ANDERSON, SC--When a furious sprint to the end of the 2009 spring season ended and all the dust had settled, 6 out of the 8 Anderson University sports programs that had competed placed players on all-conference and all-tournament teams, but it took a collective effort from all 8 of those Trojan teams to compete to the end and to keep Anderson University in the conversation for its 3rd straight Joby Hawn Cup, the Conference Carolinas overall sports trophy, with the conference tallying points using a rigorous formula, likely to announce a winner next week. TRACK & FIELD Among Trojan athletes honored at the end of this spring season, none had a more promising run than freshman Lauren Sloan. Sloan led the women's track & field team to a second place finish in Banner Elk, NC for the conference's inaugural track & field championships. She was the Conference Carolinas champion in three events--shot put, discus, and hammer throw. Sloan was then named Conference Carolinas track & field freshman of the year, as well as Conference Carolinas field athlete of the year. The Trojan women's tournament effort was full of championship performances. Whitney Bishoff capped off her freshman year with her second conference title grabbing 1st team all-conference honors with a number one finish in the 5000 meter to go on the wall with her cross country conference title. Katelyn Rodgers legitimized her end-of-season player of the week honors with 1st place, 1st team all-conference performances in high jump and javelin. Ashley Blome, Lynne Flint, Candace Homer, and Chelsea Rogers teamed together to grab 1st place in the 4x400 meter relay to round out the list of Trojans to garner all-conference first team honors while winning conference championship honors. Chelsea Rogers also finished on the 1st team as the champion in the 800 meter. Four AU women made the track & field 2nd team--Candace Homer in the 800 meter, Ashley Blome in the 400 meter hurdles, Durecelle Campbell in the hammer throw, and Lynne Flint in the 1500 meter. The Trojan men's track & field team finished 6th overall in Banner Elk. Chris Lee and Alex Jordan were both champions for the men. Jordan led the field in the men's 1500 meter, and Lee was best in men's javelin. Nate Parsons and Chase Robinson both had 2nd team all-conference performances. BASEBALL After winning 5 of their last 6 regular season games entering the Conference Carolinas Tournament, the AU baseball team put on a show when they arrived in Wilson, NC. Senior Blair Carson led the Trojans in the regular season as he was named to the 1st team all-conference list. Then, Carson had a great performance in the conference tournament, leading the Trojans to an eventual 3rd place finish. In the first round Carson posted a complete game win on the mound against Mount Olive and in the second round, playing first base, the senior hit a walk-off, game-winning blast to beat tournament host Barton. That was all enough to win Carson a place on the Conference Carolinas all-tournament team. Trent Still and Ryan Saxon, who filled out the meat of the Trojans' batting order throughout the 2009 season, were awarded regular season 2nd team all-conference honors. SOFTBALL Senior catcher Kayla Williams received all-conference honors for the 3rd time in her 4 year AU career, this time on the 2nd team. The Lady Trojans lost to Lees-McRae in the first-round of the Conference Carolinas softball tournament. But the team bounced back on Saturday to knock out down-the-road-foe Erskine, only to fall to a pesky St. Andrews team later the same day. GOLF Senior Adam Sheriff was named to the men's all-conference 1st team, and for the AU women, Sophie Dembroski made the all-conference third team. Adam Sheriff finished just short of player of the year honors in a tight vote; that award went to Chris Marsh, a junior at Coker. Sheriff finished a shot back of Marsh in the conference championship in a tie for fourth. Both Dembroski and Sheriff played their way onto the all-tournament team. TENNIS Philip Pakebusch and Stephane Murray led the Trojans, as both were named to the all-conference 1st team, and then each backed up their cause with a tournament championship in Sumter, SC. Murray, Pakebusch, and teammate Renato Assuncao were named to the all-tournament team, with Pakebusch taking home tournament MVP honors. All of these awards, as well as two awards per team from Trojan head coaches, were highlighted for friends, families, and teammates on Wednesday night at Trojan Athletic Honors Night in Henderson Auditorium. Most notable were the Ed Oxford Memorial Trojan Athlete of the Year honors. Blair Carson took the prize among the men; for the women, senior volleyball player Amanda Edwards was the winner. The Trojans all contributed to a spring season that was full of change and rain. When the season lacked any rhythm, it was given life by multiple student-athletes, who constantly showcased an ability to gut it out. For Anderson University to even be in the hunt for the Joby Hawn Cup, after winning the institution's first just two years ago, reflects effort and competitive drive; to win the cup… that would only enunciate an already successful year.