NJCAA Celebrates Sixth Annual “NJCAA Day”

Leesburg, Fla. – The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) celebrates their sixth annual "NJCAA Day" on Thursday, Oct. 20. The association uses this day to celebrate opportunity, history, and the unity of member colleges, student-athletes, administrators, alumni, and fans.

This year's comprehensive theme, The Journey Begins Here, focuses on highlighting the amazing accomplishments of the NJCAA student-athletes, coaches, and administrators on and off the playing surfaces.

Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) athletes has had many student-athletes come and go throughout the years. On this day, we are celebrating the Lakehawk alumni who have continued to do great things after their two years in the Hawk's Nest.

 Cpl. Terrence Demps II (Athletic Training, '20)

Cpl. Terrence V. Demps II graduated from high school in 2017. While at Lake-Sumter, Demps was a member of the student athletic training staff, a Fellowship of Cristian Athletes huddle leader, and was involved in the Student Government Association.

He was named to the Lake-Sumter State College Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2022. Demps currently serves in the Marine Corp. He is stationed in Quantico, Va. as a Marine Watchman.

 Nic Kovacs (Baseball, '11)

Nic Kovacs graduated from East Ridge High School in 2009 and came to LSSC to earn an AA degree while playing baseball. After two years, he transferred to Palm Beach Atlantic where he earned his Bachelors in Journalism in 2013.

Kovacs went on to receive a degree in Turf Grass Management from Florida Gateway College, leading him to starting an internship in Pennsylvania with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015. He has been full-time with the team since 2018. 

  Kyja Williams (Cross Country, '21)

Kyja Williams came to LSSC in the fall of 2019. She played basketball, soccer, and ran track in high school but realized how much she enjoyed running long distance so she joined the cross country team.

Williams was a very decorated athlete during her time at Lake-Sumter including being a two-time FSCAA All-Region honoree, two-time FCSAA All-State honoree, and two-time NJCAA All-American. She also recorded two consecutive runner-up finishes at the NJCAA Regional Championships where set the current 5,000-Meter program record of 20:00.0. 

After Lake-Sumter, Williams transferred to Life University to pursue a bachelor's degree Exercise Science and run for their cross country team. Her goal is to eventually run professionally and earn a master's degree in exercise science.

 Dr. Summer Solovitch (Softball, '17)

Summer Solovitch played softball at Lake-Sumter from 2015-2017. While at LSSC, she was a two-time NJCAA 1^st Team All-Academic award recipient.

After her two years at Lake-Sumter, Solovitch continued playing collegiate NAIA softball at Missouri Valley College. Now, in 2022, she has most recently earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of South Florida.

Alex Croy (Cross Country, '20)

Alex Croy came to Lake-Sumter in 2019 with the goal to work hard every day to get faster and eventually transfer to a four-year program to continue running. During his time at LSSC, Croy earned FCSAA All-Region honors, FCSAA All-State honors, and his 13^th place finish at nationals in 2020 named him an NJCAA All-American. He was also named the 2020-21 Robert & Merrell Westrick Male Student-Athlete of the Year.

Currently, Croy is attending Florida State University (FSU) pursuing a degree in sport management while training unattached in hopes of earning a spot on the FSU cross country team. Recently, he began coaching cross country and track at a local school in Tallahassee, his primary role is distance training.