Six Florida State student-athletes were recognized among The Torchbearer 100 last week at a special ceremony. Manuella Andrade and Molly Carlson from women’s swimming and diving, volleyball’s Tiana Jackson, Shanice Love from women’s track and field, football’s Jaiden Lars-Woodbey and Paxton Rhoads from men’s swimming and diving were recipients of the highest honor awarded from the Division of Student Affairs.
The Torchbearer 100 recognizes Florida State University’s exceptional undergraduate student leaders and achievers of the current and rising senior class. This honor is intended to celebrate and thank the outstanding few who allowed their passions to exceed the bounds of comfort, whose devotion did not waiver, and who dared to step out into the darkness and light a torch that would lead the way for those to come. It is the magnitude of impact that each of The 100 has made within their own realm of influence that carries on the legacy of student leadership at Florida State.
Andrade earned ACC Academic Honor Roll recognition in 2016-17 and 2017-18 for her work in the classroom. The senior from Curitiba, Brazil, won the 1,650 freestyle at the Auburn Invite in her final race as a Seminole after placing fifth in the 500 free at the same meet. Her personal-best 1,650 freestyle time of 16:53.21 was the team’s fastest in 2018-19. Andrade, who graduates in May, is also involved with SAAC and was elected Senior Class Secretary.
Carlson, who was the 2020 ACC champion on 3-meter and platform and took second on 1-meter, became the first Seminole diver to medal on all three boards at a single ACC championship since platform was added to the meet in 2008. Her performance earned her a third ACC Diving Meet MVP award, only the second Seminole to earn the distinction three times, and she qualified for the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in her career. The Toronto, Ontario, native is on track to graduate in May.
Jackson earned ACC Academic Honor Roll recognition and was a two-time first-team Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar. The middle blocker from St. Louis had 75 blocks in her career and as a freshman posted an attacking percentage of .449. An injury ended her playing career, but she has remained involved as the program’s director of operations and is set to graduate in December.
Love is a three-time honoree on the ACC Academic Honor Roll and USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. The senior from Kingston, Jamaica, is the two-time defending ACC discuss champion and was second in the event at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Love, who also holds the Mike Long Track discus record of 201-11, earned the Weaver-James-Corrigan Post Graduate Award that grants $6,000 toward the recipient’s graduate education, which she plans to use in pursuit of a master’s degree at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom.
Lars-Woodbey has started all 16 games in which he has appeared in his career. The Fontana, California, native recorded 58 tackles, including 4.5 for loss with 1.0 sack, eight pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and one forced fumble as a true freshman and earned a spot on ESPN’s Freshman All-America team. Lars-Woodbey, who will be a redshirt sophomore on the field in 2020, was one of four true freshmen named to the 2018 All-ACC Academic Team and is on pace to earn his bachelor’s degree in December.
A 2019-20 team captain, Rhoads has earned ACC Academic Honor Roll recognition in each of his first two years on campus. This season, he finished third in the 200 breaststroke with a career-best time of 1:59.78 at the Auburn Invite. He also took first place in the 100 breaststroke and third in the 200 breaststroke against Florida Southern. The junior from Tampa, Florida, posted a career-best time of 54.53 in the 100 breaststroke at the 2019 ACC Championships.
