JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - From now until Jan. 2, the Carson-Newman Athletic Communications Department will debut the Frosty Award nominees for the fall semester. Here are the fall nominees for the Eagle Club Male Athlete of the Year. Wednesday, the nominees for Play of the Year will be released.
- Coach of the Year nominees
- Female Performance of the Year nominees
- Comeback of the Year
- Game of the Year
- Male Performance of the Year
- Upset of the Year
- Male Newcomer of the Year
- Female Newcomer of the Year
The second annual Frosty Awards will take place in April and honor athletic excellence in Carson-Newman's athletic department.
What more is there to say about Andy Hibbett? A national finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy and a three-time All-American, Hibbett had one of the most productive seasons for a C-N football player, period. Hibbett was the Daktronics and Beyond Sports Network Super Region II Offensive player of the Year. He became the third Carson-Newman player to make it the final round of the Harlon Hill Trophy voting. Quarterback Leonard Guyton was a finalists in 2002, while Tyrone Westmoreland was the first Harlon Hill finalists for C-N in 1997. Mars Hill running back Jonas Randolph is the only South Atlantic Conference player to win the award – doing so in 2011. Hibbett produced a season for the ages for the Eagles. Hibbett set a school record by rushing for more than 100 yards in eight consecutive games. His 1,394 yards on the season are the eighth highest tally in school history. Hibbett secured his spot in the Eagle record books. With 37 career rushing touchdowns, he moved past Brandon Baker and Antwon Oliver and into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time rushing TD list. He also winds up with 3,208 career rushing yards. That mark is also the eighth best in school history. Hibbett scored multiple touchdowns in seven games, including a pair of four-touchdown days. He is a two-time SAC offensive Player of the Week, three-time Bojangles Male Athlete of the Week and earned Tennessee Sportswriters Association Offensive Player of the Week honors once. Following the season, he earned first team All-SAC honors. Hibbett ranked sixth in the nation in rushing yards per game and 10th in scoring. He had 18 TDs in his senior season – 16 on the ground and two through the air. Hibbett led C-N in rushing in six games and produced four games where he rushed for at least 180 yards. With 30 carries and 221 yards against Tusculum, Hibbett had the 14th-best single game rushing yard tally in school history and its 32nd 200-yard rushing performance. Against Mars Hill, the senior only had 191 yards and three TDs on seven carries. His 27.3 yards per rush is the second highest total among running backs with more than five carries in a game. Hibbett's three touchdowns all came in the second half and helped put the game out of reach. His first score came on a 58-yard dive, his second on a 65-yard scamper and his third on a 55-yard pitch that started to the right and finished with Hibbett meandering his way back left across the field to the pylon for a score. Hibbett is Carson-Newman's 12th All-American running back. He joins Rodney Wampler (71), Van Williams (81), Hugh Rutledge (82), Kenneth Tyson (84 & 87), Robert Hardy (90), Floyd Mathis (91), Robert Thomas (91), Tyrone Westmoreland (97), Randy Bell (02), Buck Wakefield (09) and Brandon Baker (12).
Paul Ungur
In the first half of his season, the Romanian has set or reset 10 school records during his short time at Mossy Creek. He set the school's first two "A" times, guaranteeing the first appearance in school history at the NCAA Championship Meet in Indianapolis. Also, Ungur traveled back to his home country of Romania during the Fall to participate in the Romanian National Championships and he brought hardware back to Jefferson City as he was named the Romanian National Champion in the 50 Back, which was Ungur's third Romanian title.
Nick Kennedy
Kennedy won the North Georgia Fall Invitational with a seven-under 209 in a four-hole playoff. Kennedy's final-round 69 placed him into a sudden-death playoff with Georgia Southwestern State's Chris Low. Four pars on four consecutive holes propelled Kennedy to the tournament win. Kennedy's win was the first individual win for a men's golfer since Gavin Hay won the Tusculum Invitational in March 2013. He followed up that win with a top-five finish at the State Farm Intercollegiate for his second top-five finish of the season.
Marius Staalby
The sophomore Norwegian Staalby finished his season with four goals and six assists totaling a team-high 14 points for the Eagles. Staalby was also named Second-Team All-South Atlantic Conference by the league's coaches after the season. Staalby tallied goals against Tusculum, Lenior-Rhyne, Newberry and Alabama-Huntsville. His six assists came against Catawba, Trevecca Nazarene, Wingate, Lenior-Rhyne, Lincoln Memorial and Newberry. He had two three-points game L-R and Newberry.
Watch list: Bo Ausmus, Carson Brooks, Jared Johnson