• 2007-2008 Hurricane Club Membership
  
• Soccer Takes Top Honors
  
• 2007 Fowler Scholar-Athlete Awards: January 14th 2008
  
• Coach Russ Frazier is Inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame

Soccer Takes Top Honors
Louisburg College soccer player’s Chrystel Bakong and Sarah Monaghan were presented with the Male and Female Outstanding Student-Athlete Awards for 2008. This award is given each year to student-athletes who have exhibited academic and athletic excellence. Both Chrystel and Sarah have achieved over a 3.5 GPA and were selected as members of the NJCAA Region X All Region team. Director of Soccer Coaching Dave Sexton was pleased for the two players saying, “Chrystel has been fantastic this year for us and will be off to NC State to play next year. He was a pleasure to coach and will be very hard to replace. Sarah is going to Guilford to play next year. She was one of the most consistent players we have had. Sarah will also be sorely missed .”

Louisburg College Recognizes Top Scholar-Athletes
The Lee Fowler Scholar-Athlete Awards Program was established at Louisburg College in 2005 both in honor of Lee Fowler (Athletic Director at North Carolina State University) and to encourage student-athletes at Louisburg to be scholar-athletes. For the spring and fall semesters of 2007, ten Fowler Scholar-Athletes earned 4.0 averages; twenty-nine Fowler Scholar-Athletes were on the dean’s list, and fifty-eight Fowler Scholar-Athletes were on the honors’ list. The Fowler Scholar Athlete Awards are awarded to all varsity student-athletes that earn a semester average of 3.0 or higher. Student-athletes received awards based on the following criteria:

Gold………...four-point average
Silver………..three-point five or greater average
Bronze……...three-point or greater average

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Coach Russ Frazier is Inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame

By Geoff Neville
Times Sportswriter

LOUISBURG -- Fittingly, Russ Frazier started his acceptance speech with a journey back to the beginning. When Frazier stepped on to the Louisburg College campus in 1959, the school had a downtrodden field with 250-foot, barbed-wire fences down the line. Twelve players showed up for Frazier’s first practice. Thousands would follow through the years. And so would over 1,000 victories.
Literally miles from his humble coaching beginnings, Frazier received one of college’s baseballs most prestigious awards Jan. 7 when he was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association.

"To say I’m honored to be here tonight would be the understatement of the year," Frazier told a large audience at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. "This is never something I could have ever imagined." Certainly not when he took over the then-nondescript program at Louisburg College 44 years ago. But Frazier built LC into a nationally respected winner before retiring in 1999.

Frazier reached the 1,000-victory mark in 1998. His clubs reached the National Junior College Athletic Association College World Series nine times, finishing as high as third on two different occasions. Other 2005 ABCA Hall of Fame Inductees were Enos Semore (University of Oklahoma), Gary Adams (UCLA), Ed Flaherty (Southern Maine), Sonny Pitaro (Rider) and George Valesente (Ithaca). "Not only does this mean so much to Coach Frazier, it’s even more special because of some of the people he was inducted with," said current LC skipper Billy Godwin, who succeeded Frazier. "I’m not sure some people realize what a tremendous honor this is."

Frazier was given 10 minutes to deliver his speech, and he made the most of every second. After describing the LC baseball climate when he arrived, Frazier took time to thank several friends and family members, most notably his wife, Clara, and son, Rusty. "Two great things have happened to me along the way," Frazier said "the first was when I met Clara Wright, who was teaching chemistry at Louisburg College. And the second thing was when Rusty came into our lives. I’ve never been as proud of anyone as my son. He has been with me through thick and thin."

Of course, Frazier couldn’t resist the opportunity to display his trademark sense of humor to an audience of his peers from across the United States. "Clara didn’t know basketball from baseball when I met her," Frazier said "the only problem was that she learned the game so well, that she started second-guessing me."

Frazier also saluted Godwin for the work he has done during his six-year stint at LC. During that time, the Hurricanes have continued the tradition Frazier built, and LC made a return trip to the College World Series in 2002. "Billy is the hardest-working guy I’ve ever seen," Frazier said. "One day, he is going to win the national championship. And not only that, he is one of the best friends I have ever had."

Godwin was visibly moved in the audience while Frazier delivered those words. "That meant so much to me because I have received so much support and encouragement from Russ," Godwin said. "He has always been there for me. And it wasn’t just about taking his place. I value him as a friend, too. It was a great night, and certainly a well-deserved tribute to Coach Frazier. He certainly wasn’t out of place. What he accomplished at Louisburg College was amazing. I go to places all over the country, and people recognize a shirt or hat I’ll wear that has the school’s name on it. They know about the baseball program here. And that's all because of the foundation that Coach Frazier has built."

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For more information, contact:
Coach Holly Mitchell
919.497.3264
hmitchell@louisburg.edu

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