LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- CHELSEA COLE OF TRINITY UNIVERSITY, a senior midfielder on the Tiger women’s soccer team from Texarkana, Texas, has been selected as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Character and Community Female Student-Athlete of the Week for the week beginning February 25.
The conference award honors the efforts of student-athletes who excel in the field of athletics, and also serve their campus and community. Cole fits the bill in all categories and then some.
The Tiger All-American has devoted many hours of her precious spare time to lending a helping hand to those in need. Cole has volunteered at San Antonio’s Snack Pak 4 Kids, packing and delivering food to children who have been identified as underserved. In her home town of Texarkana, Cole leads a third-grade Sunday school class at Heritage Church. She has interacted and assisted physically and mentally challenged persons at Texarkana’s Runnin’ WJ Ranch, a therapeutic horse ranch.
The talented Cole put her athletic skills to use by coaching at youth soccer camps in Texarkana and at Trinity. She was responsible for planning activities and interacting with the children and their parents.
Cole is a student representative for the Trinity University Collaborative for Learning and Teaching. The collaboration with faculty members carried out sleep intervention in the 2018 fall semester. Their mission was to educate the student body about the effects of poor sleep and to lead discussions on strategies for improving sleep hygiene. Cole also served as a peer tutor for Trinity students needing help in statistics and methods studies.
In the classroom, Cole is a neuroscience major and expects to graduate from Trinity in May. Cole plans to serve in the Peace Corps in Peru after graduation and has been inspired to pursue a career in public health.
She has gained work experience as an intern at the Division of Reproductive Health, Maternal and Infant Health Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. Cole developed a number of databases, including one which addressed pregnancy of women and conditions related to cardiovascular disease.
Cole has also been a research assistant at Trinity and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Her activities have included the study of maternal obesity and diabetes, a biomechanical engineering project, and examination of human stem cells. Cole presented research findings at the Pediatric Academic Society meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in May 2018. Trinity awarded Cole a Mach Research Fellowship to further her research experience in the 2018-19 academic year.
As a team captain, Cole and her Tiger teammates finished the 2018 campaign with a 17-2-1 overall record and a #18 ranking by United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer.com. Trinity posted a 13-0-0 mark in conference play for its 10th consecutive SCAC undefeated season.
After capturing the SCAC Championship Trophy, the Tigers qualified for their 10th consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament and the 24th overall. The Tigers were sent to Abilene, Texas, where they advanced to the second round.
Individually, Cole was elected to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer All-America First Team and to the D3soccer.com All-America Third Team. She also made the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America First Team and was tabbed for the Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 Women’s Soccer Team for the second straight occasion.
Cole was chosen as the SCAC Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in a row. She fired in three goals in the Tigers’ two SCAC Championship games and was selected as the Tournament Offensive Most Valuable Player.
During the year, Cole paced the team with 23 goals and is tied for second place in Trinity’s single-season record books. Coupled with nine assists, Cole amassed 55 points in the 2018 schedule, good for a tie for fifth on Trinity’s single-season list.
Cole produced 55 goals over four years and is in third place in the career category in Trinity women’s soccer history. Her 140 career points are ranked fourth and the 30 career assists stand at #8.