With a senior year that rewrote the record books for the
football and the golf teams, the Apprentice School named
Co-Athletes of the Year for the 2007-08 athletic seasons.
Seniors Travis Reid and BJ Maben join a long list of honorees that
finished their careers with the highest Apprentice School athletic
honor available.
Reid electrified the football field this past fall being named
the Offensive Player of the Year in the Atlantic Central Football
Conference. That was the first ever honor for an Apprentice
School football player from the ACFC. He ended his career a
two-time first-team All-ACFC wide receiver and had a senior season
for the ages.
The Goose Creek, SC native became the first receiver in the near
90-year history of Builder football to have a 1,000-yard season as
he set an ACFC record averaging 104.9 yards per game in
receiving. He set eight school season and career records this
year as he caught 71 passes for 1,049 yards and 13
touchdowns. For his career he had 169 receptions for 2,895
yards and 33 touchdowns.
He rose up in the big games for the Builders, including a 178-yard
game in a road victory over North Carolina Wesleyan College as a
junior. His last game for the Builders was one for the record
books as he caught 12 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns as
the Builders fell 61-55 in four overtimes to Chowan University.
"Travis was suggested to me by his high school coach who was a
former Division I head coach," said former Apprentice School Head
Coach Phil Janaro. "He has great ability to find the ball and
go get it, in addition he will catch the ball in traffic and is a
great deep threat. Travis is unusual in that he also takes
pride in his blocking from the wide receiver position. We
will miss him as a punt returner next season. He had the
respect of the players on the team throughout his career as he
never missed a practice and was a leader by example. Travis
also did it in the classroom where he was an ACFC All-Academic Team
member this year," he added.
According to his supervisor Anthony Bryan, Travis stepped up as
well on the job. "Travis has been instrumental in the testing
of # 3 and # 4 A/C plants and the testing of sound powered phone
circuits in the propulsion plants. His electrical exposure, in this
his last rotation, has honed his skills to be a productive and
valued X31 graduate," he said.
As Reid electrified the football field, BJ Maben shot his way
into the record books as one of the best golfers ever for the
Builders. This Hampton, Va. Native and a maintenance
pipefitter apprentice scorched his way into the modern era record
book for Apprentice School with numbers rarely seen on the links.
Maben, who played number one in the Builders' lineup throughout
his collegiate career, was a three-time U.S. Collegiate Athletic
Association All-American including a second-place finish as a
freshman and a sophomore. His low single round was a 68 as a
freshman in a dual match with Marymount and two-round total 144 at
Southern Virginia Invitational this season.
He won seven medalist honors as a Builder and helped lead the
Builders to the Southern 
Virginia University Invitational title as a junior along with a
pair of U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association National Invitational
titles in his career. Maben currently holds the top four
single season averages topped by his 75.9 as a sophomore.
Prior to his arrival, the lowest single season average since 1990
was a 79.40 and only twice the average was below 80.
Not only did Maben help lower the modern era records
individually, he helped cut the team records by nearly 10
strokes. Prior to his arrival, the lowest season average was
a 329.94. In his last three seasons, Maben helped lower that
mark to a 320.
"B.J.'s performance during his career with the Apprentice School
has been nothing less than stellar," said Apprentice School Golf
Coach Gary Crockett. "His personal performance has driven the
team scoring average down nine strokes in his four years. His
leadership on and off the course has pushed his teammates to play
better as well. BJ has the best short game of any player I
have ever been around and it has been my pleasure to coach him," he
added.
Maben's supervisor Scott Conrad had plenty of positive things to
say about him in his final rotation as Maben is due to finish his
apprenticeship in June. "BJ has shown significant strides in
his abilities as a pipe fitter over the course of his
apprenticeship. This was evident during the course of the
recent DD11 and OB1 readiness efforts where he was a key player and
was given several areas of responsibility by his supervisor.
BJ came through with flying colors having timely and professional
workmanship," said Conrad.
