Troy Honors Greatness with Sixth Annual Trojan Tribute

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TROY, Ala. – Troy's annual Trojan Tribute award show had a different feel this year with the event held virtually on Facebook and YouTube instead of its traditional home inside Trojan Arena. However, the Troy Athletics community still came together to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of Troy's student-athletes in competition and the classroom.

Awards were handed out in 18 different categories ranging from strength & conditioning honors, to top grade-point-averages and #OneTROY Team of the Year. The awards, which were based on the 2019 calendar year (Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Winter 2019-20), were voted on by members of Troy's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Trojan Tribute Senior Voting Committee.

The premier individual award of the evening, the Trojan Way Leadership Award, was presented to track & field senior Alexis Garrett. Top academic honors went to Grace Mirly (soccer / softball) and Shaaz Peerani (men's tennis), while volleyball earned the Female Team GPA Award and men's tennis took home Male Team GPA honors.

The Troy women's basketball team took home #OneTROY Team of the Year honors after they won the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship, finished the year ranked 13th in the College Insider Mid-Major 25 and posted a 25-4 overall record.

Male Athlete of the Year honors went to Matthew Likely and Gemma Finch took home Female Athlete of the Year honors; both athletes represented the Troy track & field program.

Likely qualified for the NCAA East Preliminaries in the 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m relay and advanced to the NCAA Championships in the 200m with the second-fastest time in school history. He helped set the school record in the 4x100m race in 39.47 seconds and the school's third-fastest time in the 4x400m relay in 3:08.90 at the NCAA East Preliminary.

Finch won three gold medals at the 2019 Sun Belt Indoor Championships, including a then-school record of 2:10.84 in the 800m. She also took gold as part of the 4x400m and distance medley relay and reeled in her fourth Sun Belt title of 2019 with a first place finish in the 800m at the outdoor championships.

2020 Trojan Tribute Awards

Sorrell Award – Highest Female Graduating GPA
Grace Mirly (Soccer / Softball)

Clements Award -- Highest Male Graduating GPA
Shaaz Peerani (Men's Tennis)

Highest Male Team GPA
Men's Tennis

Highest Female Team GPA
Volleyball

Male Strength & Conditioning Award
Jarvis Hayes (Football)

Female Strength & Conditioning Award
Kiersten Edlund (Soccer)

Athletics Staff Member of the Year
Cody Ash - Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Services

Steve Venable Track & Field Award
Gemma Finch

Strength of Character Award – This award is given to a student-athlete who embodies the Trojan spirit of strength and resiliency
Grace Mirly (Softball / Soccer)

Male Heart of a Warrior – This award is given to a male student-athlete who has overcome hardships but still has been successful academically and athletically
B.J. Smith (Football)

Female Heart of a Warrior – This award is given to a female student-athlete who has overcome hardships but still has been successful academically and athletically
Anna Claire Little (Women's Golf)

Jadarius Garner Total Trojan Award – This award is given to an individual who is excelling both on and off the field
Jeremiah Jones (Football) & Harriet Winchester (Women's Basketball)

Male Newcomer of the Year – Best performance by a first-year male student-athlete (freshman or transfer)
Logan Cerny (Baseball)

Female Newcomer of the Year – Best performance by a first-year female student-athlete (freshman or transfer)
Leanna Johnson (Softball)

Male Athlete of the Year – Most outstanding athletic performance by a male student-athlete
Matthew Likely (Track & Field)

Female Athlete of the Year – Most outstanding athletic performance by a female student-athlete
Gemma Finch (Track & Field)

#OneTROY Team Award – Team with the best performance
Women's Basketball

Trojan Way Leadership Award - The highest honor of the night is given to the student-athlete who is the epitome of a Troy student-athlete and is the TRUE definition a student-athlete leader not only at Troy but in our community
Alexis Garrett (Track & Field)

Troy University Athletics

Troy Honors Greatness with Sixth Annual Trojan Tribute

Players Mentioned

Logan Cerny

Kiersten Edlund

Gemma Finch

Jadarius Garner

Alexis Garrett

Jarvis Hayes

Leanna Johnson

Jeremiah Jones

Matthew Likely

Anna Claire Little

Grace Mirly

Shaaz Peerani

B.J. Smith

Harriet Winchester

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