Chiarolanza earns mention from Fred Mitchell Award for excellence on and off the field

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The play itself only took four seconds, but for senior T.J. Chiarolanza (Warminster, Pa./William Tenant), the recognition for his 23-yard game-winning kick against No. 13 Ithaca on Sept. 25 has spread out over the course of a week.

After earning his first MAC Special Teams Player of the Week award on Sunday for the kick, Chiarolanza was one of 32 placekickers in the nation to earn recognition from the Fred Mitchell Award for excellence on the football field and in the community in September, the award committee announced on Friday, Oct. 1.

One of 10 Division III kickers on the list, Chiarolanza, who is seventh in Division III with his 1.67 field goals made per game average, leads Lycoming in scoring with 23 points on a perfect 5-of-5 effort in field goals and 8-of-10 in point after attempts. He is also the Middle Atlantic Conference leader in scoring by place-kickers and he is averaging 54 yards per kick on 15 kickoffs.

Off the field, Chiarolanza is assisting with planning for the Wiliamsport Salvation Army's Breakfast with Santa event on Dec. 4 and he helped cleanup Brandon Park after the Susquehanna 500 race to support the Red Cross. He also volunteered at the Penn State Tailgate event held at the sports dome in Muncy in the spring.

The Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award is provided to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker among more than 600 FCS, Division II, III and NAIA football teams.  The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist.  The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community.

 The Award's Watch List is released in August, top performers are recognized monthly during the college football season, and the winner (who is not required to be on the Watch List) is announced in mid-December.  The school of the award-winner receives scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented on Feb. 21, 2011 at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.

The selection committee evaluates place-kickers that are nominated by their schools.  There are eight members of the Pro and/or College Football Hall of Fame on the Selection Committee including Tom Beck, Kevin Butler, Lou Holtz, Paul Hornung, Marv Levy, Steve McMichael, Don Pierson and Gale Sayers.  Several former football players that are active in their communities are also on the Selection Committee including Carl Allegretti, Sean Gothier, Dan Jiggetts, Jeff Michalczyk, Mark Murphy, Rob Perry, Jeff Schebler, Jay Sebben, Bob Thomas, Todd Wilkins, Gary Zauner and Rob Zvonar.  There are eight former college or NFL place-kickers on the selection committee, including Schebler, the 2009 Fred Mitchell Award recipient and the highest-scoring place-kicker in NCAA history at any level.

The Warriors are set to wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday, Oct. 2 when King's comes to David Person Field for a 1 p.m. game. The game is Lycoming's Tackle Breast Cancer event.