SFCC honors student-athletes and Hall of Fame inductees

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) athletic department gathered with student-athletes, staff members, Booster Club members, and fans to celebrate another year of Roadrunner Athletics at the All-Sports Athletic Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremony held inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center on Tuesday, May 9.

Doug Sokolowski served as master of ceremonies for the evening. 

Dr. Michael Murders Vice-President of Academic & Student Success and Education and Student Support Services welcomed the crowd and spoke about the importance of the athletic department to the success of the college.

Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Brad Hagedorn presented Rowdie Awards to Tanner Maggard for Women's Cross Country and Ryan Smith for Men's Cross Country. The Rowdie Award for Women's Track and Field went to Rebecca Hall. The Rowdie Awards for Men's Track and Field went to Ty Lewis and Landon Mason.

Esports Head Coach Jake Coleman presented the Certified Hype Man Award to Gage Behee. Coleman also presented the Breakout Player Award to Isabelle Ballard. The Above the Call of Duty Award went to Josh Wyrick. Coach Coleman also recognized the Spring 2023 NJCAAE Rainbow Six Siege National Championship Team consisting of Gage Behee, Skylar Perry, Josh Wyrick, Caden Thomas, Levi Pitman Trenton Toler, Drake Miller, and Sebastian Rhoades.

Spirit Squad Head Coach Dawn Macklin-Gulick presented the Most Improved Award to Alayna Bryan and the Roadrunner Award to Jordan Ailshire.

Shooting Sports Head Coach Sarah Manuel presented the Most Improved Award to Arthur Sims. The Marathon Leader went to Nash (NJ) McKenzie. The Impact Award went to Braiden McEachern. Coach Manuel recognized NJ McKenzie who earned NCSSAA All-American honors in American Skeet at Nationals. The Roadrunners also took second place as a squad in American Skeet at Nationals.

Head Softball Coach Michele Rupard presented Second-Team All-Region 16 honors to Kelsey Webb, Paige Klinge, and Jaelyn Winfrey. The awards are voted on by the coaches in Region 16. Rupard also presented the Offensive Most Valuable Player to Webb. The Defensive Valuable Player Award went to Winfrey. The Teammate/Hype Man Award went to Tomi Lightle. Coach Rupard also recognized Volunteer Assistant Coach Bria White.

Roadrunners Head Baseball Coach Jud Kindle presented the Newcomer of the Year Award to Sam Russo. The Hitter of the Year Award was presented to Carter Jenkins. The Pitcher of the Year Award went to Chase Carson. The Roadrunner Way Award went to Zach Buschschulte.

Men's Head Basketball Coach Matt Brown presented Devon Ellis and Jules Bikoy Missouri Community College Athletic Conference honors. Ellis, a freshman guard, earned First Team honors. Bikoy, a sophomore guard, was named to the Second Team. Devon Ellis and Jules Bikoy earned National Junior College Athletic Association All-Region 16 honors. Ellis, a freshman guard, earned First Team honors. Bikoy, a sophomore guard, was named to the Second Team. The honors are based on votes by Region 16 coaches and conference coaches. Mr. Roadrunner Awards went to Devon Ellis and Jibril Ndiaye. Academic Awards for having a GPA of 3.0 or higher went to Elijah Bernstein, Josh Barlow, Trey Jones, Dalton Gayman, Devon Ellis, Abou Wague, and Boston Sanders. The Unsung Hero Award went to Davide Berrozzi for his many contributions to the program.

Women's Basketball Head Coach Nicole Collier presented the Roadrunner Award to Kayla Dooley. The Most Improved Award was given to two student-athletes, Jaida Shipp and Samantha Queathem. The Most Resilient Roadrunner Award went to Quincenia Jackson. The Gritty Award was given to Paige Spencer. The Warrior Award was given to Autumn Wallace. The Floor General Award went to Biance Stocks.

New Head Soccer Coach Michael Poropat spoke about his excitement for the upcoming season and getting to know all the returning and incoming players. Poropat expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome he has received from the community and the athletic department.

Former State Fair Community College (SFCC) basketball student-athletes Kevin Punter and Joe Thomasson were inducted into the SFCC Athletics Hall of Fame. Punter and Thomasson were teammates for the Roadrunners during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons. SFCC went 46-17 during both student-athletes' time as Roadrunners. During their sophomore season, Punter and Thomasson were key parts of the last SFCC men's basketball team to advance to the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. Both Punter and Thomasson are currently continuing their professional basketball careers overseas, after successful collegiate careers. Former Roadrunners Head Basketball Coach Kevin Thomas accepted the awards on behalf of his former student-athletes.

"They really helped take the program to another level," said Thomas. "They were able to do some things here that had never been done before, like winning a game at the National Tournament. I'm very appreciative of those guys getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. They have continued to do great things and they are very thankful for this honor."

SFCC Athletic Director Darren Pannier closed the evening by recognizing the Men's and Women's cross country teams for winning the Women's and Men's Region Championships. Pannier also recognized the accomplishments of the shooting sports American Skeet team winning second place at Nationals. He also recognized Coach Manuel for winning Coach of the Year in the Division. Pannier also recognized the Rainbow Six Siege team for their National Championship. He also honored Athletic Trainer Jeremy Erdmann for his dedication to Roadrunner Athletics. Pannier introduced a new award to be presented annually, the Roadrunner Faculty of the Year, that he presented to chemistry instructor Jack Hayes. Hayes will be retiring after the summer session. He has been a fixture at Roadrunner events for many years and a valued instructor at SFCC.

Coach Pannier thanked his staff and the student-athletes for their hard work throughout the academic and athletic year. He also expressed his appreciation for the Booster Club and the continued support of the college and community for Roadrunner athletics.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics