Basic HTML Version
Campus Review
August 15, 2014
Editor:
John Shiffert
Writers:
Siera Blasco
Erin Fender
Ciji Fox
Lauren Graves
Layout:
Lauren Graves
Photography: Erin Fender
Ciji Fox
Graphic Design: Lauren Graves
Heilsnis Named USTFCCCA All-Academic
Clayton State University track & field
athlete Brianna Heilsnis was among 422
women named to the United States Track
& Field and Cross Country Coaches
Association's
(USTFCCCA)
All-
Academic team. The USTFCCCA post-
season honor is a first for the Clayton
State women's track & field program.
Last fall, five members of the women's
cross country squad earned All-Academic
honors.
Heilsnis had a stellar freshman season for
the Lakers setting school records in the
indoor shot put, indoor weight throw,
hammer, and discus events. She made
NCAA Division II provisional marks dur-
ing the outdoor season in both the ham-
mer (171-7) and discus (143-11.5).
The Apex, N.C. native was the Peach Belt
Conference champ in the hammer, placed
second in the discus and third in the shot
put to earn the women's PBC Field
Athlete of the Year award. She also
earned All-Region honors during both
indoor and outdoor seasons.
Earlier this month, Heilsnis finished sixth
in the hammer event (170-7) at the
USATF Junior National Outdoor Track &
Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
A total of 99 NCAA
Division II institu-
tions had student-
athletes who earned
USTFCCCA All-
Academic honors
for their combined
academic and athletic accomplishments.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-
Academic Track & Field Team, the stu-
dent-athlete must have compiled a cumu-
lative grade point average of 3.25 and
have reached a provisional or automatic
qualifying standard for the NCAA
Championships in either indoor or out-
door seasons.
Athletics
Kaleena Coleman to Serve as Interim for 2014/2015 Season
Dennis Cox Steps Down as Women’s Basketball Coach
by John Shiffert
Women’s Basketball Coach Dennis Cox
left Clayton State University as of July 31,
2014, after leading the Lakers on an
unprecedented 10-year run of success that
included the 2010/2011 NCAA Division
II national championship. Clayton State
Athletic Director Tim Duncan has
announced that Associate Head Women’s
Basketball Coach Kaleena Coleman has
been appointed interim head coach for the
2014/2015 season.
Cox has accepted the position as head
women’s basketball coach at San
Francisco State University.
“Coach Dennis Cox led Clayton State
University to an unprecedented level of
success through his years of consistent
excellence in women's basketball,” states
Duncan. “While we are saddened to see
him go, he will forever remain an icon in
Laker Athletics lore.
“We are thrilled that Coach Kaleena
Coleman has agreed to accept the chal-
lenge of leading the women's basketball
program. She is a Laker through and
through, having played on Coach Cox'
first Laker team, is a graduate of this insti-
tution, and has recruited and coached
most of the current roster. Coach Coleman
is the perfect candidate to lead the Lakers
in this critical juncture of our women's
basketball history.”
A two-year letterwinner under Cox at
Clayton State, Coleman has spent nine
years on the Laker women’s basketball
coaching staff. In addition to her coaching
duties, she has also assisted in recruiting,
scouting and basketball operations. She is
also the first former Clayton State stu-
dent-athlete to take on a head coaching
position for their institution.
“She is the heart and soul of Laker
women’s basketball,” says Cox.
Coleman originally transferred to Clayton
after two seasons at Darton College in
2003. In her two seasons in a Clayton
State uniform, Coleman saw action in 56
games with 16 starts at guard during her
senior season. As a senior, she helped
steer the second best turnaround that sea-
son in NCAADivision II, leading Clayton
State to a 25-7 record and both the Peach
Belt Conference regular season and tour-
nament championships, as well as the pro-
gram’s first appearance in the NCAA
Cox, cont’d., p. 14
Brianna Heilsnis
Page 18
Campus Review
August 15, 2014