April 22, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Athletics Department held its annual Gamecock Gala on Monday evening at Colonial Life Arena. The event honored the University’s student-athletes for their accomplishments during the 2012-13 campaign. Student-athletes, administrators, coaches and special guests attended the elegant event, which featured a red carpet entrance, a first-class dinner and special awards ceremony. ESPN’s Cara Capuano and Anish Shroff served as the emcees for the evening.
Breanna Radford earned the night’s most prestigious honor, the President’s Award, which was presented by University of South Carolina President Dr. Harris Pastides. Radford is a team captain on this season’s track and field team and ranks among the South Carolina top 10 in four throwing events. After finishing in the top four of every shot put event of the indoor season, Radford returned to Columbia with a shot put bronze medal from the 2013 SEC indoor Championships. The Georgia native set new personal records in both the shot put and the weight throw at the championships with the medal marking the fourth time in her career that she scored at an SEC Championship. Her athletic success has come while maintaining a 3.787 grade point average as a chemistry major. She has made the Dean’s List seven semesters and earned SEC Academic Honor Roll honors each year of her career. She is among the most active Gamecocks in community service hours, logging 90.5 hours across 16 different projects. Her contributions include mentoring in Big Brothers Big Sisters, regularly volunteering at a free medical clinic and speaking with Girl Scout groups and patients at the Tucker Nursing Center. She intends to enroll in medical school to pursue a career as a pediatrician.
The 2013 Garnet Award, which symbolizes passion and devotion for Gamecock Athletics, was presented by South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner to Mr. Doyle McBride. McBride is an avid Gamecock fan who has been an important member of the Gamecock Club, a season ticket holder in both football and basketball, and a suite holder at Williams Brice stadium. Additionally, he has actively served as one of the founding members of the Garnet Way Cabinet. In addition to being a valuable supporter of the Gamecock Club, his gifts to the Garnet Way Campaign are nearly unrivaled and thus, he has been recognized as member of the group’s “In The Huddle” group of campaign supporters.
A complete list of award recipients from the 2013 Gamecock Gala is below:
SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Award: Whitney Avers (swimming and diving), LB Dantzler (baseball)
SEC Brad Davis Community Service Award: Breanna Radford (track and field), Patrick Sullivan (baseball)
New Student-Athlete of the Year: Kayla Lampe (cross country), Michael Carrera (men’s basketball)
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Kimberly McCormack (equestrian), Robert Razick (track and field)
Community Outreach Team of the Year: Softball
Athletes of the Year: Ieasia Walker (basketball) / Jeannelle Scheper (track and field), Jadeveon Clowney (football)
The Gamecock Inspiration Award: Marcus Lattimore (football)
The Garnet Award: Mr. Doyle McBride
The President’s Award: Breanna Radford
Team MVP’s
Women’s Basketball: Ieasia Walker
Men’s Basketball: Michael Carrera
Equestrian: Amber Henter
Football: Marcus Lattimore
Women’s Golf: Sarah Schmelzel
Men’s Golf: Dykes Harbin
Women’s Soccer: Taylor Leach
Men’s Soccer: Mike Mangotic
Softball (MVP based on 2012 season): Samie Garcia
Women’s Swimming and Diving: Amanda Rutqvist
Men’s Swimming and Diving: Michael Flach
Women’s Tennis: Katie Popova
Men’s Tennis: Thiago Pinheiro
Women’s Indoor/Outdoor Track and Field: Jeannelle Scheper
Men’s Indoor/Outdoor Track and Field: Jarrod Hutchen
Cross Country: Kayla Lampe
Volleyball: Juliette Thévenin
