Trio of Athletes Win UNC's Patterson Medal

Posted on Feb. 20, 2012

Women’s lacrosse attacker Corey Donohoe ’11, track and field decathlete Mateo Sossah ’11 and football quarterback T.J. Yates ’10 are the recipients of the 2011 Patterson Medals, the most prestigious awards presented to athletes at Carolina.

Donohoe, a native of Jarrettsville, Md., is the Tar Heels’ all-time leading scorer in goals (192) and points (256). She led Carolina to three consecutive NCAA Tournament semifinals and the 2009 title game. In 2010, she set a school record with 77 points. A two-time first-team All-America and three-time All-ACC selection, Donohoe established three of the five highest single-season goal-scoring marks in UNC history. She was a dean’s list student and made the ACC Academic Honor Roll in each of her four seasons. Recently, she was named to the U.S. National Team.

“Her stickwork, vision, competitiveness and commitment to being the best and making others around her better are all reasons she may be the best offensive player I’ve had the privilege to coach,” said UNC head Coach Jenny Levy. “Corey excelled in the classroom, was a great teammate and gave back in the community — she just had an unbelievable four years here. She broke many school records and left a legacy here that we hope to continue. Our coaching staff is searching for more players like her, but we’ve realized how unique she is and how special her talents are.”

Sossah is the first person to win the Atlantic Coast Conference decathlon title four times, winning the event from 2008 to 2011. A native of Mons-en-Baroeul, France, Sossah finished in the top 10 in the indoor heptathlon twice and the outdoor decathlon four times at the NCAA Championships. He was second in the heptathlon as a junior and second in the decathlon as a sophomore. He won the ACC heptathlon as a junior, giving him five individual ACC titles. Sossah became the first Tar Heel to score 8,000 points in the decathlon in a meet when he compiled 8,044 points at the 2009 NCAA Championship. Sossah is the recipient of an ACC Post-Graduate Academic Scholarship and attends business school in France.

“Mateo always asked what he could do for our team and put that above individual awards and honors,” said head Coach Dennis Craddock. “He would finish his 10 events in the decathlon over two days and then ask to high jump, throw the javelin and long jump on the third day of competition in the ACC championship. He wanted our team to win more than anything.”

Yates started 44 games and established more than 40 school records, including every UNC mark for single-game, single-season and career pass completions and yards. The Marietta, Ga., native completed 795 of 1,277 passes for 9,377 yards and 58 touchdowns. His completion percentage of .623 made him the most accurate passer in school history.

Yates is the only Tar Heel to pass for 400 yards in three games, is the only Carolina quarterback to throw for 9,000 career yards, holds the top two single-season passing yardage totals (including a record 3,418 yards as a senior), threw for a school-record 439 yards in UNC’s first-ever win at Florida State in 2010, and is second at UNC with 58 touchdown passes. In 2010, he was named honorable mention All-ACC and was selected in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft by the Houston Texans.

Everett Withers, who was an assistant coach during Yates’ years and then served a year as head coach, said, “T.J.’s innate ability to be an effective leader is his most outstanding quality. He was a calming presence in the huddle and helped navigate our team through some difficult and challenging circumstances throughout his career. He has tremendous character, a strong family and is an outstanding representative of the University.”

The Patterson Medal is based primarily on career athletic accomplishment at Carolina. Sportsmanship and leadership also are considered. A committee of athletics, faculty and student representatives selects the winners, who are nominated by their respective head coaches. The award was given first in 1924 by Dr. Joseph Patterson (class of 1904, CMED) in memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson (class of 1908). The Patterson family continues to present the award.

 

Patterson Medal Winners
1924: Monk McDonald ’23 (football, basketball, baseball)
1925: M.D. Bonner ’24 (football)
1926: Jack Cobb ’27 (basketball)
1927: Ad Warren ’27 (football, boxing, wrestling)
1928: Galen Elliott ’28 (track)
1929: Henry Satterfield ’29 (basketball)
1930: Ray Farris Sr. ’30 (football, boxing, baseball)
1931: Henry House ’31 (football, baseball)
1932: Staton McIver ’32 (football)
1933: Stuart Chandler ’33 (football)
1934: Virgil Weathers ’34 (basketball)
1935: Harry Williamson ’35 (track)
1936: Harry Montgomery ’36 (football)
1937: R.D. Buck ’37 (football)
1938: Andy Bershak ’38 (football, basketball)
1939: George Nethercutt ’39 (baseball)
1940: George Stirnweiss ’40 (football, baseball)
1941: Paul Severin ’41 (football, basketball)
1942: Bobby Gersten ’42 (basketball, baseball)
1943: Carlyle Thomas Mangum ’43 (track)
1944: Denny Hammond ’44 (swimming)
1945: E.B. Shultz ’46 (track)
1946: Jim Jordan ’46 (basketball)
1947: Walt Pupa ’47 (football)
1948: Jim Camp ’47 (football)
1949: Vic Seixas ’49 (tennis)
1950: Charlie Justice ’50 (football)
1951: Jimmy Thomas ’58 (swimming)
1952: Cecil Milton ’52 (swimming)
1953: Chalmers Port ’54 (baseball, football)
1954: Miles Gregory ’53 (football, wrestling)
1955: Albert Long Jr. ’55 (track, football, basketball, baseball)
1956: Jerry Vayda ’56 (basketball)
1957: Lennie Rosenbluth ’57 (basketball)
1958: Buddy Payne ’58 (football)
1959: Dave Scurlock ’59 (track)
1960: Jack Cummings ’60 (football)
1961: Rip Hawkins ’61 (football)
1962: Ray Farris Jr. ’62 (football)
1963: Joe Craver ’63 (football)
1964: Bill Haywood ’66 (baseball, soccer)
1965: Harrison Merrill ’65 (swimming)
1966: John Shaw ’66 (baseball)
1967: Danny Talbott ’67 (football, baseball)
1968: Larry Miller ’68 (basketball)
1969: Bill Bunting ’69 (basketball)
1970: Charlie Scott ’70 (basketball)
1971: Don McCauley ’71 (football)
1972: Dennis Wuycik ’72 (basketball)
1973: George Karl ’73 (basketball)
1974: Tony Waldrop ’74 (track)
1975: Charles Waddell ’75 (football, track, basketball)
1976: Mitch Kupchak ’76 (basketball)
1977: Walter Davis ’77 (basketball)
1978: Phil Ford ’78 (basketball)
1979: Greg Norris ’79 (baseball)
1980: Bonny Brown ’80 (women’s swimming)
1981: Lawrence Taylor ’81 (football) and Al Wood ’81 (basketball)
1982: C.D. Mock ’82 (wrestling)
1983: David Drechsler ’83 (football)
1984: Sue Walsh ’84 (women’s swimming)
1985: Ethan Horton ’86 (football)
1986: Brad Daugherty ’86 (basketball)
1987: Kenny Smith ’87 (basketball)
1988: Rob Koll ’89 (wrestling)
1989: Jeff Lebo ’90 (basketball)
1990: Shannon Higgins ’90 (women’s soccer)
1991: Sharon Couch ’91 (women’s track and field)
1992: Dwight Hollier ’91 (football)
1993: Kristine Lilly ’93 (women’s soccer)
1994: Mia Hamm ’94 (women’s soccer)
1995: Tisha Venturini ’95 (women’s soccer)
1996: Marcus Jones ’96 (football)
1997: Debbie Keller ’98 (women’s soccer)
1998: Cindy Werley ’98 (field hockey); Antawn Jamison ’99 (men’s basketball)
1999: Cindy Parlow ’00 (women’s soccer); Ebenezer Ekuban ’99 (football)
2000: Lorrie Fair ’00 (women’s soccer); Tripp Phillips ’99 (men’s tennis)
2001: Meredith Florance ’01 (women’s soccer); Brendan Haywood ’01 (men’s basketball)
2002: Katie Hathaway ’02 (women’s swimming); Danny Jackson ’01 (men’s soccer)
2003: Laura Greene ’03 (volleyball); Matt Crawford ’03 (men’s soccer)
2004: Shalane Flanagan ’05 (women’s track and field and cross country); Catherine Reddick ’04 (women’s soccer); Nicholas Monroe ’04 (men’s tennis)
2005: Alice Schmidt ’04 (women’s track and field and cross country); Jed Prossner ’05 (men’s lacrosse)
2006: Laura Gerraughty ’05 (women’s track and field); Andrew Miller ’07 (baseball)
2007: Ivory Latta ’07 (women’s basketball); Heather O’Reilly ’09, senior (women’s soccer); Robert Woodard ’07 (baseball)
2008: Rachel Dawson ’07 (field hockey); Chad Flack ’09 (baseball)
2009: Dustin Ackley ’10 (baseball); Tyler Hansbrough ’09 (men’s basketball); Yael Averbuch ’09 (women’s soccer)
2010: Casey Nogueira ’10 and Whitney Engen ’10 (women’s soccer) and Chip Peterson ’10 (swimming)
2011: Corey Donohoe ’11 (women’s lacrosse); Mateo Sossah ’11 (track and field); and T.J. Yates ’10 (football).

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