ATLANTA – Track and field senior thrower Kirsen Gardner has been honored by the ASUN Conference as Jacksonville State's selection for the league's Winners for Life winter team.
 
The ASUN announced its 2022-23 Winter Winners for Life team on Friday. The team is composed of one student-athlete from all 14 institutions and honors those who display excellence on and off the playing surface. The Winners for Life team honors a campus citizen that is respected as one who shares and/or demonstrates the ASUN Core Values: Education, Honesty, Student-Athlete Experience, Fairness, Health, Ambition, Respect, Diversity, Inclusion, Leadership, Responsibility and Sportsmanship. To be eligible for the award, the student-athlete must have competed in the current academic year in an ASUN sponsored sport and be in good academic standing at his/her university.
 
Gardner, a Helena, Ala., native, is the team captain for Jax State's track and field team where she plays a key role in throwing the shot put and hammer. This season she tossed a personal-best 36.88m in the hammer, while setting a shot put record with a 12.11-meter toss. Gardner holds a 3.44 GPA as she is earning her degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. She volunteers at Riverside Baptist Church as a camp counselor, teaching the youth safety skills, growth, and skill achievement through group activities. She is a volunteer coach at her alma mater Helena High School, where she teaches track & field athletes how to throw various track & field implements such as the shot put, javelin, hammer, and discus. While competing for HHS prior to her JSU career, Gardner was a three-time shot pit 6A state champion.
 
JSU volleyball standout Lena Kindermann was JSU's selection to the fall Winners for Life team. This marks the second honoree from the Gamecock track and field program after former pole vaulter Bethany Davis was named to the team last spring.
 
2022-23 ASUN Conference Winter Winners for Life Team
Kenisha Phillips, Austin Peay - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Katrina Kamarute, Bellarmine - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Ayana Harris, Central Arkansas - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Emma Hacker, Eastern Kentucky - Women's Basketball
Sha Carter, FGCU - Women's Basketball
Suzan Morshed, Jacksonville - Women's Basketball
Kirsen Gardner, Jacksonville State - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Alex Peterson, Kennesaw State - Men's Basketball
Meredith Engle, Liberty - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Jalyn Holcomb, Lipscomb - Women's Basketball
Damian Forrest, North Alabama - Men's Basketball
Aidan O'Gorman, North Florida - Men's Indoor Track & Field
Naim Bell, Queens - Men's Indoor Track & Field
Sam Peek, Stetson - Men's Basketball