HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker athletic department held the inaugural FANG Awards on Monday (May 4) to honor the athletic achievements of the Cobras during the 2014-15 season. Highlighting the night were men’s lacrosse player Dylan Marks and women’s lacrosse player Marabeth Durden, winners of the C.G. Timberlake Male and Female Athlete of the Year Awards.
Marks, a senior, finished the 2015 season as a first team All-South Atlantic Conference defender and was instrumental in the men’s lacrosse team’s best season in program history, which culminated with a share of the 2015 SAC regular season title. He finished the season ranked 13th in the SAC with 16 caused turnovers and 38th in ground balls with 30. Dylan was selected as the Coker Physical Education Department Student of the Year and sports a 3.8 GPA, including a 4.0 this year. Marks is also a USILA North/South All-Star Game nominee, a USILA Scholar All-America nominee and is 2015 SAC Men’s Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Dylan, a native of Westminster, Md., is a Physical Education major with an exercise science concentration, and is the son of Jean and Steve Marks.
Durden was spectacular for the women’s lacrosse team as she led the second-year program to nine wins, which included a trip to the SAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship semifinals. A sophomore captain, Durden earned first team All-SAC honors as a defender after scoring 15 goals and dishing out four assists for 19 points. She also scooped up 42 ground balls, collected 35 draw controls and caused 19 turnovers. Durden was also named SAC Women’s Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week twice this season. Marabeth also serves as an executive for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Marabeth is an early childhood education major from Orlando, Fla. She is the daughter of Lisa and Michael Durden and Mitzi and Karl Sheppard.
In addition to the C.G. Timberlake Athlete of the Year awards, Coker awarded nine other FANGS. They are as follows:
Female Newcomer of the Year – Claudia Jenkins, freshman, women’s lacrosse
Male Newcomer of the Year – Derrick Nelson, junior, wrestling
Female Breakthrough Player of the Year – Riley Morris, sophomore, softball
Male Breakthrough Player of the Year – Josh Smith, junior, men’s lacrosse
Coach of the Year – Cy Wainwright, wrestling
Game of the Year – Men’s Lacrosse vs. Tusculum on April 4, 2015
Cobra Scholar – Dylan Bates, senior, men’s cross country and track & field
Cobra Service – Aaron Beebe, senior, athletics intern
SAAC Team Excellence – Spirit Squad