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Edison State Earns Top Honor—OCCAC All-Sports Award
July 28, 2020
Edison State Community College (D-II) has been selected as the
2019–2020 OCCAC All-Sports Award winner. This season marks the first
for which this honor has been given to Edison State. Last season,
Edison State finished as the 2018–2019 runner-up among all nine schools
in division II.
“I am very proud of all the coaches and student-athletes for being
named the OCCAC All-Sports Award winners,” Nate Cole, Edison State
Director of Athletics & Student Life, said. “Our student-athletes
do a great job in the classroom and on/off the court and fields. Our
focus on academics first and sportsmanship is key to our
student-athletes doing a great job in the classroom and the game/match.”
Cole continued with “Our process of academic support for our
student-athletes is another big factor to our success. We do weekly
grade checks, have student-athletes utilize the Tutoring Center if they
need academic assistance, host multiple mandatory weekly study table
sessions and hold weekly one-on-one meetings with every student-athlete
to check in with them and get them help with any problem they might
have at school or home.”
With the arrival of Nate Cole as Edison State’s Athletic Director in
2015, Edison States athletic programs continue to excel. Fielding teams
in women’s volleyball, basketball and softball along with men’s
basketball and baseball, things are definitely moving in the right
direction for the college’s sports initiatives. Additionally, Nate
appreciates the leadership of Edison State president Dr. Doreen Larson.
“She has always been very supportive of athletics at Edison State and
continues to show leadership and tenacity in what the college is doing
and I can’t give her enough credit for that. That makes my job easier
knowing I have her support as we grow and gain recognition in our
athletic programs”.
The award is tallied by issuing points to schools based on their place
of finish in each OCCAC-sponsored sport and dividing that total by the
number of sports at each respective school. Conference divisional
champions earn 10 points, second place earns nine and so on. Ties are
divided (i.e., a two-way tie for second place would result in both
schools receiving 8.5 points; a three-way tie for second would give
each team 8.0 points).
Edison State was impressive across the board, finishing inside the D-II
top-3 for all three sports, including a shared championship for women’s
basketball led by OCCAC Coach of the Year Tim McMahon. Sarah Pothast, a
two-sport star for the Chargers, was selected for the All-OCCAC First
Team in both volleyball and basketball.
With the Chargers continuing to excel both on and off the playing
field, Edison State’s future for student athletes and division titles
looks bright. Cole summed it up correctly, “Edison State Athletics
proves you can win by focusing on academics and sportsmanship, and
doing things the right way.” From the looks of things, it appears that
is working out just fine.
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