Asheville – Select members of the Robbinsville athletic program left Sunday’s Mountain Athletic Amateur Club WNC Sports Awards Banquet with some extra hardware.
The 59th annual gala – held at the Omni Grove Park Inn – featured Robbinsville’s Nathan Collins being named the Keller Ferrell Division II Male Athlete, Major Sport award winner.
As the starting quarterback of the Black Knights’ football team, Collins’ compiled a 24-1 record during his junior and senior years, helping lead Robbinsville to the program’s 15th state championship in 2019 and a 1A Western Regional Final appearance last season. Collins was nominated alongside Caius Arrington (Mitchell basketball and football), Ben Michael (Asheville Christian Academy baseball and soccer) and Olin Mills (Asheville Christian Academy basketball).
“All the glory to God. None of this would have been possible without Him,” Collins said. “Also, I want to thank my teammates for pushing me to be my best.”
Collins, who was also nominated for the Young Transportation Division II Male Athlete of the Year Award, was the only Robbinsville athlete to win a 2021 award from the club, but the Knights had plenty of finalists in the running. The Knights’ 11 nominations were tied with A.C. Reynolds for the most at the ceremony.
Maggie Knight (softball) was a finalist for the Wells Fargo Advisors/Aiken, Meyer, Whatley Division II Female Athlete, Major Sport award.
Both the Lady Knights’ basketball and softball teams were nominated for the Homewood Suites Division II Female Team award, while Jayden Nowell (wrestling) was a finalist for the Trudy and David Cappiello Division II Male Athlete, Olympic Sport award.
Additionally, the Black Knights’ football team was nominated for the Fields Auto Group Division II Male Team, Major Sport award, while Robbinsville’s wrestling program was up for the Blue Ridge Division of EmergeOrtho Division II Male Team award.
Gabby Hooper and Jeb Shuler were respective finalists for the Paramount Kia Division II Female Academic Award and the Heath & Nikol Shuler Division II Male Academic Award. Both later received $1,500 from the Buck Cannon Memorial Scholarship (Hooper) and the Thomas & Connie Rogers-Newcome/Ronald Rogers Memorial Scholarship (Shuler).
A member of the Class of 2020, Rylee Anderson was also in attendance to accept two awards from last year’s event, which was cancelled due to COVID-19. Anderson was named the Merrill Lynch/Keller Ferrell Division II Male Athlete in a Major Sport Award winner, while the Robbinsville Black Knights won the 2020 Fields Auto Group Division II Male Team in a Major Sport Award.