SEARCY – Cole Chancey, a member of the Harding University football team from Commerce, Georgia, is the men's 2022 M.E. Berryhill Award winner, and Emma Roberts a member of the soccer team from Bentonville, Arkansas, was the women's winner.
The Berryhill Award is the highest award the Harding athletic department gives and is named after former coach and athletics director M.E. Berryhill. The honor is given to a senior male and female athlete who possesses the characteristics of athletic excellence and strength of character.
Chancey played in 52 games for the Bison football team and finished his four seasons as Harding's career leader in rushing yards (5,114) and rushing touchdowns (66). He is also the Great American Conference career leader in both categories.
As a senior, Chancey rushed for a career-high 1,441 yards on 280 carries. It was the second most rushing yards in a season by a Harding player and the third time in Chancey's career to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for a season.
Chancey earned All-GAC honors four times and All-America honors in three of his four seasons. In 2019, he was a Harlon Hill Award finalist.
Chancey graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and Health in December 2021.
Chancey is the 25th Harding football player to receive the Berryhill Award since its inception in 1963. The most recent were Romo Westbrook (2015), Park Parish (2017), Gavin De Los Santos (2018) and Bryce Bray (2019).
Roberts, the 2021 Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, played in 80 games as a Lady Bison, more than any other player in program history. She is fifth at Harding with 28 career goals and sixth with 66 career points.
Roberts earned All-GAC honors four times, All-Central Region honors twice, and received 2021 D2CCA Third Team All-America.
In her senior season, Roberts scored 17 goals to rank ninth in NCAA Division II.
A four-time Academic All-GAC honoree, Roberts earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology in December 2021.
Roberts is the second Harding women's soccer player to earn the Berryhill Award, joining Kendyl Washburn (2008).
