early going, following just behind her in the first two races of the year and being the top freshman runner for the Bobcats in the third race. 

However, while Russell performed well in the early going, I present the Freshman of the Year award for women’s cross country to Shanklin. While she began the season late, she quickly improved her performances with the Bobcats. She later took home honors, finishing first for the Bobcats in the Peach Belt Conference Championship and second in the Regional competition (16th and 43rd overall). 

GCSU women’s soccer made my decisions relatively easy this year, with players who performed at an extreme level. Sarah Mason, without a doubt in my mind, won this year’s women’s soccer MVP. 

The senior from Atlanta, Georgia, led the team in goals, assists, shots, shots on goal and points. Her impressive season was not only outstanding on paper; her leadership, tied with Adriana Duque in games started, helped the Bobcats maintain their streak of consecutive playoff host teams. While this article is opinion-focused, I don’t want to say anything against the PBC committee; however, it must have been a difficult decision for them to keep Mason off the first-team All-PBC team. 

“I think it’s a pretty pragmatic decision,” said Hampton Pelton, voice of GCSU women’s soccer. “I think another aspect for Sarah Mason to call out is just how high her work capacity was. Not only the ability, but also that she employed it on a daily basis. When I would commentate, I would watch her do an 80-yard spring, going upfield over and over again, so I’m right there with you on Sarah Mason.”

Kaisa Fagerström made my decision for Freshman of the Year a cake walk, seeing that she actually won PBC Freshman of the Year anyway.

She’s the first-ever Bobcat to win such an award, was third on the Bobcats in goals and points, and helped the Bobcats collect seven shutouts during the season. Also, third place in goals is one thing, but third place in goals as a defender is another. Fagerström is undoubtedly the Freshman of the Year. 

“You know, I don’t know off top how old she is, but she’s a freshman, maybe 19, yet she’s playing like she’s 22 years old, with her field awareness and pass accuracy,” Pelton said. “Freshman of the Year is very much warranted. I’m excited to see her continue her path forward.”

Goalkeeping must always be respected when discussing soccer, which makes this year’s most difficult award in GCSU athletics. Kassidy Fortin allowed only 0.78 goals per game, leading the team with three shutouts. Yet, Ella Hayes’ streak of three consecutive shutouts and PBC Goalkeeper of the Week honors in early October make the decision difficult. 

However, I’m going to give Goalkeeper of the Year to Fortin. While Hayes performed well enough even to bring home PBC Goalkeeper of the Week honors, Fortin’s consistency throughout the season decided for me. Nevertheless, while Fortin earned my honors this season, with both athletes being sophomores and both players’ consistency, head coach Jack Marchant will be able to sleep easily with whoever is in goal.

“I’m split on the decision, and I don’t think there’s a wrong answer here,” Pelton said. “What sticks out for me with Fortin is that there were a lot of high-velocity shots that came her way from precarious positions, and she was able to deflect or retrieve all of them. The one or two goals I remember were typically when the striker was three feet in front of her or when it was a ricochet. I hate to use the word luck, but luck can be associated.”

Finally, women’s volleyball. Head coach Abigail King lost senior right side Camryn Carlton for a large chunk of the season, and I will give her credit for it, as Carlton played in only 85 sets; she still placed third on the team in kills. Nevertheless, King needed someone to step up, and the answer was Kaylee Weeks. 

Weeks, a sophomore from Warsaw, Indiana, came out of nowhere, collecting an impeccable 269 kills and 301.0 points for the Bobcats to lead the team in her first year on the court. On the opposite side, Weeks accumulated 200 digs to match, earning her a deserving MVP award. 

“Kaylee Weeks came into this program and made an immediate impact,” said Michelle Aquino, voice of GCSU women’s volleyball. “She not only dominated in the front row, but also made an impact as a six rotation outside. Anytime she was in the front row, our setters knew that they could give her the ball on the outside and she would take care of it.”

Speaking of the defensive side of volleyball, I don’t think there is anyone more deserving of Defensive Player of the Year than Alanis Bernis. Not only did she collect 574 digs, set the most digs in a four-set match in program history with 38, but she also took home the record for most digs in a career for Georgia College & State University. Anyone arguing Defensive Player of the Year for Alanis Bernis is arguing with a brick wall. 

“It’s a no-brainer for Alanis to be defensive player of the year,” Aquino said. “She is a dominant force in the back row for the Bobcats, always the first one to throw her body on the ground to make the dig and make the defensive play. She also carries the energy and is a leader and a captain in the back row.”

Finally, if Fagerström’s earlier Freshman of the Year honors weren’t easy enough, then I present Avery Huyck. Huyck’s 231 kills sit just below Weeks’ 269, as do her points; however, she also filled the stat sheets, sitting fifth for the Bobcats in digs and collecting 27 blocks on the season. Huyck’s hard-hitting helped expand the Bobcat offense and shows a promising future for the women’s volleyball team.

“Avery Huyck has been one of my favorite players to watch this year,” Aquino said. “As a freshman, she came into this program and made a huge difference on the outside. I love the way she always played with so much confidence and was really aggressive with her swings. She always played to win, bringing a really refreshing, positive energy to the court as a true freshman.”

Once again, these are my personal opinions for the Bobcat MVP and Freshman of the Year awards, as well as the other couple of awards sprinkled in. The Bobcats’ fall sports had successful seasons overall, yet these decisions were still challenging. With spring sports coming up, I’m excited to see the performance of all the players, and I’m looking forward to making my award decisions as the year continues. As always, go Bobcats.