Dalton State sophomore Cole Thornton from Jasper, Ga., was announced Tuesday as the Southern States Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete for 2016. Thornton, a physics major who has a 3.9 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, previously was one of 12 selections for the SSAC all-academic team for his sport, and he placed 27th in the conference meet. "Cole is an extremely hard worker academically and athletically," Dalton State coach Margie Bruner said in a school release. "He is a great example to all our runners."
* Four other Dalton State fall-sports athletes were honored as 2016 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes. That requires being at least a junior and having a minimum GPA of 3.5. Volleyball players Grace Hardin and Anna Metzler and women's runner Nayeli Jacobo already had been reported here as NAIA honorees, and they are joined by DSC men's soccer captain Jordan Man from Liverpool, England. All four are juniors. Man's GPA is above 3.6. Metzler, from Rio de Janeiro, was a team captain also, and she had a team-high 323 kills plus 309 digs to go with her 3.9-plus GPA. Memphis resident Hardin, whose GPA is above 3.7, led the volleyball Roadrunners with 112 blocks and was second in kills with 216. Jacobo, whose GPA is above 3.5, missed the 2015 season with a torn knee ligament and progressively improved in 2016, capped by a ninth-place finish in the SSAC meet.
Basketball
* The Lee University basketball teams swept the Gulf South Conference honors for freshman of the week with two players from area high schools: Ryan Montgomery from Central as the men's selection and Taylor Boggess from Meigs County as the women's honoree. Boggess shared scoring honors for the Lady Flames with 16 points in their 73-47 win over Auburn-Montgomery, when she made three 3-point baskets, and Montgomery had 14 points with 3-of-3 success on 3s and seven rebounds in an overtime defeat of North Georgia. The Lee teams return to GSC action for home doubleheaders Thursday night against Mississippi College and Saturday afternoon against Delta State.