By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin athletic department and presenting partner Leaders Credit Union announced cross country/track standout Ryan Ford as its Bob Carroll Male Athlete of the Year and women’s basketball star Chelsey Perry as its Bettye Giles Female Athlete of the Year for the 2020-21 campaign.
Ford won the Bob Carroll Male Athlete of the Year Award over finalists Winston Cannon (baseball), Colton Dowell (football) and Nick Wolf (golf). Perry topped the list of finalist candidates for the Bettye Giles Female Athlete of the Year Award, which included Kaitlyn Kelley (softball), Hannah McDonald (equestrian) and Emely van der Vliet (soccer).
“While we weren’t able to have our annual UTMmy’s again this season, we are happy to keep the tradition of naming Athletes of the Year,” UT Martin athletic director Kurt McGuffin said. “I give our kids a ton of credit for competing through a difficult season – we truly had a great group of candidates for our most prestigious individual awards. Ryan and Chelsey both had tremendous individual seasons and wrapped up their Skyhawk careers with Ohio Valley Conference titles. Congratulations to our winners.”
Ford wrapped up a decorated career by becoming the first player in program history to be named OVC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year. He also earned a pair of medals at the OVC Outdoor Championship and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary this season. In cross country, he earned his second All-OVC first team honor after finishing fourth at the league championships with a time of 26:51.3. The Huntsville, Ala. native claimed a pair of OVC Runner of the Week honors after recording event titles at the SEMO Redhawks XC Invite with an 8k time of 24:16.4 while posting a blazing 4.5-mile time of 22:41.8 at the Golden Eagle Invitational.
During the outdoor track slate, Ford posted a banner weekend with two podium finishes – including his first OVC title – at the OVC Outdoor Championship. He won the 5k title with a time of 14:25.99 while finishing runner-up in the 10k at 29:55.7 for his third career OVC Championship medal. He leaves UT Martin firmly planted in the program’s record book with four of the top 10 cross country times while holding school records in the indoor 3k (8:16.13), indoor 5k (14:37.13), outdoor 5k (14:07.44) and outdoor 10k (29:19.55).
“I am honored to accept the Bob Carroll Male Athlete of the Year Award,” Ford said. “When I was a recruit, I believed I found a program that cared about my personal development and had what I needed to become a successful student-athlete. I am thankful for all the UTM athletic staff who have helped me along the way, for my teammates and coaches at UTM for believing in me, and my high school coach Coach Marty for setting me on the right path towards success. I am also especially thankful for my parents who have been so supportive over the years and for all of the Gatorades that they have bought the team. Thank you and go Skyhawks!”
Perry claimed her second straight Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year honor and third All-OVC selection after averaging 22.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game this season. A senior forward out of Middleton, Tenn., she became the program’s first WNBA Draft selection and the OVC’s first since 2003 after being taken with the 26th overall pick by the Indiana Fever. She was named a Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year semifinalist and also earned a spot on the Katrina McClain Award Top-10 Watch List for the nation’s best power forward. She led the OVC in scoring (22.9 points per game), field goal percentage (50.2) and field goals made (164) while ranking amongst league leaders in free throw percentage (83.3, third), blocks per game (1.7, third), defensive rebounds per game (5.7, fourth) rebounds per game (7.2, sixth) and three-point field goals per game (1.8, eighth).
Perry was named OVC Player of the Week five times while helping guide the Skyhawks to a 22-6 overall record and the second of back-to-back OVC regular season championships. She leaves UT Martin as the program’s all-time leader with 228 career blocks while ranking third in points (1,963), fourth in field goals made (733), fourth in rebounds (768), fifth in free throws made (368) and eighth in three-pointers made (129).
“First I would like to thank God for allowing me to have the athletic ability that I have and secondly the whole UT Martin community, family, teammates and coaches because I could not have gotten here without you,” Perry said. “To my coaches, thank you for pushing me to be the best player I could be and to my teammates for uplifting me and expecting great things. I thank everyone for allowing me to be nominated two-times in a row for Female Athlete of the Year, I could not have got it without you guys. Go Skyhawks!”
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information