‘Nova’s Sheila Reid Named PSWA’s Outstanding Amateur

To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com. The PSWA Dinner is open to the public. Visit www.pswa.org.

Villanova track and cross country All America Sheila Reid has been named the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association’s Outstanding Amateur Athlete.

Reid, the 2010 NCAA cross country individual champion, will be honored at the PSWA’s 107th annual Sports Awards Dinner on Monday, January 31, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, N.J. The public is welcome, and tickets are available by clicking here.

A six-time All America in cross country and indoor and outdoor track, Reid triggered Villanova’s run to its second straight NCAA cross country title by breaking away in the last 200 meters to win the individual crown. She also repeated as the individual champion at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and Big East Championships—achievements that helped the Newmarket, Ontario native win the 2011 Honda Sports Award as the nation’s top female athlete in the sport.

Reid, a three-time Big East Academic All-Star, earned a perfect 4.0 GPA as an English major last fall. She also starred in Indoor and Outdoor track as a middle distance runner. She is the reigning champion in the Big East Indoor 1,000 meters, mile, and as a member of the 4×800 meter relay team, and the Outdoor 800 meters event. She was named Most Outstanding Track Athlete at the league’s 2010 Indoor Championships.

Reid will be joined at the head table by Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, who will be honored as Pro Athlete of the Year and presented with his Cy Young Award; Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino, the Humanitarian of the Year, and Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand, the winner of the Good Guy award.

Bill Bergey, one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles, will on hand to receive the Living Legend award. The Philadelphia Flyers, the 2010 Stanley Cup runner-ups, will be feted as the Team of the Year, and right winger Ian Laperriere, one of the Flyers’ most popular players, will accept that award.

Phillies general manager Rubin Amaro, Jr. and manager Charlie Manuel will also attend as will San Jose Earthquakes soccer star Bobby Convey, the Native Son award winner. Other prestigious awards and head table guests will be announced in coming weeks. The most coveted award—Most Courageous—is kept secret until the night of the dinner.

Tickets for the dinner are $95 apiece and can be purchased by clicking here.

A number of outstanding local coaches and athletes will be on hand at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, NJ, January 31 to receive well-deserved Special Achievement awards, all part of the 107th Annual Philadelphia Sports Writers Association dinner. The event, open to the public (tickets available by clicking here), will honor the following with Special Achievement awards:

· Penn football coach Al Bagnoli, who has won a record seven Ivy League titles in 18 seasons as head of the Quakers. His overall record at Penn is 122-56 (.685). Penn won the Ivy League crown the last two seasons with perfect 7-0 records. The Quakers went undefeated with 10-0 records in 1993 and 2003.

· Drexel wrestling coach Jack Childs, the winningest active NCAA Division I coach with 414 victories, who is retiring after 35 seasons at the helm of the Dragons. Childs, who also won 89 matches at Stevens Institute of Technology, picked up his 500th career win last season against George Mason.

· Temple basketball coach Fran Dunphy, who recently won his 400th career game, is the only person who has coached at two Big 5 schools. Before coming to Temple, where he has won two Atlantic 10 championships and a pair of Big 5 titles, Dunphy won 10 Ivy League crowns and four Big 5 titles at Penn. Previously he was an assistant coach at La Salle where he was a member of the Explorers great 1968-69 team.

· Rowan University football co-captain Matt Hoffman, who missed the final game of his junior year to donate stem cells to Warren Sallach, a Texas father with non-Hodgkins lymphoma who almost certainly would have died without the transplant. Hoffman returned for the 2010 season and was named 2nd Team All America and the New Jersey Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was nominated for the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III’s equivalent of the Heisman.

· Philadelphia University basketball coach Herb Magee, who has won more than 900 games to pass Bobby Knight as the winningest coach in NCAA history. He is now in his 43rd year as head coach at the school which he guided to the 1969-70 NCAA Division II national championship when it was known as Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. He has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament 24 times

Navy defensive back Wyatt Middleton will also be at the Crowne Plaza to receive the Most Valuable Player award for the recent Army-Navy game. Middleton was selected by the media for MVP honors after setting a record for the longest fumble return for a touchdown in the classic’s history, 98 yards, which triggered Navy’s 31-17 victory. He also had nine tackles.

Phillies All-Star pitcher Roy Halladay will be in attendance. Coming off an outstanding 2010 season, Halladay is the PSWA’s Pro Athlete of the Year. He also will be presented with his 2010 Cy Young Award at the dinner.

Others at the head table: Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino (Humanitarian of the Year); former Eagles great Bill Bergey (Living Legend); Flyers right winger Ian Laperriere (accepting Team of the Year honors on behalf of the 2010 Stanley Cup runner-up Philadelphia Flyers); 76ers forward Elton Brand (Good Guy Award); Villanova track and cross country All-American Sheila Reid (Outstanding Amateur Athlete): Penn Charter product Bobby Convey, star of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes (2010 Native Son); Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Junior and manager Charlie Manuel. The most coveted award, the Most Courageous, is kept secret until the night of the dinner. The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association was founded on May 12, 1904, and the first of what would become an annual Awards Dinner was held Feb. 15, 1905.

Tickets for the dinner, which is open to the public, are $95 each, and are still available. Click here to buy tickets now.

To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com