Jones Named South Atlantic Conference Man of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Nathan Jones from Mars Hill was named the 2016-17 South Atlantic Conference Man of the Year and Wingate's Kaitlyn Brunworth was named the Woman of the Year.  In addition, Jules Herrity from Carson-Newman was tabbed the SAC International Woman of the Year, the League announced today.

Jones has earned Academic All-American honors twice in his career, has been named to the Dean's list three times as well as earning three appearances on the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.  Jones earned the Mars Hill University Man of the Year honor during his junior and senior seasons.

Jones has been a formidable runner for the Lions since his freshman year and culminated his career with the Individual South Atlantic Cross Country Championship this past season.  A three time All-Region selection, Jones is a four-time All-Conference honoree and took home Freshman of the Year honors during his rookie season.  He currently owns both the 10K and 8K records at Mars Hill as he posted his fastest 8K time of his career this past season with a clocking of 24:07

On top of his efforts and contributions on the running course, Jones has also given his time for numerous causes on the Mars Hill campus. During his freshman year, Jones was a volunteer for the Bailey Mountain Conservation Society and was a member of the Campus Beautification Project, both of which strive to achieve goals of sustainability. A member of the Campus Activities Board, Jones donated five hours per week on the year in addition to his work as a math tutor in both the math labs and math center, where six hours a week were given to both. For the last two years he has been a member for the Ethics Bowl Debate Team and has participated in the ongoing effort with the Animal Rescue Operation.  The honor is his second-consecutive Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor.

Brunworth has been a member of the Wingate President's List every year she has been at Wingate and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors as a sophomore, junior and senior.  A four year member of the Wingate University Honors Program, Brunworth has been named to the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of the past three seasons.  The honor marks the second time in her career that she has been named the SAC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year as she took home the award as a sophomore.  She was also named the League's inaugural South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Elite 18 honoree this past season.

Brunworth has been named to the League's All-Conference team every season she has played for the Navy and Vegas Gold, earning first team honors for three-straight years.  The 2016 season saw Brunworth post three goals, all of which were game-winners.  She also anchored a Wingate defense that posted 12 shutouts and allowed only 0.60 goals per game.  One of her game-winners came in the semifinals of the 2016 Women's Soccer Championship to push the Bulldogs to their seventh-straight South Atlantic Conference Championship match.  She closed out her career for Wingate with a total of 14 goals, nine assists and one All-America honor.

A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree, Brunworth is a spanish minor and is very active in the community and has spent time at local medical clinics translating and scheduling appointments for spanish speaking patients.  She also participated in the United Way "Day of Caring" and spent a week in Honduras helping build a school for kids in an impoverished neighborhood.  On campus, Brunworth is a biology lab assistant and is the Wingate MEDLIFE chapter president in which she helps families overcome poverty by them gain access to medicine, education and community involvement.

Herrity scored the ninth-most goals in a season in Carson-Newman history with 16. She led the SAC with 93 shots and ranked second in goals and points with 36. 

She followed up her junior campaign by helping C-N to back-to-back SAC tournament and regular season trophies and another spot in the Southeast Region tournament.  She was a member of starting 11 for all 22 games en route to first team All-SAC honors.  She finished the season with 18 goals and seven assists. Her goal total tied her for tenth in the country and was the second-most in the SAC.

Herrity totaled the SAC's sixth-most assists and ended the season with 43 points, 12th in the country and second in the SAC.  The Donegal, Ireland-native scored a hat trick against Francis Marion on Sept. 10th, she also turned in five two-goal performances, turning the trick against Lees-McRae, Newberry, Mars Hill, Queens (N.C.) and Coker.

Herrity finished her career with 34 goals, a total that places her fifth in program history. She also racked up 79 career points, which ties her with Liz Jallo for the fourth most in Carson-Newman history.

At the end of her senior season, Herrity earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors to cap a successful classroom career.  The business administration graduated made the Dean's List all four semesters she was at Carson-Newman.  She was also a two-time Eagle Scholar and a two-year member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll. 

Herrity also made an effort to help others.  The striker helped out with Operation INASMUCH, Carson-Newman's annual day of service.  She also has dedicated her free time to volunteering as a coach for area soccer camps and clinics.

Brunworth and Herrity will move forward as the League's nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year.