SFCC Athletics honors student-athletes, Hall of Fame inductees

 State Fair Community College held its All-Sports Athletic Awards and Hall of Fame Induction May 12 on the Sedalia campus. The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Doug Sokolowski. The head coaches of each program gave a brief recap of their season, recognized All-Conference and All-Region honorees and presented other individual and team awards.  

Head men's and women's soccer coach Jaime Beltran began the evening with a recap of the fall soccer season. Men's All-Region First-Team awards went to Malachi Cotter and Tebello Ntene, and Zakariya Abdi was named to the Second Team. Abdi was also named First-Team All-Conference, and Cotter was named to the Second-Team.  

Women's soccer All-Region honors went to Sabra Moon and Ally Woolery who were both named First-Team All-Region. Natalie Clarke earned Second-Team honors. Moon and Clarke were named First-Team All-Conference. Woolery and Megan Toops were named to the Second-Team All-Conference. 

Cross country and track and field head coach Brad Hagedorn presented Rowdie Awards to recognize men and women student-athletes for academics, character, teamwork, and performance. The cross-country award went to Korry Davis and Logan Shaw. The track and field award went to Ella Golden and Wyatt Irwin. 

Esports head coach Jake Coleman talked about the successes of the program's first season. He presented these awards: Carter Woods, Dillon Meade, Lucas Cramer, and Gavin Foster on the Rocket League team for best overall record of 20-3. Levi Pitman received Breakout Player Award. Gage Behee received "Consider it Done" Award. Josh Wyrick received "Above the Call of Duty" Award. Webster Brown IV, Beaty Cannon and Kaleb Brand received Most Improved Player Awards. 

Head women's basketball coach Nicole Collier recapped the highlights of her team's season on and off the court. Forward Quincenia Jackson was named First-Team All-Region 16 and First-Team All-Conference. Forward Autumn Wallace was named Second-Team All-Region 16 and Second-Team All-Conference. 

Head basketball coach Matt Brown gave a season recap and recognized individual accomplishments. Cam Tweedy earned First-Team All-Region and First-Team All-Conference honors. Yame Butler earned Second-Team All-Region and Second-Team All-Conference honors. Tweedy, Chad Kratzer Jr., Jamar Madge Jr., and Kingsley Ijeoma were honored for earning a 3.0 grade point average or higher during the fall semester. Uros Gatic received the Roadrunner Award. 

Spirit Squad coach Dawn Macklin-Gulick presented the Roadrunner Award for spirit, dedication and commitment to academics and the squad to Summer McBryar. Ashtyn Rains received Most Improved Award, and Kinzie Sangricco received the Kayla Snapp Award. 

Shooting sports coach Sarah Manuel recognized Gage Fergerson's ninth place finish at Nationals in San Antonio. Fergerson was also Top Male Shooter. Chase Laroque received Most Improved Male Shooter. Lawren Luscomb received Top Female shooter, and Averi Echoff received Most Improved Female Shooter. The Top Team included Fergerson, Braiden McEachren, Justin Duenke, Luscomb, and Emmi Johnson. 

Softball head coach Lyndsey Talbot recognized Rylee Hagens and pitcher Kennidi Harris as Second-Team All-Region. Haley Mackey and Alexis Gilliland earned All-Conference honors. Kelsey Webb and Hagens earned Honorable Mention honors. Talbot also presented the T.E.A.M. Award to Gilliland. 

Baseball head coach Jud Kindle presented Newcomer of the Year Award to Conlon Downey. Zach Dillman earned Position Player of the Year. Antonio Escano earned Pitcher of the Year. Brandon Stahlman earned Roadrunner Way Award. 

Athletic director Darren Pannier presented awards to SFCC president Dr. Joanna Anderson and former member of the SFCC Board of Trustees Jerry Greer for their distinguished service to the college and the athletic program. 

Former Roadrunners basketball student-athlete Kenny Chery and longtime "Voice of the Roadrunners" Denny Perkins were formally inducted in the SFCC Athletic Hall of Fame. 

Chery was presented by former SFCC head coach Kevin Thomas who talked about the positive impact Chery made on and off the floor.  

"Kenny's induction into the Hall of Fame is a culmination of all his hard work," said Thomas. "He is certainly deserving of this honor. He worked very hard to turn himself into a really good player. During his time here, he left his mark on the men's basketball program as well as State Fair Community College." 

In two years, Chery earned Honorable Mention All-American as a sophomore in 2013 and First-Team All-Region 16 honors. 

Chery helped his team to a 20-10 record as a sophomore and led the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game. Chery led SFCC in scoring with 27 points and recorded a team-high eight rebounds against fifth-ranked Iowa Western Community College. 

In his sophomore year, Chery amassed an assist to turnover ratio of over 2 to 1 with 105 assists and 51 turnovers. Chery still ranks ninth in single-season scoring at SFCC with 16.407 points per game in 2012-2013, and he ranks 10th in single-season assists per game with 3.964 as a freshman during the 2011-2012 season. 

Chery was recruited by Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where as a junior, he helped Baylor to a 26-12 record and a trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Chery was also named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. 

Perkins was presented by his longtime friends and fellow radio broadcasters Doug Sokolowski and Al McCurdy. 

Perkins served as the play-by-play voice of SFCC Athletics for more than 25 years. He died at the age of 55 on Jan. 24, 2018. 

During his distinguished career, Perkins broadcast more than 1,080 games. He had a passion for basketball and loved SFCC Athletics. Perkins' calls brought life to the games and helped fans envision the games through his broadcasts. His signature call, "Splash!" every time SFCC knocked down a big three-point shot, will be imprinted on the hearts and minds of Roadrunner fans who had the pleasure of listening to him. 

"He would have been absolutely over the moon about this," said Perkins' wife Jeri. "It is a huge honor for our family. It was bittersweet to hear his calls as part of the induction ceremony." 

Perkins was an active member of the SFCC Roadrunner Booster Club for many years. He also hosted the Coaches' Show on KSIS, where he interviewed the basketball head coaches, giving fans an inside look at the men's and women's basketball programs at SFCC. 

"Denny Perkins is synonymous with State Fair Community College basketball," said Sokolowski. "This was quite the recognition for Denny to receive and for his whole family to be here. He loved State Fair Community College basketball. It is fitting for Denny to now be part of the Hall of Fame with all those players whose games he broadcasted." 

The evening concluded with remarks by Dr. Brent Bates, vice-president for Educational and Student Support Services and Pannier. 

David Rohrbach  

SFCC Athletics