Sherrer, Mitchell honored

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on June 18, 2008 1:50 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Highly-decorated Mount Olive College graduates Jason Sherrer and Sam Mitchell have been recognized as the 2007-08 Conference Carolinas male and female athlete-of-the-year, respectively.

The awards are voted upon by league athletics directors and are the first-ever for Mount Olive, which becomes the first conference school to sweep athlete-of-the-year honors and have the Murphy Osborne Award winner in the same year.

"This is a great ... and well deserved ... honor for Jason and Sam," said Jeff Eisen, athletics director at Mount Olive. " They have been outstanding students with stellar athletic careers, and both represent what is truly great about college athletics.

"Having the school's first two recipients of the (Conference Carolinas) male and female athlete-of-the-year awards is a fitting end to a fantastic year for our athletics program."

A catcher from Mesa, Ariz., Sherrer helped lead the Trojans to the 2008 NCAA Division II College World Series title. A second-team All-American and the Conference Carolinas player of the year, Sherrer batted .402 with 11 home runs and a school-record 83 RBI.

Sherrer compiled a 3.82 grade-point average (GPA) while majoring in sports management, and earned first-team Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine. He became the fourth academic AA in school history and is currently playing professional baseball with the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Northern League.

Mitchell, who hails from Boyd, Wisc., became the first student-athlete in conference history to win the league female athlete of the year and Murphy Osborne Award. An outside hitter, Mitchell earned AVCA All-America honorable mention recognition and was named the Conference Carolinas volleyball player of the year.

Mitchell ranked 15th nationally in kills per game during her senior season. She exits as the Trojans all-time career leader in digs (1,503) and second in career kills (1,909) behind two-time All-American Heidi Busch.

A pyschology major with a 3.82 GPA, Mitchell also participated on the school's first-ever track and field team. At the season-ending Tri-Conference Championships, she placed third among Conference Carolina competitors in the 400-meter run and javelin throw.

Mitchell was one of 29 fall sports female student-athletes nationwide to receive an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. A two-time Co-SIDA/ESPN The Magazine All-District selection in volleyball, she was named to the Academic All-District first team for track and field.

At graduation, Mitchell won the Thomas R. Morris Award for academic excellence.