DALLAS – Conference USA announced the 13 student-athletes receiving the C-USA Fall Spirit of Service Award today. The honor recognizes the league’s student-athlete’s significant community service endeavors, good academic standing and participation in their elected sport. The Spirit of Service award is presented three times throughout the season, with today’s honorees representing fall sports: football, volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s cross country.

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2018 Fall Spirit of Service Award Recipients
Mary Manser, Charlotte Women’s Soccer
John Marting, Florida Atlantic Men’s Cross Country
James Morgan, FIU Football
Conner Killian, Louisiana Tech Men's Cross Country
Chase Hancock, Marshall Football
Brent Stockstill, Middle Tennessee Football
Dominique James, North Texas Women’s Soccer
Deirdre Bradley, Old Dominion Women’s Soccer
Lee Ann Cunningham, Rice Volleyball
Ola Akinniyi, Southern Miss Women’s Soccer
Victoria Young, UAB Volleyball
Briana Arellano, UTEP Volleyball
Jalen Rhodes, UTSA Football
Julien Lewis, WKU Football
 
Charlotte’s Mary Manser was nearly perfect in the classroom with a 3.948 grade-point average (GPA) in systems engineering. The women’s soccer junior is heavily involved in her community volunteering for the Be The Match 5K, participating in a thanksgiving food drive and the SAAC Cares Holiday Drive, delivering meals with Friendship Trays and working with the Spectrum Housing Assistance Initiative.
 
Named C-USA Football Newcomer of the Year, FIU’s James Morgan made an impact both on and off the field in his first year with the Panthers. The redshirt junior taught the students at Somerset City Arts Conservatory about football and welcomed back students on their first day of class at Carlos J. Finlay Elementary School. He is currently enrolled in the MPA program at FIU with a 3.33 GPA.
 
In his final season with Florida Atlantic cross country, John Marting raced to three top-50 finishes, including 18^th at the Great American XC Festival. In addition, he spent time volunteering at local elementary schools and with freshman move-in and Mental Health Awareness Day on campus. He will graduate in the spring of 2019 with a management degree and currently holds a 3.253 GPA.

During his time at Louisiana Tech, cross country student-athlete Conner Killian has helped with disaster relief fundraisers, Dogs with a Cause Education Program, the Color Run at Tech Farm, the DART Pumpkin Patch and the Special Olympics. The junior boasts a 3.907 GPA in forestry while recording six top-10 finishes in his career. He qualified and ran in the NCAA South Central Regionals twice in his two years with the Bulldogs.
 
Marshall’s Chase Hancock is carrying on a legacy started by his older brother as a member of the Do-Gooders, a non-profit organization that feeds the homeless downtown and puts on events to raise money for Goodwill. The senior exercise science major is a three-time C-USA Academic Honor Roll honoree and was a 2018 C-USA Football Honorable Mention selection.
 
C-USA Football Most Valuable Player Brent Stockstill rewrote the history books during his time with the Blue Raiders while contributing to the Murfreesboro, Tennessee community. Stockstill conducted many youth football clinics, worked with the Special Olympics and Special Kids of Murfreesboro and volunteered with the SAAC Coat and Food Drives, as well as Read to Succeed. He boasts a 3.699 GPA in leisure sport and tourism.
 
North Texas’ Dominique James led the Mean Green to a berth in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship this season and was named the inaugural C-USA Player of the Year. She excels off the field as well, making North Texas’ Dean’s List three times and the President’s List once. She has maintained a 3.818 GPA in logistics and supply chain management while giving back to the Denton, Texas community.
 
As a double major in management and sport management, Old Dominion’s Deirdre Bradley posted a 3.69 GPA and is a seven-time Dean’s List honoree. The two-time women’s soccer team captain coaches three and four year-olds and volunteers with the Monarch’s Sister Program. She also collected plastic bags and made Christmas gift boxes for children through SAAC.
 
When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Rice volleyball student-athlete Lee Ann Cunningham helped her community with clean up. In addition, she volunteers teaching English at West University Baptist Church and through Catholic Charities and works in the kitchen at the Houston Food Bank. She compiled a 3.78 GPA majoring in political science, policy studies and Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies. The junior most recently earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors.
 
On the field, Southern Miss’ Ola Akinniyi paced the Golden Eagles to their first ever C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship Finals appearance. In the Hattiesburg, Mississippi community, the senior led her team’s collection for Toys for Tots and delivered the items, secured donations for the National Breast Cancer Foundation with SAAC, served at the animal shelter, volunteered with Special Olympics and more. She currently has a 3.72 GPA in architectural engineering.
 
Since Fall 2014, UAB’s Victoria Young has accumulated over 150 hours of community service including 35 at Children’s of Alabama Hospital washing wagons that patients ride in place of wheelchairs. She also worked with United Ability for disabled adults, The Miracle League of Gardendale, Ronald McDonald House and more. The senior communications studies major played 404 sets for Blazers’ volleyball and posted a career-high 201 kills this season.
 
This year, UTEP volleyball’s Briana Arellano accumulated 20 hours of community service with the Game Changers Youth Volleyball Camp, where she taught skills to youth around the El Paso area. She also participated in the UTEP Alumni Picnic. The two-time C-USA Honor Roll recipient holds a 3.80 GPA as a biology major. On the court, she was named a captain and passed the century mark in kills and digs.
 
UTSA’s Jalen Rhodes ranks second in Roadrunners’ football history with 1,996 career rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. The senior communications major has volunteered weekly for the past three years with UTSA Rowdy Readers, working with at-risk students to improve their reading skills. He also volunteered at Dance Marathon for the last three years and worked with UTSA Dream Runners, an organization that targets economically disadvantaged children and engages them in extracurricular activities.
 
Rounding out the fall award recipients is WKU’s Julien Lewis, a graduate football student-athlete majoring in recreation and sport administration. The senior has maintained an unblemished 4.0 GPA in grad school while mentoring high school students at the Lighthouse Academy Alternative School and volunteering with the Special Olympics wheelchair basketball program and flag football. He was recognized at WKU’s annual TOPSY Awards as the Male Athlete Community Outreach award honoree and was a nominee for the 2018 Wuerffel Trophy, college football’s premier community service award.