Williamsburg, KY – After playing pivotal roles for their respective teams, Patriots runner Emily Bird and wrestler Chandlar Akins have been selected as the November Athletes of the Month presented by The Brick Oven, the athletic department announced Wednesday. The University of the Cumberlands Athletic Department in conjunction with their corporate partner The Brick Oven are presenting the "The Brick Oven Athletes of the Month", which will be awarded to the top two student-athletes each month.

Bird earned athlete of the month honors after a pair of strong performances helping lead the Patriots to strong postseason finish.  The Louisville, KY native opened the month with a runner-up finish at the Mid-South Conference Championships.  Bird crossed the line in 19:05.0 to be the Patriots top finisher as her performances also earned her as a spot as a MSC First Team All-Conference and helped UC captured the team title. She also garnered MSC Freshman of the Year honors, making her the seventh Patriot to garner this award. Bird's performances is tied for the highest finish by a Patriot freshman tying her with Darcy Mascotti, who was runner-up in 2009.  The Louisville, KY native followed that up by being UC's top finisher at the NAIA National Championships.  Bird clocked a career-best time of 18:13.7 to place 42^nd overall at the meet.  That time was the third fastest time at a national championship in program history and is the tenth fastest time in program.  Bird's performances helped guide Cumberlands to a 23^rd place finish overall, which is third highest UC has finished in program history.

Akins was named athlete of the month after compiling a 7-1 record with a tournament win on the season.  The Alabaster, AL native earned a first place finish in the 125 lbs. class at the Life Open.  The junior went 4-0 with a pair of wins over ranked opponents.  After advancing to the quarterfinals, Akins earned an 8-0 major decision over #12 Dominic De'altonaga before posting a 3-2 decision over #17 Esau Bazilme of Southeastern.  In the championship match. Akins knocked off Matthew Terrence of Vanguard in a 6-5 decision to capture the tournament title.  The junior opened the season with a runner-up finish at the Patriot Open as he finished with a 3-1 record.  After a first round bye, the Alabaster, AL native tallied back-to-back decisions over Adrian Morales of Life and Braxton Vest of Indiana Tech to advance to the semifinals.  Akins battled Jack Parker of Bellarmine in a back-and-forth match which the junior ultimately won by a 12-11 decision to earn the runner-up finish.  Akins is currently ranked seventh in the 125 lbs. weight class in the NAIA.

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