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ATHLETIC NEWSIndividual accomplishments highlight 2011 gridiron campaignSeveral school records were broken while the Pioneers garnered individual accolades during the 2011 Tusculumfootball season. It was a grueling, injury-plagued campaign that saw the Pioneers posting a 3-8 record.All-American quarterback and Harlon Hill Trophy finalist Bo Cordell, of Cincinnati, Ohio, suffered a seasonendingbroken foot in the third game of the year. Third-string signal caller Torrey Slaven of Winfield, Tenn.,stepped in and handled the quarterback duties in fine fashion, passing for more than 2,000 yards with 17 touchdownsand only three interceptions.Senior Rashaad Carter of Stone Mountain, Ga., became Tusculum’s all-time leader in receiving yards while earningAll-Conference and All-Region recognition. Carter totaled with 1,056 receiving yards, the third-best single-seasontally in school history and becomes the first player in school history to record more than 1,000 receiving yardsin multiple seasons. Carter’s 2,928 receiving yards are a school record and the seventh-most in league history,while his 210 career receptions are second-most at Tusculum and fourth in the SAC record books.Senior Deonte Gist of Greenville, S.C. earned All-Region accolades of the year for a second straight season, aswell as Daktronics All-America honors as a return specialist for the first time. He led the SAC in kickoff return averageat 29.43 yards per return, seventh-best in the country. Of his 21 returns, two were for touchdowns, includinga 94-yarder against Brevard College and a 92-yarder at Newberry College.Gist led the league in receptions for a second straight year, averaging8.1 catches per contest, which were second in the nation (NCAA II). The2010 consensus All-America receiver ends his Tusculum career as theprogram’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards (4,374) and kickoff returnsyards (1,593). His 2,540 career receiving yards are second in Tusculumhistory.Gist and Carter established a NCAA II record during the year for themost career receptions by two players from the same team.The defensive end also earned a spot on the All-SAC and All-Regionteams, while long-snapper Skylar West of Oneida, Tenn., was named tothe Beyond Sports College Network All-America Team, becoming thefirst player in school history at his position to earn All-America honors.By Dom Donnelly,assistant athletic director for media relations32Rashaad Carter set several schoolrecords in the 2011 season, includingall-time leader in receivingyards.Volleyball makes third consecutive trip to NCAA tournamentSuccess continues for the Tusculum volleyball program as the Pioneers finished with an 18-13 overall record, whileadvancing to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. It was the program’s sixth straight winningseason and 22 nd in the 30-year history of the storied-program.After setting an NCAA Division II record last year with 845 digs, Caitlyn Dean of Fort Wayne, Ind., averaged 6.45digs per set to rank third nationally, earning All-America First Team recognition for the second consecutive year.The two-time All-South Atlantic Conference First Team and All-Region honoree is first all-time in school historywith her 6.82 digs per set average, while her 1,529 total digs are the third-most ever by a Pioneer.Ashley Sarmiento was also named to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America® NCAA Division II VolleyballSecond Team. Sarmiento, a 5-11 sophomore setter from Dayton, Ohio, has a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average,while majoring in mathematics and math education (K-12). Sarmiento is the first Academic All-American® inprogram history. On the volleyball court, she finished second in the South Atlantic Conference and 39th in the countryin assists per set, averaging 10.29 helpers per frame (fifth in Tusculum College single-season history).Sarmiento is very active in the community where she is serving her first term as president of the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Her community service activities include Pioneer Mentoring Program, Ride for Life,Scholar Athlete Student Leader and volunteering with the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society.