PJC athletes honored at annual awards ceremony
Published or Revised May 02, 2008
Paris Junior College honored athletes this week with awards and recognition for players from the softball, baseball, golf, volleyball and men's and women's basketball teams. Emceed by PJC Athletic Director Dr. Jim Moffitt, the awards honored PJC athletes in several different areas. PJC Volleyball Coach Justin Maness led off with a special Pioneer Award to his Lady Dragon sophomores who were the first players to begin the program and are now leaving. Team Most Valuable Player was sophomore Gabby Ortiz of Harlingen, Texas. Next came Lady Dragons Basketball Coach Kris Wood. He related that the team was working towards the All Academic Achievement Award for high GPAs and they were nearing that goal. Winner of the Don Wilhelm Cup for MVP is Inisha Daughtry from Dallas, Texas. PJC Baseball Head Coach Deron Clark was pleased to announce that more than a quarter of this year's Dragons Baseball Team were members of Phi Theta Kappa, the junior college honor society. Outgoing sophomores were presented with a print of Hub Hollis Field, and the Barney Bray Cup, presented to the PJC Dragons baseball team's most valuable player, went this year to Timothy Rainey. Rainey, of Denton, Texas, is the third generation of his family in PJC athletics. Fresh from a win as the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XIV Golf Coach of the Year, David Johnson credited his win to his players. Johnson also announced that his team was going to the National Tournament in May in Huntsville, Ala., after their win last week at the NJCAA Region XIV Tournament in Paris. Freshman Jason Timmis of Stoke-On-Trent, England, was a Regional Medalist and won the Mickey Flippen Cup as the PJC Dragons golf team's most valuable player. It is named in honor of longtime PJC golf coach Mickey Flippen. Softball Head Coach Brian Smith said the Lady Dragons softball team will be playing in the regional tournament and are seeded fifth. Sophomore Emilie Hobbs of Nacogdoches, Texas, was named as winner of the Vernon Carter Cup, the women's softball team's most valuable player. After finishing eighth in the nation, Dragons Head Basketball Coach Ross Hodge praised his players and announced yet more honors for individual players. The NJCAA Camp for the top 120 junior college players has invited freshmen Charles Funches of Bayonne, N.J., and Raymond Sims of Philadelphia, Penn., to participate. The Bobby R. Walters Leadership Award went to Marcus Carson of Oakland, Calif., who has signed with Weber State in Ogden, Utah. The Defensive Player of the Year is sophomore Ronnie Morgan of Dallas. Sophomore Eric Tramiel of Shreveport, La., won the Team's MVP Award. Lady Dragon's volleyball player Tara Gibby of Sulphur Springs, Texas, has been named winner of the Bobby R. Walters Cup for the Outstanding Sophomore Student Athlete based on academic performance. Gibby has signed to play with Southwest Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Okla. PJC's top athletic award went to Tramiel, capping a year of many honors received from the NJCAA. The J.R. McLemore Cup for the most valuable player covers all of the sports offered at PCJ. Tramiel has signed with the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. "This has been a standout year for PJC," says Moffitt. "This is the best year for coaching talent I can remember, and we have been blessed with quality student athletes that represent Paris Junior College, the City of Paris and the State of Texas outstandingly well."