WICHITA, Kan. – The Tabor College women’s soccer team has been awarded the inaugural KCAC Team of Character honor. The KCAC Team of Character award was based off of the NAIA Champions of Character award and recognizes a school in each sport, as voted on by their peer coaches.
“Character is vital to surviving the inevitable trials that a year of play and learning inflict on a team,” head coach Ian Thomson said. “Our team’s character also demands that we seek each other’s highest good, that we ‘turn the other cheek’ to insults and that we refuse to back down in the face of adversity.
“Despite multiple catastrophic personal injuries, our team stands as one, supporting each other and encouraging each other’s faith. Sportsmanship on the field is reflected in consistent respect toward officials and other players. We demonstrated this respect by refraining from all profanity, helping opposite team members who are injured during play and refused to retaliate when slights or injuries are endured by our own players,” Thomson added.
This past year, the Tabor women’s soccer team led small worship groups, directed student activities, served as resident advisors and organized special events for Tabor.
Off campus, the Bluejays participated in a literacy event at a local elementary school — reading selections chosen from the NAIA Champions of Character list — helping emphasize the importance of good decision-making. The audience was composed of approximately 50, 1st through 4th grade students and their teachers.
Additionally, Tabor helped a number of families during the moving process, loading and unloading household items, as well as, serving with Hillsboro United Methodist Church’s “Service for Service Project.” The Bluejays helped with yard maintenance, youth literacy projects and clean-up work at Hillsboro Elementary School. They also worked with Main Street Ministries and a youth soccer league planning for the upcoming winter/spring seasons.
On the field, four Tabor women’s soccer players were named to the 2014 KCAC All-Conference Team. Jessica Renzelman (Sr., Ione, Calif.) was a first team selection; Jordan Walters (Fr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) was named to the second team, while Anna Friesen (Sr., Wichita, Kan.) and Ashtyn Stephens (Jr., Midlothian, Texas) earned honorable mention status.
Academically, Tabor honored Friesen, Renzelman, Nicole Stevenson (Jr., Fort Collins, Colo.) and Amy Vaughan (Jr., St. Joseph, Mo.) as NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athletes. Stevenson was also recognized as a 2014 IMA-KCAC Women’s Soccer Champions of Character award winner. This award goes to a student who is a student-athlete exemplifying the core values of the NAIA Champions of Character program.
The NAIA Champions of Character program was designed to remind athletes, coaches and fans to act in relation to its core values in all aspects of life. The Champions of Character core values are: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.
For more on the KCAC Champions of Character program, click here.