LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Gabe McCarthy of Austin College and Kayla Thornhill of Centenary College have been selected as the SCAC Male and Female Character & Community Student-Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week ending Sunday, December 1.
The SCAC Character & Community award was created in 2009 to
honor and recognize the efforts of the
extraordinary student-athletes of the conference who not
only excel athletically on the field, course, court, pool or
track, but also by serving their campus and community.
To view past winners of the award, click here.
GABE MCCARTHY OF AUSTIN COLLEGE, a
junior wide receiver on the football team, has been selected the
SCAC Character & Community Male Student-Athlete-of-the-Week for
the week ending Sunday, December 1.
A native of Austin, Texas, McCarthy has been an active member of
the Austin College and Sherman community throughout his time as a
member of the Kangaroo football team, taking leadership roles both
on and off the field. In addition to being a starting wide
receiver, McCarthy has also excelled in the classroom where he is a
two-time member of the SCAC Academic Honor Roll. More than that, he
has been extremely active in giving back to the local community
since arriving in Sherman.
Over the past year, McCarthy has put in more than 50 hours of
community service, including helping with Meals on Wheels in his
home town of Austin, as well as volunteering at youth sports camps
hosted by his local church in that area. In addition, McCarthy has
served as a mentor for Sherman Young Life, a youth bible study for
high school kids, and is active in reading to the children at Sory
Elementary School in Sherman. On top of that, he also works in the
Sherman After School Program, helping to take care of the kids who
participate in that program’s day care at the conclusion of
the school day.
KAYLA THORNHILL OF CENTENARY
COLLEGE, a junior on the women's
cross country team from Flower Mound, Texas, has been selected the
SCAC Character & Community Female Student-Athlete-of-the-Week
for the week ending December 1, 2013.
Thornhill placed finished fourth (30:03.0) among Centenary College
runners (61st overall) at the 2013 SCAC Women's Cross Country
Championship.
A Biology major with a minor in Spanish, Thornhill, a two-sport
athlete, is also the captain of the Ladies' swim team. At last
year's SCAC Swimming & Diving Championships, she placed eighth
in the 200 free, 10th in the 100 free, 14th in the 50 free and was
a member of both the 400 free and 800 free second-place relay
teams.
On campus, Thornhill serves as a resident assistant, and is a
member of Alpha Epsilon Delta (a pre-med honor society), and works
as an intern in the student advancement center.
