Written by Grace Beyer, Special to The Spectator. Photo courtesy of Grace Beyer. Painting an accurate picture of a student-athlete’s day is no easy task. With changing practice times depending on the day of the week/revolving around my team’s classes, long stretches of some weeks with road trips, and home games and events, our schedule is not something that we, ...

The VSU football team wrapped up its spring season on April 21 with its annual spring game, and unlike last year, there was no tie. “We weren’t gonna have a tie,” head coach Tremaine Jackson jokingly said. “We’d be out here all night.” The Red Team scored the go-ahead touchdown via an 11-yard pass from junior quarterback Sammy Edwards to ...

Senior starting pitcher Samantha Richards embodies the type of student athlete that has all of the personal accolades, but prides herself as the ultimate team player. The Alpharetta native has been around the game of softball since her early days of T-Ball. “Growing up, I would get grouped with all the boys in T-Ball, which was great practice,” Richards said. ...

To say that the VSU men’s tennis team has been a force to be reckoned with this season would be an understatement. The Blazers are the last unbeaten team in Division II, standing at 14-0 overall and 9-0 in Gulf South Conference play, having captured the GSC regular season crown. The Blazers are also ranked No. 2 in the nation ...

The No. 10 Blazers (30-5) have been red hot as of late, following up a weekend sweep of Lee with a doubleheader sweep over the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes (29-10), winning the games 6-4 and 5-2. The latest wins push the Blazers’ streak to six. The Blazers have also won 14 of their last 15 games overall. Game 1: Blazers 6, ...

For many student athletes, managing their mental health can be tougher than playing the sport they love. For former college football and NFL player Tra Battle, he knows firsthand about struggling with mental health. Battle, a former walk-on safety at the University of Georgia from 2003-2007 before spending six years in the NFL and United Football League, recently visited Valdosta ...

March Madness has come around once again. With conference tournaments well underway, many teams are hoping to make a magical run in their conference tournament to capture their conference’s bid to the Big Dance. That said, only a select-few 68 teams out of more than 360 teams will hear their name called on Selection Sunday (March 12 at 6 p.m. ...

The VSU Blazers (15-3, 7-2 Gulf South Conference) avoided an upset bid from the Barry University Buccaneers (14-11, 5-4 Sunshine State Conference) in extra innings and came back to win in dramatic fashion, 5-4. It was a warm afternoon in Valdosta, Georgia, and the occasional breeze blew over Steel’s Diamond as the Blazers looked to notch their 15th win on ...

When the Lady Blazers needed a hero, Emma Martin answered the call. The junior guard came up with a massive block on guard Marisa Snodgrass’s would-be game-winning shot to force overtime. The Lady Blazers (22-5, 20-4 Gulf South Conference) then pulled away from the Montevallo Falcons (12-17, 12-12 GSC) to win 71-66 in the quarterfinal round of the GSC Tournament. ...

With a chance to clinch a spot in the Gulf South Conference tournament, graduate guard Ryan Black made sure the Blazers would get the job done. Black came off the bench and made eight threes, rallying the Blazers (17-9, 13-7 GSC) from an early deficit to an 83-72 win over the West Florida Argonauts (12-12, 8-12 GSC). “Coming off the ...