BY: DAVE COLLINS
Sports Director
There's a trio of Chadron State football freshman that are emerging as leaders and success stories early in their college careers both on and off the field.
BJ Kynard, Jamal Browder and Saxon Wright were all honored with Rising Sophomores awards this week in a special evening event held on campus that recognizes freshman across all academic departments for their achievements.
Kynard is a defensive back from Birmingham, Alabama and was honored with the Resident Hall Citizen of the Year Award, which recognizes a student for service to their dorm floor. One example cited at the banquet was an instance where Kynard helped another student carry a large amount of groceries to her room after the bags ripped.
On the field this spring he's competing for a spot with the defensive backs. He played in eight games, making nine tackles his freshman season last fall.
Saxon Wright was honored with the Student Leader of the Year Award for his zest for life, commitment to CSC and community service. He accumulated over 100 hours of community service projects and is quickly becoming one of the top playmakers on the Chadron State defense. You can learn more and listen to Saxon in my interview with him on this week's Chadron State Sports Journal, which can be found on the podcast page.
Browder was nominated for several awards and took home the Excellence in The Advancement of Social Justice Award. Browder hosts group meetings to discuss social justice issues and changes they'd like to see in the community. They also focus on how they can follow in the footsteps of great civil rights leaders and help educate citizens more on their point of view as black men in Chadron.
Browder engages with his football coaches on the team's culture and education regarding those issues and has developed into a stronger leader since arriving from Florida last fall.
On the football field Browder is an electric wide receiver with excellent speed and the ability to break big plays downfield. He averaged over 22 yards per catch in eight games last fall, and scored a pair of touchdowns. He's competing for more snaps in the wide receiver group this spring with the potential to break out for a huge sophomore season in the fall.