Dec. 7, 2010

Story courtesy of Morningside Sports Information

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Morningside College’s (Iowa) C.J. Gradoville, a 6-1, 190 lb. senior kicker from Council Bluffs, Iowa, is one of 10 national finalists for the 2010 Fred Mitchell Award, given to the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or NAIA placekicker who excels on the football field and in the community.

The award winner will be announced by December 15 and will be honored on Feb. 21, 2011, at the National Football Foundation (NFF) Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.

Aside from Gradoville, the other finalists are C.J. Bahr of Slippery Rock University, Gregg Berkshire of Ashland University, Shawn Leo of West Chester University, Tom Lynch of Saint Xavier University, Adrian Mora of Georgia Southern University, Matt Myers of Northern Arizona University, Gareth Rowlands of Tusculum College, Andrew Samson of the University of Pennsylvania, and Iain Vance of Georgia State University.

Gradoville set a Morningside single-season record with 21 field goals this season to shatter his own former record of 12 field goals he set in 2007 and 2008. He made 21 of 27 field goal attempts and converted 43 of 48 PATs to lead the Mustangs in scoring with 106 points. His longest field goals were 47-yarders against Doane College and Northwestern College. Gradoville was named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Special Teams Player of the Week four times this season.

He finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Morningside and GPAC history with 402 career points. Gradoville is also the Morningside and GPAC record holder with 53 career field goals and 237 career PATs. Gradoville had streaks of 18 consecutive made field goal attempts and 98 consecutive made PAT attempts earlier in his career.

The award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting placekicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist, and Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient is chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community. The school of the award winner receives scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented at the February NFF Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony.