STOCKTON HOLDS ANNUAL ATHLETICS BANQUET
Scott Fisher and Lisa Shepherd Named Athletes of the Year

Scott Fisher

Lisa Shepherd

The Richard Stockton College Office of Athletics and Recreation held its annual awards banquet at the Seaview Marriott Resort & Spa in Galloway yesterday. Stockton honored its scholar athletes, All-Americans, all-region and all-conference selections and seniors at the brunch. Senior first baseman Scott Fisher (Toms River/TR East) of the Stockton baseball team was named Male Athlete of the Year and junior high jumper Lisa Shepherd (Mays Landing/Oakcrest) was selected Female Athlete of the Year.

Senior Chad Davis (Millville/Sacred Heart), a starter on the Stockton men’s basketball team that reached the NCAA championship game, was the student-athlete speaker. “Every Stockton team competes with passion and determination,” Davis said. “The passion emanates from the fact that our student-athletes were not competing for scholarships or professional contracts, but purely for the love of the game.” Davis later added, “I have learned to seize opportunities, for playing time, like life, is a precious commodity.”

Stockton provost Dr. David Carr presented Scholar Athlete and Honor Athlete certificates to all student-athletes in attendance with grade point averages above 3.50 and between 3.00-3.49 respectively. The banquet also included a special presentation for Dick Rizk who is retiring in 2009, ending a career that spans 18 seasons as the Stockton head lacrosse coach and over 40 years of coaching lacrosse at the high school and college levels.

Scott Fisher was named the Male Athlete of the Year after a spring 2008 season in which he became Stockton’s first baseball All-American with his selection to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Second Team. Fisher also was voted to the ABCA/Rawlings Mid-Atlantic Region First Team and named the NJCBA Division II/III Player of the Year. He batted .343 with a school record 50 RBI and also posted a 6-1 pitching record with 75 strikeouts and a 2.82 ERA.

Lisa Shepherd earned the Female Athlete of the Year award for her performance during the spring 2008 outdoor track & field season. Shepherd was the runner-up in the high jump at the NCAA Championships, earning her third career All-American honor in the process. She also earned NJAC All-Conference First Team honors by winning the high jump at the NJAC Championships, and she was a three-time NJAC Field Athlete of the Week selection.